MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2012 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Dixon
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-61-55, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE STATE MEDICAL EXAMINER TO BE A RESIDENT OF MISSISSIPPI; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 41-61-55, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-61-55. (1) There is * * * created the position of State Medical Examiner, to be established as * * * provided in this chapter under the supervision of the Commissioner of Public Safety. The State Medical Examiner shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Public Safety subject to the approval of a majority of a panel composed of the following: (a) the Dean of the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine; (b) the Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law; and (c) the State Health Officer. The State Medical Examiner may be discharged only for good cause, upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Public Safety, and by a majority of the same panel.
(2) Each applicant for the position of State Medical Examiner shall, as a minimum, be a physician who is eligible for a license to practice medicine in Mississippi and be certified in forensic pathology by the American Board of Pathology, and shall be a resident of the State of Mississippi.
(3) There is * * * created the State Medical Examiner Advisory Council composed of the State Health Officer or his or her designee, the Dean of the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine or his or her designee, the Commissioner of Public Safety, the Attorney General or his or her designee, the President of the Mississippi Coroners' Association or his or her designee, the President of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association or his or her designee, the President of the Mississippi Public Defenders Association or his or her designee, the President of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police or his or her designee, and the President of the Mississippi Sheriff's Association or his or her designee. The council shall be purely advisory and serve as a liaison between the State Medical Examiner and the various entities related to the Medical Examiner Act.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.