Bill to Build New ME Headquarters Passes

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY - A legislative panel has passed a bill authorizing a new headquarters for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner near the University of Central Oklahoma's Forensic Science Institute.

The measure approved Monday would require that the ME's office be located in close proximity to the forensic science facility in Edmond. That facility is near the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's $31 million Forensic Science Center. The 86,000-square-foot lab opened in 2008.

House Speaker Chris Benge of Tulsa says lawmakers are looking for ways to restore public confidence in the ME's office. The agency lost its accreditation last year in part because of its inadequate and aging headquarters in Oklahoma City.

The measure now goes to the full House for consideration.