HB1551: Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board; create within Department of Health.

Legislative Summary

An Act To Create The Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board Within The State Department Of Health To Review The Deaths Resulting From Domestic Violence Incidents And Establish Strategies To Prevent Domestic Violence Fatalities; To Provide For The Members Of The Board To Be Appointed By The State Officer; To Provide That The Department Shall Be Responsible For The General Administration Of The Activities Of The Board And Shall Employ Or Contract With A Coordinator And Designate Other Staff As Necessary To Provide Administrative Support For The Board; To Prescribe The Duties Of The Coordinator; To Authorize The Board To Invite Other Individuals To Participate With The Board On An Ad Hoc Basis For A Particular Investigation; To Provide What The Review Of A Domestic Violence Fatality By The Board Will Involve, Including The Types Of Records That Are To Be Reviewed; To Direct The Board To Submit A Report Every Two Years To The House And Senate Public Health Committees Concerning Its Activities And The Incidents Of Domestic Violence Fatalities Within The State, Which Shall Include The Number, Causes And Relevant Demographic Information On Domestic Violence Fatalities In Mississippi, Identifiable Trends In Domestic Violence Fatalities In The State, And Appropriate Policy And Systems Recommendations To The Legislature On How To Most Effectively Direct State Resources To Reduce The Number Of Preventable Domestic Violence Fatalities In The State; To Provide That Data For The Board's Review And Reporting Shall Be Provided To The Board By Agencies, Officials And Health Care Providers Having Information Necessary For The Board To Carry Out Its Duties; To Require Physicians, Hospitals And Pharmacies To Provide Reasonable Access To The Board To All Relevant Medical Records Associated With A Case Under Review By The Board; To Provide Immunity To Physicians, Hospitals And Pharmacies Providing Access To Those Records In Good Faith; To Require Any Person Having Records Or Other Information Relevant To The Board's Review Of A Domestic Violence Fatality To Provide Those Records Or Information When Requested By The Board; To Provide For Confidentiality And Prohibitions On Disclosure Or Admissibility As Evidence In Any Proceeding Of All Information, Records And Other Data Collected By The Board; To Provide That All Proceedings And Activities Of The Board, Opinions Of Members Of The Board Formed As A Result Of Those Proceedings And Activities, And Records Obtained, Created Or Maintained By The Board Are Confidential And Are Not Subject To The Mississippi Public Records Act; To Authorize The Board To Compile Reports Of Aggregated, Nonindividually Identifiable Data On A Routine Basis For Distribution In An Effort To Further Study The Causes And Problems Associated With Domestic Violence Fatalities; To Amend Section 25-41-3, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Exempt The Board From The Open Meetings Act; And For Related Purposes.