Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Oklahoma Legislature, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
3 HOUSE BILL 3901 By: Hefner
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7 AS INTRODUCED
8 An Act relating to psychological autopsy; defining
terms; authorizing the Commissioner of Health to
9 appoint a psychological autopsy examiner; creating
pilot psychological autopsy service; directing report
10 be submitted to the Commissioner of Health; providing
for exchange of information; providing for the
11 promulgation of rules by the State Department of
Health; providing for codification; and providing an
12 effective date.
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16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
17 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
18 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 956 of Title 63, unless there is
19 created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
20 A. As used in this act:
21 1. "Psychological autopsy" means a retrospective investigative
22 method of gathering data to reconstruct the mental state,
23 perspectives, and motivations of a deceased person, often used for
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Req. No. 14496 Page 1
1 equivocal deaths like suicide, to help understand an individual's
2 final days and possible influences in his or her death; and
3 2. "Psychological autopsy examiner" means a mental health
4 professional who conducts psychological autopsies to help determine
5 systemic influences in cases of death that are ambiguous, including,
6 but not limited to, suicide.
7 B. The Commissioner of Health shall appoint a full-time
8 psychological examiner to establish a pilot psychological autopsy
9 service.
10 C. An annual progress report covering discipline appropriate
11 plans based upon best practices, targets, and demonstrable data
12 along with any deliverables such as operating manuals shall be
13 submitted to the Commissioner to be included in his or her annual
14 report.
15 D. The pilot program shall terminate no later than November 1,
16 2031, before which time a recommendation for permanency or closing
17 of the service shall be made by the State Board of Health.
18 E. The psychological autopsy examiner may coordinate with the
19 Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and the
20 Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to share data, share results,
21 and establish protocols for psychological autopsies. Other
22 appropriate flows of information may be established to ensure
23 psychological autopsy results inform suicide prevention or policy
24 decision-making.
Req. No. 14496 Page 2
1 F. The State Department of Health may promulgate rules
2 necessary to accomplish the goals of the pilot psychological autopsy
3 service.
4 SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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6 60-2-14496 TJ 12/18/25
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Req. No. 14496 Page 3Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.