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SB 2891

AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- OFFICE OF STATE MEDICAL EXAMINERS

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Pete Appollonio and 5 co-sponsors

Modernizes Rhode Island’s Office of State Medical Examiners with stronger privacy protections, multidisciplinary reviews, and enhanced governance to prevent deaths.

06/10/2026 Signed by Governor
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Bill Summary · SB 2891

Overview

  • Bill: SB 2891
  • Session: 2026 (Rhode Island)
  • Jurisdiction: Rhode Island
  • Title: AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- OFFICE OF STATE MEDICAL EXAMINERS
  • Purpose: Update, clarify, and modernize the Rhode Island Office of State Medical Examiners (OSME) framework. Align terminology and procedures with current practice, improve confidentiality protections (including HIPAA compliance), and strengthen organizational structure, reporting, and governance.

Main Purpose and Intent

  • Modernize statutory language governing the Office of State Medical Examiners.
  • Improve accuracy and clarity in definitions, procedures, and authorities.
  • Enhance accreditation requirements (NAME or equivalent) and ensure compliance with federal privacy laws (HIPAA) and state confidentiality provisions.
  • Establish and clarify operating structures, including a postmortem advisory commission, and various multidisciplinary review teams (child fatalities, drug-related overdoses, maternal mortality, suicide deaths).
  • Provide for better data handling, reporting, and interagency collaboration to prevent deaths and improve public health outcomes.

Key Provisions and Changes

  • Definitions (Section 1): Updates to terms such as assistant medical examiner, autopsy, external inspection, death investigation, inquest, manner of death, person of interest, postmortem examination, and work product to reflect current understandings and to ensure precise use in statutes.
  • Establishment and Accreditation (Sections 2–3; 23-4-2): Reaffirms OSOME within the Department of Health and requires accreditation by NAME or another national body.
  • Core Functions (Section 1, 23-4-3): Enumerates responsibilities including death investigations, inquests (when requested by AG), autopsies/postmortem examinations, record-keeping, court testimony, tissue retention/disposal, organ and tissue donation when appropriate, and development of procedures for pronouncement of death and transplantation.
  • Multidisciplinary Review and Protected Information (Section 1, 23-4-3(9)-(13)):
    • Supports multidisciplinary child death review teams, with confidentiality protections (HIPAA and Rhode Island health information confidentiality acts) and privilege status.
    • Creates a multidisciplinary drug-related overdose death review team with stringent confidentiality protections, non-subpoenaable status, and annual reporting to the Governor and leadership.
    • Creates multidisciplinary maternal mortality review committee with authority to request data, includes diverse stakeholders, and provides confidential, privileged reporting.
    • Creates multidisciplinary suicide fatality review team with confidentiality and privilege protections; annual recommendations to state suicide prevention entities.
    • Mandates annual reporting on activities and findings, with aggregate, de-identified data where appropriate.
  • Jurisdiction (Section 1, 23-4-4): OSOME authority to conduct postmortem examinations, investigations, inquests, and autopsies in deaths that may involve homicide, suicide, accidents, criminal abortions, occupational deaths, drug-related deaths, infectious disease deaths, sudden deaths in good health, etc.
  • Leadership and Staffing (Section 1, 23-4-5): Establishes the Chief Medical Examiner (board-certified forensic pathologist) and deputy chief; sets appointment processes and employment classifications; transfers certain state AG division staff into the OSOME.
  • Postmortem Advisory Commission (Section 1, 23-4-6): Creates a 12-member commission (5 ex officio: Director of Health, Attorney General, Superintendent of State Police; 9 citizen members) to hear appeals of chief medical examiner decisions, advise on public concerns regarding cause and manner of death, and oversee related processes. Provisions cover appointments, terms, conflicts of interest, training, annual reporting, and appeal pathways (including to Superior Court).
  • Reporting and Transparency (Sections 1, 23-4-6; 23-4-14): Requires annual reports from the commission; specifies content such as meetings, decisions, receipts of funds, training, and upcoming plans; requires electronic posting of reports.
  • Duties Re: Death Reporting Violations (Section 1, 23-4-7): Establishes duties to report suspicious or violent deaths; penalties for failing to report; outlines responsibilities of physicians, law enforcement, funeral directors, and others.
  • Handling of Autopsy and Property (Sections 1, 23-4-9 to 23-4-11): Procedures for handling bodies, disposition, and management of decedent property; defines domestic partner recognition for disposition-related considerations; outlines receipt and return of personal belongings; provides for unclaimed remains.
  • Fees and Records (Sections 1, 23-4-13 to 23-4-14): Authorized to establish fees for autopsy copies, documents, and testimony; directs that fees be deposited as general revenues (with exceptions for certain entities); mandates annual tabular/statistical reporting and public posting.
  • Morgue and Facilities (Section 1, 23-4-15): Requires a centrally located office and morgue with necessary facilities to support OSME functions.

Who/What Is Affected

  • Office of State Medical Examiners (OSME) and its staff, including the Chief Medical Examiner, Deputy Chief, and assistant medical examiners.
  • Department of Health (RIDOH) and related agencies (Attorney General, State Police, Department of Administration for training and reporting).
  • Multidisciplinary death review teams (child fatality, drug-related overdose, maternal mortality, suicide) and the individuals/organizations comprising those teams.
  • Families and decedents (through enhanced confidentiality protections and access to aggregated data).
  • Public at large (through improved transparency, annual reports, and data-driven prevention strategies).

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Effective Date: The act takes effect upon passage.
  • Governance: Establishes a postmortem advisory commission with specified composition, appointment processes, and responsibilities, including appeals to the director of health and, if necessary, Superior Court.
  • Reporting Timeline: Drug-overdose, child, maternal, and suicide review teams must report annually (e.g., for overdose deaths, report due by December 1 each year).
  • Training: New commission members must complete a mandatory training course within six months of designation.
  • Data Sharing and Protections: Broad confidentiality protections apply to work product from multidisciplinary reviews; data is generally not subject to subpoena or public disclosure, except in aggregate or as required by law.
  • Repeal: Section 23-4-12 is repealed and thereby updated within the act’s reorganization.

Potential Impact

  • Strengthened governance and accountability for death investigations in Rhode Island.
  • Improved privacy protections for sensitive investigative data, while enabling critical public health insights through aggregated, de-identified information.
  • Enhanced capacity for multidisciplinary reviews to identify preventable deaths and inform policy and community interventions.
  • Clearer, modernized definitions and procedures to align with current forensic and public health practices.
  • Increased transparency via annual reporting and public posting of statistical data.

Note: The Explanatory Text confirms the bill’s intent to update language, ensure HIPAA compliance, and modernize the state’s medical examiner statutes.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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