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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7173
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5194
Referred to Committee on ENVIRONMENT
Introduced by:
(ENV)
AN ACT CONCERNING TERRAMATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) (1) For purposes of this 1
section: 2
(A) "Cemetery corporation" means any corporation formed for the 3
disposal or burial of deceased human beings, by cremation, natural 4
organic reduction or in a grave, mausoleum, vault, columbarium or 5
other receptacle but does not include a family cemetery corporation or 6
a private cemetery corporation. "Cemetery corporation" includes any 7
cemetery, crematory or funeral home; 8
(B) "Holding facility" or "temporary storage area" means any area that 9
(i) is designated for the retention of human remains prior to cremation 10
or natural organic reduction; (ii) complies with all applicable public 11
health laws; (iii) preserves the health and safety of the crematory or 12
natural organic reduction facility personnel; and (iv) is secure from 13
access by anyone other than authorized persons, with the interior of 14
such area not visible from any area accessible to the general public; 15
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(C) "Natural organic reduction permit" means the permit required by 16
the Commissioner of Public Health for disposition of the remains of a 17
deceased human being by natural organic reduction; 18
(D) "Natural organic reduction" means the contained, accelerated 19
conversion of human remains to soil; and 20
(E) "Natural organic reduction facility" means a structure, room or 21
other space in a building or real property where natural organic 22
reduction of a human body occurs. 23
(2) Any cemetery corporation that operates a natural organic 24
reduction facility shall have the following duties and obligations: (A) 25
Each natural organic reduction facility shall be maintained in a clean, 26
orderly and sanitary manner, with adequate ventilation and shall have 27
a temporary storage area available to store the remains of deceased 28
persons pending disposition by natural organic reduction, the interior 29
of which shall not be accessible to the general public; (B) entrances and 30
windows of any natural organic reduction facility shall be maintained 31
at all times in order to secure privacy, including the tight closure of 32
doors, the covering of windows and the provision of locked and secured 33
entrances when not actively attended by authorized natural reduction 34
facility personnel; (C) the natural organic reduction process shall be 35
conducted in privacy and no person except authorized persons of such 36
facility shall be admitted into the reduction area, holding facility or 37
temporary storage facility while the remains of deceased human beings 38
are being naturally organically reduced; and (D) authorized persons, on 39
admittance, shall comply with all rules of the cemetery corporation and 40
not infringe upon the privacy of the remains of any deceased person. 41
For the purposes of this section, "authorized persons" includes (i) 42
licensed, registered funeral directors, registered residents and enrolled 43
students of mortuary science; (ii) officers and trustees of the cemetery 44
corporation; (iii) authorized employees and authorized agents of the 45
cemetery corporation; (iv) public officers acting in the discharge of their 46
duties; (v) authorized instructors of funeral directing schools; (vi) 47
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licensed physicians or nurses; and (vii) members of the immediate 48
family of the deceased person and authorized agents and designated 49
representatives of such immediate family members. 50
(b) No natural organic reduction facility shall naturally organically 51
reduce the remains of any deceased human being without the 52
accompanying natural organic reduction permit, required and 53
prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Health, which shall constitute 54
presumptive evidence of the identity of the deceased person's remains. 55
A natural organic reduction authorization form, prescribed by the 56
Commissioner of Public Health, shall accompany such permit and shall 57
be signed by the immediate family member or authorizing agent who 58
shall attest to the permission for the natural organic reduction of the 59
deceased person and disclose to the natural organic reduction facility 60
whether the body of such deceased person contains a battery, battery 61
pack, power cell, radioactive implant or radioactive device or whether 62
any such material was removed from the deceased person's body prior 63
to the natural organic reduction process. 64
(c) The natural organic reduction process shall not commence until 65
reasonable confirmation of the identity of the deceased person is made. 66
Such proof may be in the form of, but not limited to, a signed affidavit 67
from a licensed physician, a member of the immediate family of the 68
deceased person, an authorizing agent or a court order from the 69
Superior Court. The natural organic reduction facility shall ensure that 70
the identification established by the natural organic reduction permit 71
accompanies the remains of the deceased person during the natural 72
organic reduction process and until the identity of the deceased person 73
is accurately and legibly inscribed on the container in which the remains 74
of the deceased person are temporarily placed. 75
(d) (1) The remains of a deceased person shall be delivered to the 76
natural organic reduction facility in an alternative container or in 77
external wrappings sufficient to contain the remains and that is 78
designed to fully decompose in the natural reduction process. Such 79
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alternative container or external wrappings shall not be opened after 80
delivery of the deceased person's body to the natural organic reduction 81
facility unless there exists good cause to: (A) Confirm the identity of the 82
deceased person, (B) ensure that no material is enclosed that might 83
cause injury to employees of the natural organic reduction facility or 84
damage to property of the natural organic reduction facility, or (C) upon 85
reasonable demand by members of the immediate family or the 86
authorized agent of such immediate family. 87
(2) In any instance in which such alternative container or wrappings 88
are opened after delivery of the deceased person to the natural organic 89
reduction facility, such action shall only be conducted by the licensed 90
funeral director or registered person who delivers the remains of the 91
deceased person. A record shall be made by such natural organic 92
reduction facility, at the time of any such opening, that includes the 93
reason for such action, the signature of the person authorizing such 94
opening and the names of any person who opens such container or 95
wrappings and the witness to such opening. Any such record shall be 96
retained in the permanent files of the natural organic reduction facility. 97
Any such opening of such container or wrappings shall be conducted in 98
the presence of a witness and shall comply with any rule or regulation 99
prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Health that is intended to 100
protect the integrity of the deceased person's remains and the health and 101
safety of natural organic reduction facility personnel. 102
(e) Whenever the remains of a deceased person are to be delivered to 103
a natural organic reduction facility in a casket that is not to be naturally 104
organically reduced with the deceased person, written notice of such 105
fact shall be made by the person responsible for the funeral 106
arrangements of the deceased person to the natural organic reduction 107
facility. Such written notice shall indicate that prior to natural organic 108
reduction, the remains of the deceased person are to be transferred to an 109
alternative container. The natural organic reduction facility shall retain 110
such written notice in the permanent records of such facility. 111
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(f) (1) The remains of a deceased person shall not be removed from 112
the casket, alternative container or external wrappings in which they 113
were delivered to the natural organic reduction facility unless a signed 114
authorization is provided by the person responsible for making funeral 115
arrangements for such deceased person or by a public officer 116
discharging his or her statutory duty. Such signed authorization shall 117
be retained in the permanent records of such natural organic reduction 118
facility. 119
(2) Whenever the remains of a deceased person are to be transferred 120
to an alternative container, such transfer shall be conducted in privacy 121
and with dignity and respect for such remains by the licensed funeral 122
director or registered person who delivered such remains. Such transfer 123
shall comply with all rules and regulations of the Department of Public 124
Health that are intended to protect the dignity of the deceased person's 125
remains and the health and safety of the natural organic reduction 126
facility personnel. 127
(g) No person shall commingle or place the naturally organically 128
reduced remains of more than one deceased person in a reduction 129
container at any one time except upon provision of a signed 130
authorization provided by the person responsible for making the 131
funeral arrangements for the deceased person and the signed approval 132
of the natural organic reduction facility. Such authorizations and 133
approvals shall be retained in the permanent records of the natural 134
organic reduction facility. 135
(h) (1) Upon the completion of the natural organic reduction of the 136
remains of a deceased person, the interior of the natural organic 137
reduction container shall be thoroughly swept or otherwise cleaned so 138
as to render the natural organic reduction container reasonably free of 139
all matter. The contents of such reduction container shall be placed into 140
an individual container and not commingled with other remains. The 141
natural organic reduction permit shall be attached to the individual 142
container in preparation for final processing. 143
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(2) Use of a magnet and sieve, or other appropriate method of 144
separation, may be used to divide such remains from unrecognizable 145
incidental or foreign material. 146
(3) Any incidental or foreign material of the natural organic reduction 147
process shall be disposed of in a safe manner in compliance with all 148
sanitary rules and regulations of the Commissioner of Public Health for 149
such by-products. 150
(4) Such remains shall be pulverized until no single fragment is 151
recognizable as skeletal tissue and such pulverized remains shall be 152
transferred to a container or to multiple containers, if so requested in 153
writing by the person responsible for making the funeral arrangements 154
for the deceased person. Any such container shall have inside 155
dimensions of suitable size to contain such naturally organically 156
reduced remains and shall be accurately and legibly labeled with the 157
name of the person whose remains are contained therein, in a manner 158
as prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Health. 159
(i) (1) Upon completion of the natural organic reduction process, the 160
cemetery corporation shall notify the person responsible for making the 161
funeral arrangements for such deceased person that the natural organic 162
reduction process is complete and that the remains are prepared to be 163
disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. The 164
person responsible for making the funeral arrangements for such 165
deceased person shall be responsible for the final disposition of such 166
remains. Such remains shall be disposed of through the scattering of 167
such remains in a designated scattering garden or area in a cemetery or, 168
by prior authorization by the cemetery corporation, by placing such 169
remains in a grave, crypt or niche, or retention of such remains, 170
pursuant to prior authorization, by the person responsible for making 171
the funeral arrangements for such deceased person. Such remains shall 172
not be recoverable once they are scattered or interred. No such remains 173
shall be utilized or sold for any purpose related to the development of 174
direct-to-consumer food sales. 175
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(2) If, after a period of more than sixty days after the date of the 176
completion of the natural organic reduction process, the person 177
responsible for the funeral arrangements for the deceased person has 178
not instructed the cemetery corporation to arrange for the final 179
disposition of the remains or claimed the remains, the cemetery 180
corporation may dispose of such remains in any manner prescribed by 181
this subsection. The cemetery corporation shall keep a permanent 182
record identifying the site of final disposition for any such remains. The 183
person responsible for the funeral arrangements for such deceased 184
person shall be responsible for reimbursing the cemetery corporation 185
for all reasonable expenses incurred for the disposing of such remains 186
in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. After the 187
disposition of such remains, the cemetery corporation shall be 188
discharged from any legal obligation or liability concerning the remains. 189
(3) Unless the person responsible for making the funeral 190
arrangements for such deceased person provides written permission, no 191
person shall place remains of more than one person in the same 192
temporary container or urn. 193
(j) Any employee of a natural organic reduction facility who is 194
responsible for conducting the daily operations of the natural organic 195
reduction process shall be certified by an organization approved by the 196
Commissioner of Public Health. Proof of such certification shall be 197
posted in the natural organic reduction facility and available for 198
inspection at any time. Any new employee of a natural organic 199
reduction facility required to be certified pursuant to this subsection 200
shall be certified not later than one year after commencement of such 201
employment. Any employee of a natural organic reduction facility 202
required to be certified pursuant to this subsection and employed by 203
such facility prior to the effective date of this section shall be certified 204
not later than one year after such effective date. Such certification shall 205
be completed every five years from the date of such certification. 206
(k) (1) Any cemetery corporation that seeks approval to operate a 207
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natural organic reduction facility shall submit for approval by the 208
Commissioner of Public Health the following: 209
(A) A list of the directors, employees and certificate holders of the 210
cemetery corporation; 211
(B) A certified survey of the site and location where such facility will 212
be located; 213
(C) A business plan for the operation of the natural organic reduction 214
facility that includes, but is not limited to, the number of expected 215
natural organic reductions per year, the number of natural organic 216
reduction units to be used, all manufacturing, capital costs and 217
financing, the anticipated number of employees, the types of services 218
provided and pricing thereof; 219
(D) A description of the impact of the proposed natural organic 220
reduction facility on other natural organic reduction facilities, if any, 221
within the county where such facility is located; 222
(E) Plans, designs and costs of any structures to be erected or 223
retrofitted for the natural organic reduction facility use; 224
(F) A description of any other approvals or permits required by state 225
law or municipal ordinance; and 226
(G) A one-hundred-fifty-dollar inspection fee. 227
(2) The commissioner shall not approve any natural organic 228
reduction facility that does not have all other approvals or permits. The 229
commissioner may request from such applicant any additional 230
information or documentation and technical assistance deemed 231
necessary to review such information. Such information shall not be 232
deemed complete until any requested additional information has been 233
received by the commissioner. The commissioner shall approve or deny 234
the proposed natural organic reduction facility not later than ninety 235
days after completion of the submission of all information by written 236
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notice. If the commissioner denies any application for such a facility, 237
such written notice shall state the reasons for such denial. 238
(l) The Department of Public Health shall have authority to take all 239
necessary measures to secure and protect the integrity of any human 240
remains that are subject to such natural organic reduction processes 241
when any facility that conducts such processes discontinues operations 242
or provides notice to such department of an intent to discontinue such 243
operations. 244
(m) Not later than October 1, 2026, the Commissioner of Public 245
Health shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of 246
chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the provisions of this 247
section. Such regulations shall take effect not later than January 1, 2027. 248
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2025 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To authorize the use of terramation for the final disposition of human
remains.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]