Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504 adam.c.proffitt@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612 http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam C. Proffitt, Director Laura Kelly, Governor
Division of the Budget
February 21, 2025
The Honorable Tom Kessler, Chairperson
House Committee on Federal and State Affairs
300 SW 10th Avenue, Room 346-S
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Representative Kessler:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for HB 2331 by House Committee on Federal and State Affairs
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning HB 2331 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
HB 2331 would allow a county coroner in possession of cremated remains of a deceased
person to relinquish custody of the remains under the following conditions:
1. No person has claimed the remains within three years;
2. The coroner publishes a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where
the death occurred stating the disposition would occur unless the remains are claimed by
an immediate family member or next of kin within 30 days of publication;
3. No claim is made within the 30-day publication;
If a person who is authorized to take custody of the remains, then the individual would be
required to reimburse the coroner the costs of cremation and any other applicable fees. If no family
or next of kin would claim the remains, the coroner would be able to dispose of the remains by
place the deceased in a church or cemetery plot, a scatter garden, tomb, mausoleum, crypt,
columbarium, or other permanent non-accessible chamber. If the deceased was a veteran, the
coroner would have to relinquish the remains to the Kansas Commission of Veteran’s Affairs
Office or a national cemetery. The bill would specifically state that a coroner would be required
to determine or seek the determination if the deceased individual was a veteran.
The bill would provide that a coroner would not be liable for any costs or damages arising
from the disposition of cremated remains, as outlined in the bill. If property found with the body The Honorable Tom Kessler, Chairperson
Page 2—HB 2331
of a decedent has insubstantial commercial value, the coroner may destroy or dispose of the
property.
The Board of Mortuary Arts and the Kansas Association of Counties indicate that the
enactment of the bill would have no fiscal effect. The Kansas Office of Veterans Services indicates
that in the last three years, the agency was contacted by one county coroner regarding an unclaimed
veteran. The agency claimed the remains with the burial a cemetery of the agency; however, the
coroner’s office did not pass any costs to the agency in this last instance. If a county coroner would
pass costs on to the agency for veterans because of the enactment of HB 2331, the agency estimates
costs per instance from $800 to $3,000, depending on the level of medical exam necessary to
determine the cause of death. Any fiscal effect associated with HB 2331 is not reflected in The
FY 2026 Governor’s Budget Report.
Sincerely,
Adam C. Proffitt
Director of the Budget
cc: J.W. Carey, Board of Mortuary Arts
Jay Hall, Kansas Association of Counties