Act No. 151

(H.281)

Health; deaths, burials, autopsies

This act requires that a law enforcement agency be notified when an unmarked burial site is first discovered. If the law enforcement agency determines that the site does not constitute evidence of a crime, then the agency is required to notify the state archeologist, who is authorized to take appropriate action regarding the site. The act also creates an unmarked burial site treatment plan committee. The committee is required to develop treatment plans for dealing with unmarked burial sites. The treatment plans include: methods for determining the presence of an unmarked burial site; methods for excavating the site; methods for protecting and preserving the site and any associated human remains; and methods for resolving disputes. The committee is required to issue a report outlining the treatment plans to the house committee on general, housing and military affairs and the senate committee on economic development, housing and general affairs on or before January 15, 2011.

The act also expands the list of people who may object to the removal of bodily remains to include a descendant of the deceased and the cemetery commissioner of the municipality in which the remains are located.

The act adds provisions regulating the removal of marked historic remains. The act defines "historic remains" as the remains of a human being who has been deceased for 100 years or more and which are located in a publicly known or marked burial ground or cemetery. The act outlines procedures for removing historic remains, including notice and objection provisions, and gives the probate court jurisdiction to grant or deny permits for removing historic remains.

Finally, the act allows funeral directors and crematory owners to issue burial permits and allows licensed health care professionals to fill out death certificates.

Date Signed by the Governor:  June 1, 2010

Effective Date:  The act is effective on passage (June 1, 2010, the date on which the governor signed the bill), except that the provision allowing licensed health care professionals to fill out death certificates is effective January 1, 2012.