(a)(1) The Department may employ a staff in accordance with the State budget for the operation of the Office and to maintain accreditation.(2) The staff shall include: (i) 1 chief medical examiner;(ii) 2 deputy chief medical examiners;(iii) Assistant medical examiners;(iv) 1 chief State toxicologist, 1 deputy chief State toxicologist, lead toxicologists, and assistant toxicologists;(vi) In accordance with the number of positions approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, fellow medical doctors who are training in forensic pathology;(vii) 1 chief forensic investigator, 2 deputy chief forensic investigators, lead forensic investigators, and assistant forensic investigators; and(viii) 1 autopsy services supervisor, 1 deputy supervisor, lead autopsy technicians, and assistant autopsy technicians.(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department may employ any physician on a contract basis for part-time services or per diem services.(4) The Department shall ensure that the number of staff employed at the Office does not fall to a level that would constitute a Phase II violation according to the National Association of Medical Examiners.(b)(1) The Chief Medical Examiner and deputy chief medical examiners shall be board certified in anatomic and forensic pathology by the American Board of Pathology.(2) Assistant medical examiners appointed on or after October 1, 2008, shall be certified by the American Board of Pathology in anatomic and forensic pathology or obtain that certification within the assistant medical examiner's period of board eligibility provided by the American Board of Pathology.(3) The Secretary shall consult with the Committee regarding matters related to the employment of the Chief Medical Examiner.(c) With the approval of the Secretary of Budget and Management, the Department shall set the compensation for personnel appointed under subsection (a)(2) of this section.(d) The Office shall see that proper equipment is provided for the medical examiners.(e) The Chief Medical Examiner, a deputy chief medical examiner, or an assistant medical examiner shall be on call at all times to perform the duties set forth in this subtitle.(f) The State budget shall include an appropriation to carry out this subtitle, including provisions for: (1) The fee for an authorized pathologist;(2) The necessary expenses for transportation of a body for examination by a medical examiner or for autopsy; and(3) In the case of a victim of homicide, the necessary expenses for transportation of the body from the site of the autopsy or examination to a location within the State specified by the victim's family.Amended by 2023 Md. Laws, Ch. 268,Sec. 1, eff. 7/1/2023.Amended by 2022 Md. Laws, Ch. 721, Sec. 1, eff. 10/1/2022.