Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board; create within Department of Health.
What changed between versions
Added new board members including a county prosecutor, a representative from a district attorney's office, a county court judge, a representative from the Department of Public Safety, a representative from the Bureau of Victim Assistance, and the team coordinator as a required member.
Changed the board reporting deadline from 'every two years' to a specific due date of December 1 of each year for biennial reports to legislative committees.
Added requirements for the board to sign confidentiality agreements with all participants and to consult with existing child death and maternal mortality review committees when relevant cases overlap.
Added explicit immunity provisions protecting physicians, hospitals, and pharmacies from civil, criminal, or disciplinary action when providing medical records in good faith to the board.
Amended the Mississippi Open Meetings Act exemption to explicitly include the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, ensuring its proceedings remain confidential and not subject to public records requests.
Reorganized the bill's structure from a single continuous text to a more formal legislative format with clearly numbered sections and subsections for better readability and legal clarity.
