BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1777|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1777
Author: Ma (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE : 9-0,
6/11/12
AYES: Price, Emmerson, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez, Negrete
McLeod, Strickland, Vargas, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/16/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Disposition of cremated remains
SOURCE : California Funeral Directors Association
DIGEST : This bill authorizes cremated remains to be
transferred from a durable container into a scattering urn,
as defined, no more than seven days before scattering the
cremated remains at sea from a boat.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law, the Business and Professions Code :
1.Licenses and regulates funeral establishments, funeral
directors, embalmers, crematories, crematory managers,
cemeteries, cemetery managers, cemetery brokers, cemetery
salespersons, and cremated remains disposers (CRD) by the
Cemetery and Funeral Bureau (Bureau) within the
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Department of Consumer Affairs.
2.Defines "cremated remains disposer" as a person who, for
his/her own account or for another, disposes of, or
offers to dispose of, cremated human remains by
scattering over land or sea.
3.Requires any person who disposes or offers to dispose of
cremated human remains, to be registered as a CRD with
the Bureau, and exempts from the CRD registration
requirement: licensed cemeteries (certificates of
authority), crematories, funeral directors, cemetery
brokers, cemetery salespersons, and any person with the
right to control disposition of the cremated remains or
that person's designee, provided the designee does not
dispose of more than 10 cremated remains a year.
4.Provides that in order to scatter cremated remains, a CRD
must have specific written instructions from the
individual with the right to control disposition and must
scatter in accordance with those instructions.
5.Provides that the Bureau shall enforce the provisions of
the Health and Safety Code as it pertains to the Bureau's
licensees relating to human remains and the disposition
of human remains.
Existing law, the Health and Safety Code :
1. Defines various terms relating dead bodies, including:
A. "Human remains" or "remains" as the body of a
deceased person, regardless of its stage of
decomposition, and cremated remains.
B. "Cremated remains" as the ashes and bone
fragments of a human body that is left after
cremation in a crematory, and includes ashes from
the cremation container. "Cremated remains" do not
include foreign materials, pacemakers, or
prostheses.
C. "Scattering" as the authorized dispersal of
cremated remains at sea, in other areas of the
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state, or commingling in a defined area within a
dedicated cemetery as specified.
2. Provides that cremated remains may be taken by boat or
by air, and scattered at sea, and specifies that:
A. Cremated remains must be removed from their
container before the remains are scattered at sea.
B. Any person who scatters cremated remains at sea
shall file a copy of a disposition permit with the
local registrar of births and deaths in the county
nearest the point where the remains were scattered
within 10 days of disposition.
C. Scattering at sea cannot take place within 500
yards of the shoreline, and includes the inland
navigable waters of the state. Scattering at sea
does not include lakes and streams, nor does it
include scattering from a bridge or pier.
This bill:
1.Authorizes cremated remains to be transferred from a
durable container into a scattering urn no more than
seven days before scattering the cremated remains at sea
from a boat.
2.Defines "scattering urn" as a closed container containing
cremated remains that will dissolve and release its
contents within four hours of being placed at sea.
3.Provides that the provisions of the bill shall not be
construed to allow the use of a scattering urn when the
cremated remains are to be scattered by a plane over land
or at sea.
Background
Cremation has been a steadily growing choice for consumers
and their families for the disposition of human remains in
California and throughout the United States in recent
years. In fact, cremation is the disposition for nearly
half of all of the approximately 230,000 deaths in
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California each year. Cremation has been a growing choice
for a number of reasons, including: the cost of in-ground
burial and a funeral with embalming; the growing acceptance
of cremation by religious and cultural groups; the desire
to minimize the environmental impact of disposition; the
increased transience of families; and the blending of
diverse ethnicities and cultural backgrounds in which
cremation is accepted.
California law prohibits the cremation of more than one
body at a time in the same cremation chamber (unless
specific written authorization is given by the persons with
the right to control disposition of the bodies involved).
The law further prohibits the co-mingling of cremated
remains after cremation. After cremation has been
completed, human remains are swept from the cremation
chamber, processed to a uniform size, and placed in a
sturdy plastic bag sealed with an identification disk, tab,
or label. The bag is then placed in a durable cremated
remains container. A durable container is container which
is not easily broken, or deteriorated, and that keeps the
cremated remains intact and free from the elements or from
being spilled or lost. Cremated remains may be interred in
a cemetery, or in a mausoleum or niche (a space in a
mausoleum specifically designed to hold cremated remains).
Cremated remains may also be kept in the home of a family
member, or kept in a religious shrine or church. Cremated
remains may be placed in a dedicated scattering garden in a
cemetery, or be scattered on private or public property if
no local prohibition exists and written permission is given
by the property owner.
Cremated remains may also be scattered over land from a
plane, or at sea from a plane or from a boat. The cremated
remains must be removed from the durable container prior to
scattering, and may not be co-mingled together before the
scattering takes place. Current law does not authorize the
use of a "scattering urn" as described by this bill. When
"scattered" the cremated remains are not to be in any
container at all, under California law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 6/13/12)
California Funeral Directors Association (source)
SCI California Funeral Services
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : In sponsoring the bill, the
California Funeral Directors Association believes that
"This legislation will clear up confusion regarding: (1)
When cremated remains can be removed from a durable
container for preparation for disposition at sea.
Obviously, it should be done so that it meets the needs of
the consumer and the industry, but we also do not want
cremated remains deserted in a disposable container. (2)
How long it should take before the disposable container is
absorbed into the water. Again, we are respectful of the
ceremonies surrounding the disposition of cremated remains,
but we have seen instances when the container shows the
capacity for floating for long periods. There should be an
understanding that it will be absorbed into the water and
not be left to float indefinitely."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/16/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Pan, Perea,
V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Davis, Furutani, Halderman,
Norby
JJA:do 6/13/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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