BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 119
                                                                  Page  1


          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 119 (Ron Calderon)
          As Amended  April 8, 2013
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :32-0  
           
           BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS         12-0                  
          APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
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          |Ayes:|Gordon, Jones, Bocanegra, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow,   |
          |     |Campos, Dickinson,        |     |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian  |
          |     |Eggman, Hagman,           |     |Calderon, Campos,         |
          |     |Maienschein, Mullin,      |     |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez,  |
          |     |Skinner, Ting, Wilk       |     |Hall, Holden, Linder,     |
          |     |                          |     |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Authorizes a crematory to incinerate an American flag  
          or flags separately from human remains within one week before or  
          after Memorial Day, Flag Day, or Independence Day, and requires  
          a crematory to maintain a record of all flags incinerated.    
          Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Authorizes a crematory regulated by the Cemetery and Funeral  
            Bureau (Bureau) to cremate an American flag or flags if: 

             a)   Incineration is performed separately from the cremation  
               of human remains; 

             b)   Incineration of the flag or flags is performed in  
               accordance with federal law; and,

             c)   Incineration occurs within one week before or after any  
               of the following days:

               i)     Memorial Day (last Monday in May); 

               ii)    Flag Day (June 14); or, 

               iii)   Independence Day (July 4). 









                                                                  SB 119
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          2)Provides that nothing in this bill shall be construed to  
            restrict or infringe upon any person's right to free  
            expression under the First Amendment to the United States  
            Constitution. 

          3)Requires a crematory that incinerates an American flag or  
            flags to maintain on its premises an accurate record of all  
            cremations performed for at least 10 years, subject to Bureau  
            inspection, and which shall include all the following  
            information: 

             a)   Name of the organization or person requesting  
               incineration of the flag or flags; 

             b)   Date of the incineration of the flag or flags;
              
             c)   Name of the cremation chamber operator; 

             d)   Time and date that the flag or flags were inserted in  
               the cremation chamber; 

             e)   Time and date that the flag or flags were removed from  
               the cremation chamber; 

             f)   Weight of the ashes of the flag or flags after being  
               removed from the cremation chamber; and, 

             g)   Disposition of the ashes of the incinerated flag or  
               flags. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, there are no significant costs associated with this  
          legislation.

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Purpose of this bill  .  State law does not currently permit  
            crematories to incinerate American flags for the purpose of  
            flag disposal, while existing federal law specifies that  
            burning is the preferable means to destroy a flag that is no  
            longer fit for display.  This bill is intended to authorize  
            state crematories to dispose of worn-out flags in a dignified  
            manner.  This bill is author sponsored. 









                                                                  SB 119
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           2)Author's statement  .  According to the author's office,  
            "Service groups and Veteran organizations often collect worn  
            or soiled American flags in an effort to ensure that these  
            flags are disposed of properly.  Typically, damaged flags are  
            collected and burned in a ceremony in conjunction with  
            Memorial Day observances, Flag Day ceremonies, or Independence  
            Day celebrations. The groups' method of disposal usually  
            consists of burning the flags in backyard fire pits, but  
            people have complained about the smoke from open-air burnings  
            and have raised concerns about the overall safety of the  
            practice."  

           3)California cremation requirements  .  AB 598 (Speier), Chapter  
            1332, Statutes of 1993, also known as The Cremation Standards  
            Act (Act), enacted strict procedural rules and  
            responsibilities for crematory operators to guard against the  
            mishandling of human remains.  The Act specifies a crematory  
            may only cremate human remains, along with the cremation  
            container, personal effects of the deceased, and no more than  
            a negligible amount of chlorinated plastic when necessary.  

            Because cremated remains are virtually unidentifiable by  
            family members, the cremation process has great potential for  
            error or abuse by negligent practitioners.  Commingling of  
            cremated remains is another serious concern, as this is  
            considered disrespectful to the dead.  Throughout the  
            cremation process, each dead body must be tracked by the  
            crematory operator and specific information must be entered  
            into the cremation log.  A crematory is required to maintain  
            an accurate cremation log for at least 10 years.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Angela Pontes / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)  
          319-3301


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