# Rhode Island S2891: AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- OFFICE OF STATE MEDICAL EXAMINERS . Rhode Island S2891, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- OFFICE OF STATE MEDICAL EXAMINERS ., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Lori Urso (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-06-10 (Signed by Governor — Chapter 047); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-S2891-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Rhode Island S2891 - State: Rhode Island - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- OFFICE OF STATE MEDICAL EXAMINERS . - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-03-04 - Last action: 2026-06-10, Signed by Governor — Chapter 047 - Sponsor: Lori Urso (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 5 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 3 (137 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - New state medical examiner office: benefit, medium. The law creates a statewide Office of State Medical Examiners inside the Health Department. The office must earn and keep national accreditation. The chief must be a licensed, board‑certified forensic pathologist. The state must staff and equip the morgue so the office can do its work. - Private teams review tragic deaths: benefit, low. The Health Department supports review teams for child deaths, drug overdoses, maternal deaths, and adult suicides. Teams can access needed records. Their work is confidential, not open to public records, and not usable in court. Teams share only de‑identified data and publish prevention recommendat… - Stronger powers to investigate deaths: benefit, low. The office decides when it has authority, takes custody, and starts a postmortem investigation. It can do external inspections, partial or full autopsies, and testing. It covers many causes, like homicide, suicide, overdose, workplace, infectious, and sudden unexpected deaths. Agents do not remove… - No pay for water recoveries: cost, low. The state repeals the prior law that paid people who recovered dead bodies from state waters. You can no longer claim that compensation. - Family rights, costs, and claiming remains: mixed, medium. You can ask the chief medical examiner to amend the cause or manner on a death certificate within 60 days (not for homicide). If denied, you can appeal to the Health Director and then to Superior Court; if the chief is upheld, you pay hearing costs. The office must promptly release the body, and th… - Faster death reporting and scene rules: mixed, low. Anyone who finds a body or human remains must report it right away. Doctors, police, hospitals, funeral directors, and others must report certain deaths, and child deaths must be reported within 6 hours. Do not move or disturb a body unless trying to save a life. Hospitals, schools, jails, and poli… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Lori Urso (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Peter A. Appollonio, Jr. (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Frank A. Ciccone, III (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Stefano V. Famiglietti (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Todd M. Patalano (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Leonidas P. Raptakis (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-06-04 | House | OFFICES- STATE MEDICAL EXAMINERS PASSAGE IN CONCURRENCE | pass | 63 | 0 | | | 2026-05-27 | Senate | HEALTH AND SAFETY -- OFFICE OF STATE MEDICAL EXAMINERS Passage | pass | 37 | 0 | | | 2026-05-27 | Senate | HEALTH AND SAFETY -- OFFICE OF STATE MEDICAL EXAMINERS Passage | pass | 37 | 0 | | ## Actions (12) - 2026-06-10: Signed by Governor — Chapter 047 (Governor) - 2026-06-04: Transmitted to Governor (Governor) - 2026-06-04: House passed Sub A in concurrence (House) - 2026-06-02: Placed on the House Consent Calendar (06/04/2026) (House) - 2026-05-27: Senate passed Sub A (Senate) - 2026-05-22: Placed on Senate Calendar (05/27/2026) (Senate) - 2026-05-21: Committee recommends passage of Sub A - 2026-05-20: Proposed Substitute - 2026-05-19: Scheduled for consideration (05/21/2026) - 2026-03-12: Committee recommended measure be held for further study - 2026-03-06: Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/12/2026) - 2026-03-04: Introduced, referred to Senate Health and Human Services (Senate) ## Bill text - S2891 - As Introduced, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2891.htm), [PDF](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2891.pdf) - S2891 - Substitute, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2891A.htm), [PDF](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2891A.pdf) ## Related bills - S3047: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- DISTRICT COURT PRACTICE . (became law) - H8605: JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS . (became law) - H8580: AN ACT RELATING TO THE NORTH TIVERTON FIRE DISTRICT . (became law) - H8586: AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- RHODE ISLAND TURNPIKE AND BRIDGE AUTHORITY . (became law) - H8525: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES . (became law) - H8506: AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- RELATING TO CENTRAL FALLS PENSION PLAN . (became law) ## Sources - [S2891 - As Introduced (HTML)](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2891.htm) - [S2891 - As Introduced (PDF)](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2891.pdf) - [S2891 - Substitute (HTML)](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2891A.htm) - [S2891 - Substitute (PDF)](https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/SenateText26/S2891A.pdf) ## Related - [S3047: AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- DISTRIC…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-S3047-2026) - [H8605: JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8605-2026) - [H8580: AN ACT RELATING TO THE NORTH TIVERTON FIRE DISTRICT .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8580-2026) - [H8586: AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS -- RHODE ISLAND TURNPIKE AND BRIDGE AUTHORITY .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8586-2026) - [H8525: AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8525-2026) - [H8506: AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- RELATING TO CENTRAL FALLS PENSION PLAN .](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-H8506-2026) - [Rhode Island bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/rhode-island/bills) - [Rhode Island state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/rhode-island) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/RI-S2891-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).