2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 6 - The Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Council, Certain Officers Under the Governor and Council, and State Library › Section 184 - Medicolegal Investigation Commission

Section 184. There shall be in the executive office of public safety a commission on medicolegal investigation, hereinafter called the commission, to consist of the attorney general, the secretary of public safety, the commissioner of public health or their designees, and thirteen persons to be appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be the dean of a medical school in Massachusetts, one of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Medico-Legal Society, two of whom shall be forensic pathologists certified in said field of specialization by the American Board of Pathology and who are members of the Massachusetts Society of Pathologists and who reside in the commonwealth, one of whom shall be a physician licensed to practice medicine in the commonwealth and who is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, one of whom shall be an attorney licensed to practice law in the commonwealth who is experienced in criminal defense, one of whom shall be a professor of law licensed to practice law in the commonwealth, one of whom shall be a funeral director licensed in the commonwealth, two of whom shall be district attorneys in the commonwealth, one of whom shall be a chief of police of a city or town in the commonwealth, and two representatives of the general public who reside in the commonwealth. Each appointed member of the commission shall serve for a term of three years, or until his successor is appointed and qualified, whichever is longer; provided, however, that no appointee shall serve more than two consecutive terms. The members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for travel and other expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the discharge of their duties. The commission shall meet at least three times each year. The governor shall appoint a chairman, who shall serve in that capacity at the governor's pleasure. The commission shall elect a vice chairman annually. The chief medical examiner, appointed pursuant to section two of chapter thirty-eight, shall be secretary to the commission. Meetings may be called by the chairman, vice chairman, secretary, or any four members. A quorum for the transaction of business shall be nine members.
The commission shall adopt such rules and regulations as are necessary to effectively carry out the program of medicolegal investigation in the commonwealth under the provisions of chapter thirty-eight; establish qualifications for appointment of medical examiners, forensic pathologists, and all other professional and technical personnel necessary to perform the work of the office of the chief medical examiner; advise the chief medical examiner in the development of the annual budget of said office; and review and approve the comprehensive system for the delivery of medicolegal services in the commonwealth, and any modifications thereto, developed by the chief medical examiner.