HB 1620 Summary

• Amends Oklahoma's advance directive statute (63 O.S. 2011, Section 3101.4) to add acknowledgment provisions to the advance directive form.

• Requires advance directives to include a specific acknowledgment that withholding water can result in a painful death, and requires declarant understanding of full importance and emotional and mental competence.

• Permits individuals with established religious beliefs to designate someone other than an attending physician to determine lack of decisional capacity when no attending physician is available.

• Maintains requirements that advance directives be signed by declarant and witnessed by two unrelated individuals age 18 or older, with special provisions for nutrition and hydration decisions requiring separate initials.

• Effective date: November 1, 2015.