AN ACT to amend and reenact section 11-19.1-06 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to individuals authorized to act in the absence of a coroner.

HB 1246 amends North Dakota law to clarify who can handle coroner duties when a coroner is unavailable in a county. It specifies that in such cases, the sheriff, state highway patrol, or a special agent from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation must perform coroner duties. The bill requires these officials to contact the nearest coroner or deputy coroner from an adjacent county for death investigations, and if distance or weather prevents this, they must instead request the state forensic examiner or their designee to certify the cause of death. This change directly affects county law enforcement and state forensic services in areas without a resident coroner.