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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
SENATE BILL 1853 By: McIntosh
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to medicolegal investigations;
amending 63 O.S. 2021, Section 941, as amended by
Section 2, Chapter 251, O.S.L. 2024 (63 O.S. Supp.
2025, Section 941), which relates to investigation by
medical examiner; requiring investigation to include
certain components; amending 63 O.S. 2021, Section
942, which relates to report of findings; requiring
certain information to be documented on report under
specified conditions; and providing an effective
date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 941, as
amended by Section 2, Chapter 251, O.S.L. 2024 (63 O.S. Supp. 2025,
Section 941), is amended to read as follows:
Section 941. A. Upon receipt of notice of death of any person
which under Section 931 et seq. of this title is subject to
investigation, a representative death investigator from the Office
of the Chief Medical Examiner shall immediately initiate an
investigation and shall document in detail, by the end of his or her
assigned shift, all the known and available facts of the death scene
in the electronic database of the Chief Medical Examiner. Decedent
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specimens, evidence, and photographs shall be sent to the Office of
the Chief Medical Examiner. The investigating official of the
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner may take charge of any object
or writing found on or near the body which is deemed necessary for
the purpose of establishing the cause and/or manner of death.
B. Upon conclusion of the investigation and determination that
such objects or writings are no longer needed as evidence, the
medical examiner or the medical examiner’s designee may deliver them
to the district attorney, law enforcement agency, or family for
disposition.
C. The investigating medical examiner or the medical examiner’s
designee shall have access at all times to any and all medical and
dental records and history of the deceased including, but not
limited to, radiographs and medical records in the course of his or
her official investigation to determine the cause and manner of
death. Such records may not be released to any other person by the
medical examiner, and the custodians of such records shall incur no
liability by reason of the release of such records to the medical
examiner.
D. 1. The body of the deceased shall be turned over to the
funeral director designated by the person responsible for burial
within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt of the decedent unless a
longer period is necessary to complete the required investigation.
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2. The investigation shall be concluded and the case completed
within sixty (60) calendar days after the Office of the Chief
Medical Examiner assumes custody of the body, unless circumstances
exist that prevent adherence to this timeline.
E. Each investigation shall include:
1. A review of the medication, immunization, and medical
records of the deceased, as available through state health databases
or other sources;
2. An autopsy, if deemed necessary by the medical examiner to
determine the cause of death; and
3. Microscopic and toxicology studies, if deemed necessary by
the medical examiner to determine the cause of death.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 942, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 942. A. 1. Upon completion of an investigation, the
medical examiner shall reduce his or her findings to writing upon
the form supplied to the medical examiner which shall be promptly
sent to the Chief Medical Examiner by mail.
2. If the medical examiner finds that the deceased had illicit,
prescription or nonprescription drugs in his or her system at the
time of death, the medical examiner shall document in his or her
findings if the death was:
a. a natural or accidental death with drug involvement,
b. a homicide by drugs,
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c. a suicide by drug overdose, or
d. a death with drug involvement, but the manner of death
could not be determined.
3. A fatality shall not be considered a drug-related death
unless the medical examiner determines that the drug or drugs
present in the deceased materially contributed to the death.
B. Copies of reports shall be furnished by the Chief Medical
Examiner to investigating agencies having official interest therein.
Copies of reports shall also be furnished to the spouse of the
deceased or any person within one degree of consanguinity of the
deceased upon request and within five (5) business days of the
request once the cause and manner of death have been determined and
the death certificate has been issued.
C. 1. The medical examiner shall document in the investigative
report any new medications, immunizations, or emergency
countermeasures administered to the deceased within ninety (90) days
before death.
2. If the medical examiner reasonably believes that suicide may
have caused the death, the medical examiner shall document on the
report that the death was a suicide, a probable suicide, or a
possible suicide, based on the available evidence.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
60-2-2482 DC 1/15/2026 12:11:17 AM