BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1615 (Miller) - Human remains.
Amended: August 6, 2012 Policy Vote: EQ 7-0 B,P&ED 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 6, 2012 Consultant:
Bob Franzoia
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1615 would require the Cemetery and Funeral
Bureau to license and regulate hydrolysis facilities and
hydrolysis facility managers and would enact requirements
substantially similar to crematoria.
Fiscal Impact: $50,000 to $100,000 in 2012-13 and 2013-14 from
the General Fund to adopt rules and regulations for hydrolysis
facilities and managers.
Minor, if any, fee revenue to the Cemetery Fund initially
or annually.
Minor costs to certified unified program agencies, offset
by exiting fee authority.
Background: As noted in the Environmental Quality Committee
analysis, alkaline hydrolysis is a process by which human or
animal tissue can be dissolved into their chemical components.
The process involves subjecting the body to a basic, or
alkaline, solution and is typically accomplished by immersing
the body in a solution with a high concentration of potassium
hydroxide. Hydroxide is able to react with and break down (or
hydrolyze) the organic material, including fats, carbohydrates,
proteins, and nucleic acids, that make up our body into their
simpler components, namely amino acids and peptides, sugars,
fatty acids and nucleotides. Although alkaline conditions will
break down organic material without applied heat, increasing the
temperature significantly increases the rate of decomposition.
Some hydrolysis vessels use applied pressure to increase the
temperature to nearly double that of the normal boiling point of
water and can therefore accomplish complete dissolution of
tissue within two to three hours. After the effluent from the
hydrolysis procedure is drained, nonhydrolyzable bone fragments
are recovered, rinsed and subsequently pulverized into a powder
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that can be disposed of in a manner analogous to cremated
remains.
Business and Professions Code 9764.1 provides that the fee for a
crematory manager examination and reexamination may not exceed
$500 and the license and renewal fee may not $100. Business and
Professions Code 9786 provides every crematory licensee
operating a crematory shall pay an annual regulatory charge for
each crematory, to be fixed by the bureau at not more than $400.
This bill provides that the fee to take an exam to become a
licensed hydrolysis facility manager or to obtain or renew a
license shall not exceed the reasonable cost of the exam or the
licensure administration.
Further, this bill adds Business and Professions Code 9789.5 (d)
which provides an applicant shall pay the Cemetery Fund the sum
fixed by the bureau at not in excess of the reasonable cost of
investigation or $400 to defray the expenses of the
investigation and in the event the sum shall be insufficient,
provide the authority to increase that fee to not more than
$900. A hydrolysis facility licensee shall pay an annual
regulatory fee not to exceed $400.
These fee levels are insufficient to fund the bureau's costs
associated with adopting rules and regulations or reimbursing
state agencies for their costs in assisting with the adoption of
rules and regulations regarding minimum system requirements.
Proposed Law: This bill would require that fees paid to finance
hydrolysis facility regulation be deposited in the Cemetery
Fund. By depositing moneys in a continuously appropriated fund,
this bill makes an appropriation.
By expanding the definition of crimes related to the disposal of
human remains and creating new crimes, this bill would impose a
state mandated local program. This is a non reimbursable
mandate.
Staff Comments: This bill is proposing to use moneys from fees
for purposes beyond the reasonable cost of regulation. The
bureau, primarily a licensing entity, does not have the
technical expertise in the area of water quality regulation and
toxic or hazardous material regulation. The bureau will likely
need to contract for that expertise in order to (1) develop
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documentation necessary for a hydrolysis facility applicant to
prove compliant with all applicable environmental rules and
regulations and (2) adopt rules and regulations regarding
minimum system requirements for allowable hydrolysis chambers
including, but not limited to, the pH range that the chamber
must be fully compatible with, the minimum temperature that the
chamber must be able reach, and the duration of time that the
chamber must be able to sustain that temperature for the
complete destruction of pathogens.
If there is opposition to or at least concern about the process
from fee payers, special fund state agencies may experience
protest over the use of regulatory funds for the workload
associated with adopting rules and regulations regarding minimum
system requirement for allowable hydrolysis chambers.
Recommended Amendments: To resolve the conflict between the
statutorily restricted fees, which generally apply to and
reflect bureau regulatory workload, and the unique permitting
requirements of hydrolysis facilities, staff recommends this
bill be amended to authorize the bureau to charge fees on a one
time basis sufficient to recover its costs.