California Assembly Bill AB2283 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2283AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2010 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Miller FEBRUARY 18, 2010 An act to  amend Sections 7003, 7006, 7006.5, 7010, 7010.5, 7051, 7052.5, 7054.3, 7054.4, 7054.7, and 7055 of, to add Section 7001.5 to, and to  add Article 8 (commencing with Section 8365) to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 8 of  ,  the Health and Safety Code, relating to alkaline hydrolysis. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2283, as amended, Miller. Disposition of human remains: alkaline hydrolysis. Under existing law, the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau licenses and regulates crematoria and various professions relating to the disposition of human remains.  Existing law defines cremation, residue, cemetery, and crematory, and requires a written acknowledgment containing specified information from the person entitled to control the disposition of   cremated remains.  Violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. This bill would  define "alkaline hydrolysis," as specified, would change the definition of cremation to include alkaline hydrolysis, and would make conforming changes to other definitions. The bill would require a   written acknowledgment containing specified information from the person authorized to control the remains to be disposed of through alkaline hydrolysis. The bill would  require the bureau, not later than July 1, 2011, to adopt regulations for the safe operation of alkaline hydrolysis chambers. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 7001.5 is added to the   Health and Safety Code   , to read:   7001.5. "Alkaline hydrolysis" means a chemical dissolution process using heat, high pressure water, and potassium hydroxide to hydrolyze human tissue and the consumable container.   SEC. 2.   Section 7003 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7003. "Cemetery" means either of the following: (a) Any of the following that is used or intended to be used and dedicated for cemetery purposes: (1) A burial park, for earth interments. (2) A mausoleum, for crypt or vault interments. (3) A crematory and columbarium, for  cinerary interments   the interment of cremated remains  . (b) A place where six or more human bodies are buried.  SEC. 3.   Section 7006 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7006. "Crematory" means a building or structure containing one or more  furnaces   cremation chambers  for the reduction of bodies of deceased persons to cremated remains.  SEC. 4.   Section 7006.5 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7006.5. "Cremation container" means a combustible  or consumable  , closed container resistant to leakage of bodily fluids into which the body of a deceased person is placed prior to insertion in a cremation chamber for cremation.  SEC. 5.   Section 7010 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7010. "Cremation" means the process by which the following three steps are taken: (a) The reduction of the body of a deceased human to its essential elements by incineration  or alkaline hydrolysis  . (b) The repositioning or moving of the body or remains during incineration to facilitate the process. (c) The processing of the remains after removal from the cremation chamber pursuant to Section 7010.3.  SEC. 6.   Section 7010.5 of the  Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7010.5. "Residue" means human ashes, bone fragments, prostheses, and disintegrated material from the chamber itself, imbedded in cracks and uneven spaces of a cremation chamber, that cannot be removed through reasonable manual contact with sweeping or scraping equipment. Material left in the cremation chamber, after the completion of a cremation, that can be reasonably removed shall not be considered "residue."  Residue shall not mean the effluent discharged following alkaline hydrolysis.   SEC. 7.   Section 7051 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7051. Every person who removes  any  part of  any  human remains from  any   a  place where it has been interred, or from  any   a place where it is deposited while awaiting interment or cremation, with intent to sell it or to dissect it, without authority of law, or written permission of the person or persons having the right to control the remains  under   pursuant to  Section 7100, or with malice or wantonness, has committed a public offense that is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison. This section shall not prohibit the removal of foreign materials, pacemakers, or prostheses from cremated remains by an employee of a licensed crematory prior to final processing  of ashes  . Dental gold or silver, jewelry, or mementos, to the extent that they can be identified, may be removed by the employee prior to final processing if the equipment is such that it will not process these materials. However,  any  dental gold and silver, jewelry, or mementos that are removed shall be returned to the urn or cremated remains container, unless otherwise directed by the person or persons having the right to control the disposition.  SEC. 8.  Section 7052.5 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7052.5. Notwithstanding  the provisions of  Section 7052, cremated remains may be removed from the place of interment for disposition as provided in Section 7054.6  , Section 7116,  or for burial at sea as provided in Section 7117.  SEC. 9.   Section 7054.3 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7054.3. Notwithstanding any other  provision of  law, a recognizable dead human fetus of less than 20 weeks uterogestation not disposed of by interment shall be disposed of by  incineration   cremation  .  SEC. 10.   Section 7054.4 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7054.4. Notwithstanding any other  provision of  law, recognizable anatomical parts, human tissues, anatomical human remains, or infectious waste following conclusion of scientific use shall be disposed of by interment, incineration  , alkaline hydrolysis  , or any other method determined by the state department to protect the public health and safety. As used in this section, "infectious waste" means any material or article  which   that  has been, or  that  may have been, exposed to contagious or infectious disease.  SEC. 11.   Section 7054.7 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7054.7. (a) Except with the express written permission of the person entitled to control the disposition of the remains, no person shall: (1) Cremate the remains of more than one person at the same time in the same cremation chamber, or introduce the remains of a second person into a cremation chamber until incineration  or alkaline hydrolysis  of  any   the  preceding remains has been terminated and reasonable efforts have been employed to remove all fragments of the preceding remains. The fact that there is residue in the cremation chamber or other equipment or  any  container used in a prior cremation is not a violation of this section. (2) Dispose of or scatter cremated remains in a manner or in a location that the remains are commingled with those of another person. This paragraph shall not apply to the scattering of cremated remains at sea from individual containers or to the disposal in a dedicated cemetery of accumulated residue removed from a cremation chamber or other cremation equipment. (3) Place cremated or uncremated remains of more than one person in the same container or the same interment space. This paragraph shall not apply to the following: (A) Interment of members of the same family in a common container designed for the cremated remains of more than one person. (B) Interment in a space or container that has been previously designated at the time of sale as being intended for the interment of remains of more than one person. (C) Disposal in a dedicated cemetery of residue removed from a cremation chamber or other cremation equipment. (b)  Written acknowledgement   If the remains are being cremated by incineration, written acknowledgment  from the person entitled to control the disposition of the cremated remains shall be obtained by the  person with whom arrangements are made for disposition of the remains on a   crematory on a cremation authorization  form that includes, but is not limited to, the following information: "The human body burns with the casket, container, or other material in the cremation chamber. Some bone fragments are not combustible at the incineration temperature and, as a result, remain in the cremation chamber. During the cremation, the contents of the chamber may be moved to facilitate incineration. The chamber is composed of ceramic or other material which disintegrates slightly during each cremation and the product of that disintegration is commingled with the cremated remains. Nearly all of the contents of the cremation chamber, consisting of the cremated remains, disintegrated chamber material, and small amounts of residue from previous cremations, are removed together and crushed, pulverized, or ground to facilitate inurnment or scattering. Some residue remains in the cracks and uneven places of the chamber. Periodically, the accumulation of this residue is removed and interred in a dedicated cemetery property, or scattered at sea."  The acknowledgment shall be filed and retained, for at least five years, by the person who disposes of or inters the remains.   (c) If remains are being cremated through alkaline hydrolysis, written acknowledgment from the person entitled to control the disposition of cremated remains shall be obtained by the crematory on a cremation authorization form that includes, but is not limited to, the following information: "During the chemical dissolution process, heat, high pressure water, and potassium hydroxide are used to hydrolyze the human tissue and the consumable container. After the process is complete, the sterile liquid solution is cooled and released in accordance with local environmental regulations. A hot water rinse is then applied to the cremated remains, which are then dried, crushed, pulverized, or ground to facilitate interment or scattering."   (d) The acknowledgment required pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) shall be contained within the cremation authorization and retained as crematory records pursuant to Section 8343.   (c)   (e)  Any person, including any corporation or partnership, knowingly violating any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.  SEC. 12.   Section 7055 of the   Health and Safety Code   is amended to read:  7055. (a) Every person, who for himself or herself or for another person, inters or  incinerates   cremates  a body or permits the same to be done, or removes any  remains, other than cremated remains, from the primary registration district in which the death or  incineration   cremation  occurred or the body was found, except a removal by a funeral director in a funeral director's conveyance or an officer of a duly accredited medical college engaged in official duties with respect to the body of a decedent who has willfully donated his or her body to the medical college from that registration district or county to another registration district or county, or within the same registration district or county, without the authority of a burial or removal permit issued by the local registrar of the district in which the death occurred or in which the body was found; or removes interred human remains from the cemetery in which the interment occurred, or removes cremated remains from the premises on which the cremation occurred without the authority of a removal permit is guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable as follows: (1) For the first offense, by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500). (2) For each subsequent offense, by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 60 days, or by both. (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a funeral director of a licensed out-of-state funeral establishment may transport human remains out of this state without a removal permit when he or she is acting within the requirements specified in subdivision (b) of Section 103050.  SECTION 1.   SEC. 13.  Article 8 (commencing with Section 8365) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 8 of the Health and Safety Code, to read: Article 8. Alkaline Hydrolysis 8365. Not later than July 1, 2011, the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau shall adopt regulations for the safe operation of alkaline hydrolysis chambers.  SEC. 2.   SEC. 14.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.