Chapter 369
2009 -- S 0195 SUBSTITUTE B
Enacted 01/05/10
A N A C T
RELATING TO
BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- FUNERAL DIRECTOR/EMBALMER FUNERAL SERVICE
ESTABLISHMENTS
Introduced By: Senators Perry, Jabour, Miller, C Levesque, and Pichardo
Date
Introduced: February 04, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 5-33.2-24 of the General Laws in Chapter
5-33.2 entitled "Funeral
Director/Embalmer Funeral
Service Establishments" is hereby amended to read as follows:
5-33.2-24. Proper
authority for funeral arrangements and disposition of human
remains. --
Every licensed funeral director/embalmer, licensed funeral establishment,
licensed
crematory, and cemetery shall comply with the following rules
with respect to proper authority
for funeral arrangements and disposition of human
remains:
(1) If a licensed
funeral establishment is a party to a funeral services contract, as defined
in section 5-33.1-2, for the benefit of a deceased
person, only when executed by the principal,
him or herself and the contract is still in effect at the
time of that person's death, the terms of that
contract shall control the nature of the funeral goods and
services to be provided, the manner in
which funeral services are to be conducted for the
deceased, and the final disposition of the
deceased person's remains to the full extent provided in that
contract. When the contract is
executed by the principal, him or herself, and specifies
cremation as the chosen disposition, the
contract is considered sufficient legal authorization for
cremation. No licensed funeral
establishment, licensed crematory, or cemetery nor any of its agents
or employees, may cancel or
materially alter any of the arrangements specified in that
contract, even if requested to do so by a
member of the deceased person's family or a funeral planning
agent designated pursuant to
chapter 33.3 of this title unless compliance with the terms
of the original contract would result in
a violation of any applicable federal, state or local
law or regulation, notwithstanding the
provisions of this chapter.
(2) To the extent that
there is no funeral services contract in effect at the time of death
for the benefit of the deceased person, indicating the
wishes of the deceased person with respect
to the nature of the funeral goods and services to be
provided, the manner in which funeral
services are to be conducted, or the final disposition of the
deceased person's remains, then the
funeral establishment and its agents or employees shall
follow the directions of the deceased
person's survivors, in the following order of priority:
(i)
An agent designated pursuant to chapter 33.3 of this title, if any;
(ii) The surviving
spouse or domestic partner of the deceased;
(iii) The surviving
adult children of the deceased;
(iv)
The surviving parent(s) of the deceased;
(v) The surviving
brother(s) or sister(s) of the deceased;
(vi)
The surviving adult grandchildren of the deceased;
(vii) The surviving
adult niece(s) or nephew(s) of the deceased;
(viii) The guardian of
the person of the deceased at the time of his or her death.
(3) All licensed
funeral directors/embalmers, licensed funeral establishments, licensed
crematories, cemeteries, and all their agents and employees shall
be held harmless, and shall not
be subject to civil suit, either as individual(s),
partnership(s), or corporation(s) for complying with
the provisions of this chapter.
(4) For the purpose
of this chapter, "domestic partner" shall be defined as a person who,
prior to the decedent's death, was in an exclusive,
intimate and committed relationship with the
decedent, and who certifies by affidavit that their
relationship met the following qualifications:
(i)
Both partners were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally
competent to
contract;
(ii) Neither partner
is married to anyone else;
(iii) Partners were
not related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in the
state of
(iv)
Partners resided together and had resided together for at least
one year at the time of
death; and
(v) Partners were
financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of the
following:
(A) Domestic
partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(B) Joint mortgage or
joint ownership of primary residence;
(C) Two (2) of the
following:
(I) Joint ownership
of motor vehicle;
(II) Joint checking
account;
(III) Joint credit
account;
(IV) Joint lease;
and/or
(D) The domestic
partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement contract or life insurance.
SECTION 2. Section 23-4-10 of the General Laws in Chapter
23-4 entitled "Office of
State Medical
Examiners" is hereby amended to read as follows:
23-4-10.
Disposition of deceased bodies. – (a) The office of state medical examiners
shall, after any postmortem examination or any autopsy,
promptly release the deceased body to
the relatives or, representatives or
domestic partners of the deceased. The cost of transporting the
deceased body to a mortuary within the state of the relatives'
or domestic partner's choice shall be
borne by the state if the autopsy was required to be
performed as provided in this chapter. If there
are no known relatives or, representatives or
domestic partners, the office of state medical
examiners, after reasonable public notices, shall cause the
body of the deceased person to be
buried. The general treasurer of the state shall have first
priority in recovering the expenses of
burial from the estate of the deceased person.
(b) For the purpose
of this chapter, "domestic partner" shall be defined as a person who,
prior to the decedent's death, was in an exclusive,
intimate and committed relationship with the
decedent, and who certifies by affidavit that their
relationship met the following qualifications:
(1) Both partners
were at least eighteen (18) years of age and were mentally competent to
contract;
(2) Neither partner
is married to anyone else;
(3) Partners were not
related by blood to a degree which would prohibit marriage in the
state of
(4) Partners resided
together and had resided together for at least one year at the time of
death; and
(5) Partners were
financially interdependent as evidenced by at least two (2) of the
following:
(i)
Domestic partnership agreement or relationship contract;
(ii) Joint mortgage
or joint ownership of primary residence;
(iii)
Two (2) of the following:
(A) Joint ownership
of motor vehicle;
(B) Joint checking
account;
(C) Joint credit
account;
(D) Joint lease;
and/or
(iv) The domestic
partner had been designated as a beneficiary for the decedent's
will,
retirement contract or life insurance.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00823/SUB B
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