Bill Text: MS SB2837 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: State Medical Examiner and Crime Laboratory; transfer to Mississippi Department of Health.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2011-02-01 - Died In Committee [SB2837 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2011-SB2837-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2011 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Welfare; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Bryan
Senate Bill 2837
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-61-77, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO TRANSFER AND MERGE THE ADMINISTRATION AND PROGRAMS OF THE CENTRAL OFFICE FOR THE STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER AND THE MISSISSIPPI CRIME LABORATORY FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ON JULY 1, 2011; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 41-61-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-61-77. (1) Effective July 1, 2011, the central office, facilities and personnel of the State Medical Examiner and the Mississippi Crime Laboratory shall be transferred to and merged with the Mississippi Department of Health. The State Health Officer, with the approval of the State Board of Health, shall have the authority to employ staff and expend funds authorized for the continued operation of the State Medical Examiner's office and the Mississippi Crime Laboratory. All records, personnel, property and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations or other funds for the State Medical Examiner and the Mississippi Crime Laboratory shall be transferred to the Mississippi Department of Health according to the provisions of this subsection (1). All personnel actions initiated as a result of this transfer shall be subject to State Personnel Board procedures, if applicable. The State Board of Health is authorized and empowered to promulgate all reasonable rules and regulations necessary to accomplish an orderly transition pursuant to the terms of this subsection (1).
(2) Effective July 1, 2011, the Mississippi Department of Health shall establish and maintain a central office for the Mississippi Crime Laboratory and the State Medical Examiner with appropriate facilities and personnel for postmortem medicolegal examinations. District offices, with appropriate facilities and personnel, may also be established and maintained if considered necessary by the department for the proper management of postmortem examinations.
The facilities of the central and district offices and their staff services may be available to the medical examiners and designated pathologists in their investigations.
(3) In order to provide proper facilities for investigating deaths as authorized in Sections 41-61-51 through 41-61-79, the State Medical Examiner may arrange for the use of existing public or private laboratory facilities. The State Medical Examiner may contract, with the approval of the State Board of Health, with qualified persons to perform or to provide support services for autopsies, studies and investigations not inconsistent with other applicable laws. Such laboratory facilities may be located at the University of Mississippi Medical Center or any other suitable location. The State Medical Examiner may also serve as a member of the faculty at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and other institutions of higher learning. He shall be authorized to employ, with the approval of the State Board of Health, such additional scientific, technical, administrative and clerical assistants as are necessary for performance of his duties. Such employees in the office of the State Medical Examiner shall be subject to the rules, regulations and policies of the state personnel system in their employment.
(4) The State Medical Examiner shall be authorized to appoint and/or employ qualified pathologists as additional associate and assistant state medical examiners as are necessary to carry out the duties of his office. The associate and assistant state medical examiners shall be licensed to practice medicine in Mississippi and, insofar as practicable, shall be trained in the field of forensic pathology. The State Medical Examiner may delegate specific duties to competent and qualified medical examiners within the scope of the express authority granted to him by law or regulation. Employees of the office of the State Medical Examiner shall have the authority to enter any political subdivisions of this state for the purpose of carrying out medical investigations.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2011.
