Modernizes Michigan's death-investigation process by allowing qualified physicians beyond the county medical examiner to certify the cause and manner of death, reducing bottlenecks. Companion to HB 4077. Amends the Medical Examiners Act (1953 PA 181).
Legislative status
Signed into law as Public Act 4 of 2026 — the companion to HB 4077 — HB 4078 lets qualified physicians beyond the county medical examiner certify the cause and manner of death, easing a common bottleneck in releasing remains. Sponsored by Rep. Mike Mueller (R-Linden); enacted with immediate effect. It amends the Medical Examiners Act (1953 PA 181).
Key provisions
What this means for operators
Funeral homes should see fewer delays when a death requires medical-examiner involvement, since more qualified physicians can now certify cause of death.
In practice this act's value shows up county by county: medical-examiner offices decide how quickly they delegate certification to qualified physicians, so release times will improve unevenly across the state. Firms should ask their county ME office how it plans to use the new authority and flag cases that still stall — that feedback is what the sponsors will look for when they assess whether the 1953 act needs a broader rewrite.
OHMay 7, 2026
Watching Michigan from Ohio: HB 4077/4078 (signed in March) move death certification to an electronic system and let more qualified physicians certify cause of death. That second piece quietly fixes a real bottleneck — when the medical examiner is backed up, families wait. Ohio should copy it.