Bill > A4593

This bill, known as the "Revised State Medical Examiner Act," establishes a centralized Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner within the Department of Health (DOH) to reform and oversee New Jersey's medical examiner system. The Chief State Medical Examiner, a physician certified in forensic pathology, will have broad authority to ensure the system is adequately equipped, establish operating standards, and intervene in any medicolegal death investigation. This new office will absorb the functions of the previously abolished Office of the State Medical Examiner, which was part of the Department of Law and Public Safety. The bill also outlines the duties of Deputy Chief State Medical Examiners, clarifies the roles and responsibilities of county and intercounty medical examiners, and details the procedures for medicolegal death investigations, including autopsies, while respecting religious objections. Additionally, it addresses the handling of anatomical gifts, research protocols for sudden child deaths, and the use of an electronic death registration system. The act also repeals several existing laws related to the medical examiner system and makes conforming amendments to various statutes.