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An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 391 By: Bergstrom of the Senate
and
Kendrix of the House
An Act relating to public health and safety; amending
63 O.S. 2021, Sections 2-1001, as amended by Section
1, Chapter 91, O.S.L. 2023, and 2-1003 (63 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 2-1001), which relate to the Opioid
Overdose Fatality Review Board; transferring Board
duties to the Office of the Attorney General;
conforming language; requiring furnishing of certain
reports; providing for designation of certain duties
to certain employees and contractors; repealing 63
O.S. 2021, Section 2-1002, as amended by Section 1,
Chapter 324, O.S.L. 2024 (63 O.S. Supp. 2024, Section
2-1002), which relates to membership of the Opioid
Overdose Fatality Review Board; providing an
effective date; and declaring an emergency.
SUBJECT: Opioid Overdose Fatality Review Board operations
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 2-1001, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 91, O.S.L. 2023 (63 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 2-1001), is amended to read as follows:
Section 2-1001. A. There is hereby created until July 1, 2025,
in accordance with the Oklahoma Sunset Law, the Opioid Overdose
Fatality Review Board within the Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services. The Board Attorney General shall have the
power and duty to:
ENR. S. B. NO. 391 Page 2
1. Coordinate and integrate state and local efforts to address
overdose deaths and create a body of information to prevent overdose
deaths;
2. Conduct case reviews of deaths of persons eighteen (18)
years of age or older due to licit or illicit opioid use in this
state;
3. Collect, analyze, and interpret state and local data on
opioid overdose deaths;
4. Develop a state and local database on opioid overdose
deaths;
5. Improve policies, procedures, and practices within the
agencies in order to prevent fatal opioid overdoses and to serve
victims of unintentional overdose; and
6. Enter into agreements with other state, local, or private
entities as necessary to carry out the duties of the Opioid Overdose
Fatality Review Board under this section, including, but not limited
to, conducting joint reviews with the Child Death Review Board on
unintentional overdose cases involving child death and child near-
death incidents.
B. In carrying out its his or her duties and responsibilities,
the Board Attorney General shall:
1. Promulgate rules, if necessary, establishing criteria for
identifying cases involving an opioid overdose death subject to
specific, in-depth review by the Board Attorney General;
2. Conduct a specific case review of those cases where the
cause of death is or may be related to overdose of opioid drugs;
3. Establish and maintain statistical information related to
opioid overdose deaths including, but not limited to, demographic
and medical diagnostic information;
4. Establish procedures for obtaining initial information
regarding opioid overdose deaths from law enforcement agencies;
ENR. S. B. NO. 391 Page 3
5. Review the policies, practices, and procedures of medical
systems and law enforcement systems and other overdose protection
and prevention systems, and make specific recommendations to those
entities for actions necessary for the improvement of the system;
6. Request and obtain a copy of all records and reports
pertaining to an adult whose case is under review including, but not
limited to:
a. the report of the medical examiner,
b. hospital records,
c. school records,
d. court records,
e. prosecutorial records,
f. local, state, and federal law enforcement records
including, but not limited to, the Oklahoma State
Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) and Oklahoma State
Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control (OBN),
g. fire department records,
h. State Department of Health records, including birth
certificate records,
i. medical and dental records,
j. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services and other mental health records,
k. emergency medical service records,
l. files of the Department of Human Services, and
m. records in the possession of the Child Death Review
Board when conducting a joint review in accordance
with paragraph 6 of subsection A of this section.
ENR. S. B. NO. 391 Page 4
Confidential information or records provided to the Board Attorney
General shall be maintained by the Board Attorney General in a
confidential manner as otherwise required by state and federal law.
Any person damaged by disclosure of such confidential information by
the Board Attorney General or its members any employees or
contractors of the Office of the Attorney General which is not
authorized by law may maintain an action for damages, costs and
attorney fees pursuant to The Governmental Tort Claims Act;
7. Maintain all confidential information, documents and records
in possession of the Board Attorney General as confidential and not
subject to subpoena or discovery in any civil or criminal
proceedings; provided however, information, documents, and records
otherwise available from other sources shall not be exempt from
subpoena or discovery through those sources solely because such
information, documents, and records were presented to or reviewed by
the Board Attorney General;
8. Conduct reviews of specific cases of opioid overdose deaths
and request the preparation of additional information and reports as
determined to be necessary by the Board Attorney General including,
but not limited to, clinical summaries from treating physicians,
chronologies of contact, and second-opinion autopsies;
9. Report, if recommended by a majority vote of the Board, to
the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives any information and guidance
regarding the prevention and protection system to advise on changing
trends in overdose rates, substances, methods, or any other factor
impacting overdose deaths, including any systemic issue within the
medical, law enforcement, or other relevant systems discovered by
the Board Attorney General while performing its his or her duties;
and
10. Exercise all incidental powers necessary and proper for the
implementation and administration of the Opioid Overdose Fatality
Review Board this section.
C. The review and discussion of individual cases of an opioid
overdose death shall be conducted in executive session. All other
business shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the
Oklahoma Open Meeting Act. All discussions of individual cases and
ENR. S. B. NO. 391 Page 5
any writings produced by or created for the Board Attorney General
in the course of determining a remedial measure to be recommended by
the Board Attorney General, as the result of a review of an
individual case of an opioid overdose death, shall be privileged and
shall not be admissible in evidence in any proceeding. The Board
shall periodically conduct meetings to discuss organization and
business matters and any actions or recommendations aimed at
improvement of the medical system or law enforcement system which
shall be subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act. Part of any
meeting of the Board may be specifically designated as a business
meeting of the Board subject to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.
D. The Board Attorney General shall submit an annual
statistical report on the incidence and causes of opioid overdose
deaths in this state for which the Board Attorney General has
completed its his or her review during the past calendar year
including its his or her recommendations, if any, to the medical and
law enforcement system. The Board Attorney General shall also
prepare and make available to the public, on an annual basis, a
report containing a summary of the activities of the Board relating
to the review of opioid overdose deaths, the extent to which the
state medical and law enforcement system is coordinated, and an
evaluation of whether the state is efficiently discharging its
responsibilities to prevent opioid overdose deaths. The report
shall be completed no later than February 1 of the subsequent year.
E. Any entity from which the Attorney General requests records
in accordance with paragraph 6 of subsection B of this section shall
provide the records to the Attorney General.
F. The Attorney General may assign any of the powers and duties
in this section or in Section 2-1003 of this title to any of the
Attorney General’s assistants or employees.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 63 O.S. 2021, Section 2-1003, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 2-1003. A. Beginning November 1, 2018, the Center for
Health Statistics of the State Department of Health shall forward to
the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on a monthly basis, copies
of all death certificates of persons over eighteen (18) years of age
received by the Center for Health Statistics during the preceding
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month whereby the cause of death was due to an overdose of licit or
illicit drugs including opioids meeting the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention guidelines for opioid-related deaths.
B. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall conduct an
initial review of overdose death certificates in accordance with the
criteria established by the Opioid Overdose Fatality Review Board
Attorney General and refer to the Board Attorney General those cases
that meet the criteria established by the Board Attorney General for
specific case review.
C. Upon the request of the Board Attorney General, every entity
within the medical and law enforcement system shall provide to the
Board Attorney General any information requested by the Board
Attorney General relevant to the discharge of its his or her duties,
unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law.
SECTION 3. REPEALER 63 O.S. 2021, Section 2-1002, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 324, O.S.L. 2024 (63 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 2-1002), is hereby repealed.
SECTION 4. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
SECTION 5. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
ENR. S. B. NO. 391 Page 7
Passed the Senate the 17th day of March, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the 6th day of May, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of __________________, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________