Bill > S2679

Introduced Session

This bill requires a law enforcement officer who has responded to an incident involving a dead body to remain with the body until the medical examiner arrives to take charge of the body. Under current law, the State's medical examiner is required to conduct a medicolegal investigation of a person's death to determine the person's identity and cause and manner of death, and to resolve any issues or potential issues of public health and of legal concern in the following instances: - death where criminal violence appears to have taken place; - death by accident or unintentional injury; - death under suspicious or unusual circumstances; - death from causes that may constitute a threat to public health or safety; - death not caused by readily recognizable diseases, disability, or infirmity; - sudden death when the decedent was in apparent good health; - suicide; - death of a child under 18 years of age from any cause; - sudden or unexpected death of an infant or child under three years of age or a fetal death occurring without medical attendance; - death where suspicion of abuse of a child, family, or household member, or elderly or disabled person exists; - death within 24 hours of admission to a hospital or a nursing home; - death in custody, in a jail, correctional facility, psychiatric hospital, developmental center, or other public or private institutions for persons with mental illness, developmental disabilities, or brain injury; - death related to occupational illness or injury; - death due to thermal, chemical, electrical, or radiation injury; - death due to toxins, poisons, medicinal or recreational drugs; - known or suspected non-natural death; - any person found dead under unexplained circumstances; - discovery of skeletal remains; - death for which investigation is in the public interest; and - other deaths as determined by the Chief State Medical Examiner. Under this bill, if a law enforcement officer responds to an incident involving a dead body and the medical examiner is required to conduct a medicolegal investigation for any of the preceding reasons, the officer is required to remain with the dead body until the medical examiner takes charge of that body.

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Britnee Timberlake (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document