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Sub. H. B. No. 481 As Passed by the HouseAs Passed by the House
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Beck, Grossman, Boose, Wachtmann, Henne, Slaby, L., Combs, Adams, R., Boyd, Bubp, Buchy, Carney, Damschroder, Gardner, Garland, Gerberry, Goodwin, Hall, Hayes, Kozlowski, Letson, Mallory, McClain, Milkovich, Newbold, Thompson, Yuko Speaker Batchelder
A BILL
To amend sections 4717.05, 4717.06, 4717.10, 4717.11,
4717.12, 4717.21, 4717.24, and 4717.30 of the
Revised Code to authorize the Board of Embalmers
and Funeral Directors to issue courtesy licenses
to allow funeral directors in bordering states to
conduct limited funeral-related activities in
Ohio; to permit embalmers and funeral directors to
place their licenses on inactive status; to
clarify that, upon the sale of the funeral home,
the home may remain operating based upon a
submission of a new license application to the
Board; to permit out-of-state funeral directors
without a license to work with licensed funeral
directors during a declared disaster or emergency;
and to eliminate the requirement that funeral
homes be the guarantor of the identity of
decedents and instead require funeral homes to
complete only visual identification of remains.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4717.05, 4717.06, 4717.10, 4717.11,
4717.12, 4717.21, 4717.24, and 4717.30 of the Revised Code be
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4717.05. (A) Any person who desires to be licensed as
an embalmer shall apply to the board of embalmers and funeral
directors on a form provided by the board. The applicant shall
include with the application an initial license fee as set forth
in section 4717.07 of the Revised Code and evidence, verified by
oath and satisfactory to the board, that the applicant meets all
of the following requirements:
(1) The applicant is at least eighteen years of age and of
good moral character.
(2) If the applicant has pleaded guilty to, has been found by
a judge or jury to be guilty of, or has had a judicial finding of
eligibility for treatment in lieu of conviction entered against
the applicant in this state for aggravated murder, murder,
voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault, kidnapping, rape,
sexual battery, gross sexual imposition, aggravated arson,
aggravated robbery, or aggravated burglary, or has pleaded guilty
to, has been found by a judge or jury to be guilty of, or has had
a judicial finding of eligibility for treatment in lieu of
conviction entered against the applicant in another jurisdiction
for a substantially equivalent offense, at least five years has
elapsed since the applicant was released from incarceration, a
community control sanction, a post-release control sanction,
parole, or treatment in connection with the offense.
(3) The applicant holds at least a bachelor's degree from a
college or university authorized to confer degrees by the Ohio
board of regents or the comparable legal agency of another state
in which the college or university is located and submits an
official transcript from that college or university with the
application.
(4) The applicant has satisfactorily completed at least
twelve months of instruction in a prescribed course in mortuary
science as approved by the board and has presented to the board a
certificate showing successful completion of the course. The
course of mortuary science college training may be completed
either before or after the completion of the educational standard
set forth in division (A)(3) of this section.
(5) The applicant has registered with the board prior to
beginning an embalmer apprenticeship.
(6) The applicant has satisfactorily completed at least one
year of apprenticeship under an embalmer licensed in this state
and has assisted that person in embalming at least twenty-five
dead human bodies.
(7) The applicant, upon meeting the educational standards
provided for in divisions (A)(3) and (4) of this section and
completing the apprenticeship required in division (A)(6) of this
section, has completed the examination for an embalmer's license
required by the board.
(B) Upon receiving satisfactory evidence verified by oath
that the applicant meets all the requirements of division (A) of
this section, the board shall issue the applicant an embalmer's
license.
(C) Any person who desires to be licensed as a funeral
director shall apply to the board on a form provided by the board.
The application shall include an initial license fee as set forth
in section 4717.07 of the Revised Code and evidence, verified by
oath and satisfactory to the board, that the applicant meets all
of the following requirements:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (D) of this
section, the applicant has satisfactorily met all the requirements
for an embalmer's license as described in divisions (A)(1) to (4)
of this section.
(2) The applicant has registered with the board prior to
beginning a funeral director apprenticeship.
(3) The applicant, following mortuary science college
training described in division (A)(4) of this section, has
satisfactorily completed a one-year apprenticeship under a
licensed funeral director in this state and has assisted that
person in directing at least twenty-five funerals.
(4) The applicant has satisfactorily completed the
examination for a funeral director's license as required by the
board.
(D) In lieu of mortuary science college training required for
a funeral director's license under division (C)(1) of this
section, the applicant may substitute a satisfactorily completed
two-year apprenticeship under a licensed funeral director in this
state assisting that person in directing at least fifty funerals.
(E) Upon receiving satisfactory evidence that the applicant
meets all the requirements of division (C) of this section, the
board shall issue to the applicant a funeral director's license.
(F) A funeral director or embalmer may request the funeral
director's or embalmer's license be placed on inactive status by
submitting to the board a form prescribed by the board and such
other information as the board may request. A funeral director or
embalmer may not place the funeral director's or embalmer's
license on inactive status unless the funeral director or embalmer
is in good standing with the board and is in compliance with
applicable continuing education requirements. A funeral director
or embalmer who is granted inactive status is prohibited from
participating in any activity for which a funeral director's or
embalmer's license is required in this state. A funeral director
or embalmer who has been granted inactive status is exempt from
the continuing education requirements under section 4717.09 of the
Revised Code during the period of the inactive status.
(G) A funeral director or embalmer who has been granted
inactive status may not return to active status for at least two
years following the date that the inactive status was granted.
Following a period of at least two years of inactive status, the
funeral director or embalmer may apply to return to active status
upon completion of all of the following conditions:
(1) The funeral director or embalmer files with the board a
form prescribed by the board seeking active status and provides
any other information as the board may request;
(2) The funeral director or embalmer takes and passes the
Ohio laws examination for each license being activated;
(3) The funeral director or embalmer pays a reactivation fee
to the board in the amount of one hundred forty dollars for each
license being reactivated.
(H) As used in this section:
(1) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in
section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Post-release control sanction" has the same meaning as
in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4717.06. (A)(1) Any person who desires to obtain a
license to operate a funeral home, embalming facility, or
crematory facility shall apply to the board of embalmers and
funeral directors on a form provided by the board. The application
shall include the initial license fee set forth in section 4717.07
of the Revised Code and proof satisfactory to the board that the
funeral home, embalming facility, or crematory facility is in
compliance with rules adopted by the board under section 4717.04
of the Revised Code, rules adopted by the board of building
standards under Chapter 3781. of the Revised Code, and all other
federal, state, and local requirements relating to the safety of
the premises.
(2) If the funeral home, embalming facility, or crematory
facility to which the license application pertains is owned by a
corporation or limited liability company, the application shall
include the name and address of the corporation's or limited
liability company's statutory agent appointed under section
1701.07 or 1705.06 of the Revised Code or, in the case of a
foreign corporation, the corporation's designated agent appointed
under section 1703.041 of the Revised Code. If the funeral home,
embalming facility, or crematory facility to which the application
pertains is owned by a partnership, the application shall include
the name and address of each of the partners. If, at any time
after the submission of a license application or issuance of a
license, the statutory or designated agent of a corporation or
limited liability company owning a funeral home, embalming
facility, or crematory facility or the address of the statutory or
designated agent changes or, in the case of a partnership, any of
the partners of the funeral home, embalming facility, or crematory
facility or the address of any of the partners changes, the
applicant for or holder of the license to operate the funeral
home, embalming facility, or crematory facility shall submit
written notice to the board, within thirty days after the change,
informing the board of the change and of any name or address of a
statutory or designated agent or partner that has changed from
that contained in the application for the license or the most
recent notice submitted under division (A)(2) of this section.
(B)(1) The board shall issue a license to operate a funeral
home only for the address at which the funeral home is operated.
The funeral home license and licenses of the embalmers and funeral
directors employed by the funeral home shall be displayed in a
conspicuous place within the funeral home.
(2) The funeral home shall have on the premises one of the
following:
(a) If embalming will take place at the funeral home, an
embalming room that is adequately equipped and maintained. The
embalming room shall be kept in a clean and sanitary manner and
used only for the embalming, preparation, or holding of dead human
bodies. The embalming room shall contain only the articles,
facilities, and instruments necessary for those purposes.
(b) If embalming will not take place at the funeral home, a
holding room that is adequately equipped and maintained. The
holding room shall be kept in a clean and sanitary manner and used
only for the preparation, other than embalming, and holding of
dead human bodies. The holding room shall contain only the
articles and facilities necessary for those purposes.
(3) Except as provided in division (B) of section 4717.11 of
the Revised Code, a funeral home shall be established and operated
only under the name of a holder of a funeral director's license
issued by the board who is actually in charge of and ultimately
responsible for the funeral home, and a funeral home license shall
not include directional or geographical references in the name of
the funeral home. The holder of the funeral home license shall be
a funeral director licensed under this chapter who is actually in
charge of and ultimately responsible for the funeral home. Nothing
in division (B)(3) of this section prohibits the holder of a
funeral home license from including directional or geographical
references in promotional or advertising materials identifying the
location of the funeral home.
(4) Each funeral home shall be directly supervised by a
funeral director licensed under this chapter, who shall supervise
only one funeral home.
(C)(1) The board shall issue a license to operate an
embalming facility only for the address at which the embalming
facility is operated. The license shall be displayed in a
conspicuous place within the facility.
(2) The embalming facility shall be adequately equipped and
maintained in a sanitary manner. The embalming room at such a
facility shall contain only the articles, facilities, and
instruments necessary for its stated purpose. The embalming room
shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition and used only for
the care and preparation of dead human bodies.
(3) An embalming facility license shall be issued only to an
embalmer licensed under division (B) of section 4717.05 of the
Revised Code, who is actually in charge of the facility.
(D)(1) The board shall issue a license to operate a crematory
facility only for the address at which the crematory facility is
located and operated. The license shall be displayed in a
conspicuous place within the crematory facility.
(2) The crematory facility shall be adequately equipped and
maintained in a clean and sanitary manner. The crematory shall
contain only the articles, facilities, and instruments necessary
for carrying out the business of the crematory. The crematory
shall contain a separate area for the performance of cremation and
pulverization of dead human bodies, human body parts, and animals.
The crematory facility may be located in a funeral home, embalming
facility, cemetery building, or other building in which the
crematory facility may lawfully operate. If a crematory facility
engages in the cremation of animals, the crematory facility shall
cremate animals in a cremation chamber that also is not used to
cremate dead human bodies or human body parts and shall not
cremate animals in a cremation chamber used for the cremation of
dead human bodies and human body parts. Cremation chambers that
are used for the cremation of dead human bodies or human body
parts and cremation chambers used for the cremation of animals may
be located in the same area.
(3) A license to operate a crematory facility shall be issued
to a the person actually in charge of the crematory facility. This
section does not require the individual who is actually in charge
of the crematory facility to be an embalmer or funeral director
licensed under this chapter.
(4) Nothing in this section or rules adopted under section
4717.04 of the Revised Code precludes the establishment and
operation of a crematory facility on or adjacent to the property
on which a cemetery, funeral home, or embalming facility is
located.
Sec. 4717.10. (A) The board of embalmers and funeral
directors may recognize licenses issued to embalmers and funeral
directors by other states, and upon presentation of such licenses,
may issue to the holder an embalmer's or funeral director's
license under this chapter. The board shall charge the same fee as
prescribed in section 4717.07 of the Revised Code to issue or
renew such an embalmer's or funeral director's license. Such
licenses shall be renewed annually as provided in section 4717.08
of the Revised Code. The board shall not issue a license to any
person under this section unless the applicant proves that the
applicant, in the state in which the applicant is licensed, has
complied with requirements substantially equal to those
established in section 4717.05 of the Revised Code.
(B) The board of embalmers and funeral directors may issue
courtesy cards. A courtesy cardholder shall be authorized to
undertake both the following acts in this state:
(1) Prepare and complete those sections of a death
certificate and other permits needed for disposition of deceased
human remains in this state and sign and file such death
certificates and permits;
(2) Supervise and conduct funeral ceremonies and interments
in this state.
(C) The board of embalmers and funeral directors may
determine under what conditions a courtesy card may be issued to
funeral directors in bordering states after taking into account
whether and under what conditions and fees such border states
issue similar courtesy cards to funeral directors licensed in this
state. Applicants for courtesy cards shall apply on forms
prescribed by the board, pay an annual fee set by the board for
initial applications and renewals, and adhere to such other
requirements imposed by the board on courtesy cardholders.
(D) No courtesy cardholder shall be authorized to undertake
any of the following activities in this state:
(1) Arranging funerals or disposition services with members
of the public in this state;
(2) Be employed by or under contract to a funeral home
licensed in this state to perform funeral services in this state;
(3) Advertise funeral or disposition services in this state;
(4) Enter into or execute funeral or disposition contracts in
this state;
(5) Prepare or embalm deceased human remains in this state;
(6) Arrange for or carry out the disinterment of human
remains in this state.
(E) As used in this section, "courtesy card" means a special
permit that may be issued to a funeral director licensed in a
state that borders this state and who does not hold a funeral
director's license under this chapter.
Sec. 4717.11. (A) A person who is licensed to operate a
funeral home shall obtain a new license upon any change in
location of the funeral home or any change in ownership of the
funeral business that owns the funeral home that results in a
majority of the ownership of the funeral business being held by
one or more persons who solely or in combination with others did
not own a majority of the funeral business immediately prior to
the change in ownership. The person licensed to operate the
funeral home shall surrender the current license to the board
within thirty days after any such change occurs. If a funeral home
is sold, the new
owner funeral director who will be actually in
charge and ultimately responsible for the funeral home shall apply
for a license within thirty days after the date of the closing of
the purchase of the funeral home. Upon the filing of an
application for a funeral home license by a licensed funeral
director, the funeral home may continue to operate until the board
denies the funeral home's application.
(B) When the funeral director who is licensed to operate a
funeral home dies or otherwise ceases to operate the home because
of death, resignation, employment termination, sale of the funeral
home, or any other reason, the funeral home may continue to
operate under that person's name, provided that the name of the
new person licensed to operate the funeral home is added to the
license within twenty-four months after the previous license
holder dies or otherwise ceases to operate the funeral home. The
new licensee shall meet the requirements of section 4717.06 of the
Revised Code.
(C) A person who is licensed to operate an embalming facility
shall obtain a new license upon any change in location of the
embalming facility or any change in ownership of the business
entity that owns the embalming facility that results in a majority
of the ownership of the business entity being held by one or more
persons who solely or in combination with others did not own a
majority of the business entity immediately prior to the change in
ownership. The person licensed to operate the facility shall
surrender the current license to the board within thirty days
after any such change occurs.
(D) A person who is licensed to operate a crematory facility
shall obtain a new license upon any change in location of the
crematory facility or any change in ownership of the business
entity operating the facility that results in a majority of the
ownership of the business entity being held by one or more persons
who solely or in combination with others did not own a majority of
the business entity immediately prior to the change in ownership.
The person licensed to operate the crematory facility shall
surrender the current license to the board within thirty days
after any such change occurs.
Sec. 4717.12. (A) The following persons are exempt from the
provisions of this chapter:
(1) An officer or employee of the department of health or any
board of health, who, in compliance with rules or orders of the
department of health or board of health, is preparing the body of
a person whose death was caused by a virulent communicable
disease;
(2) An officer, employee, or licensed physician of a medical
college, when any of these are acting on behalf of a medical
college;
(3) Any person carrying out sections 1713.34 to 1713.39 of
the Revised Code, prescribing the conditions under which the
bodies of indigent persons are held subject for anatomical study;
(4) Any person licensed in another state as a funeral
director or embalmer who is assisting a funeral director or
embalmer licensed under this chapter during a disaster or an
emergency in the state that has been declared by this state or a
political subdivision.
(B) This chapter does not prevent or interfere with any of
the following:
(1) The ceremonies, customs, religious rights, or religion of
any people, denomination, or sect;
(2) Any religious denomination or sect, or any body composed
of members of a denomination;
(3) Any church or synagogue committee in preparing dead human
bodies for burial;
(4) The conducting of funerals and the burial of dead human
bodies in accordance with the ceremonies or rights described in
division (B) of this section without the use, employment, or
supervision of a licensed embalmer or funeral director, except
when the body is that of a person whose death was caused by a
virulent communicable disease, in which case the rules of the
department of health or board of health having territorial
jurisdiction shall apply.
Sec. 4717.21. (A) Any person, on an antemortem basis, may
serve as the person's own authorizing agent, authorize the
person's own cremation, and specify the arrangements for the final
disposition of the person's own cremated remains by executing an
antemortem cremation authorization form. A guardian, custodian, or
other personal representative who is authorized by law or contract
to do so on behalf of a person, on an antemortem basis, may
authorize the cremation of the person and specify the arrangements
for the final disposition of the person's cremated remains by
executing an antemortem cremation authorization form on the
person's behalf. Any such antemortem cremation authorization form
also shall be signed by one witness. The original copy of the
executed authorization form shall be sent to the operator of the
crematory facility being authorized to conduct the cremation, and
a copy shall be retained by the person who executed the
authorization form. The person who executed an antemortem
cremation authorization form may revoke the authorization at any
time by providing written notice of the revocation to the operator
of the crematory facility named in the authorization form. The
person who executed the authorization form may transfer the
authorization to another crematory facility by providing written
notice to the operator of the crematory facility named in the
original authorization of the revocation of the authorization and,
in accordance with this division, executing a new antemortem
cremation authorization form authorizing the operator of another
crematory facility to conduct the cremation.
(B)(1) Each antemortem cremation authorization form shall
specify the final disposition that is to be made of the cremated
remains.
(2) Every antemortem cremation authorization form entered
into on or after the effective date of this amendment shall
specify the final disposition that is to be made of the remains
and shall include a provision in substantially the following form:
NOTICE: Upon the death of the person who is the subject of
this antemortem cremation authorization, the person holding the
right of disposition under section 2108.70 or 2108.81 of the
Revised Code may cancel the cremation arrangements, modify the
arrangements for the final disposition of the cremated remains, or
make alternative arrangements for the final disposition of the
decedent's body. However, the person executing this antemortem
cremation authorization is encouraged to state his or her
preferences as to the manner of final disposition in a declaration
of the right of disposition pursuant to section 2108.72 of the
Revised Code, including that the arrangements set forth in this
form shall be followed.
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section,
when the operator of a crematory facility is in possession of a
cremation authorization form that has been executed on an
antemortem basis in accordance with this section, the other
conditions set forth in division (A) of section 4717.23 of the
Revised Code have been met, the crematory facility has possession
of the decedent to which the antemortem authorization pertains,
and the crematory facility has received payment for the cremation
of the decedent and the final disposition of the cremated remains
of the decedent or is otherwise assured of payment for those
services, the crematory facility shall cremate the decedent as
directed and dispose of the cremated remains in accordance with
the instructions contained in the antemortem cremation
authorization form.
(2) A person with the right of disposition for a decedent
under section 2108.70 or 2108.81 of the Revised Code who is not
disqualified under section 2108.75 of the Revised Code may cancel
the arrangements for the decedent's cremation, modify the
arrangements for the final disposition of the decedent's cremated
remains, or make alternative arrangements for the final
disposition of the decedent's body. If a person with the right
takes any such action, the operator shall disregard the
instructions contained in the antemortem cremation authorization
form and follow the instructions of the person with the right.
(D) An antemortem cremation authorization form executed under
division (A) of this section does not constitute a contract for
conducting the cremation of the person named in the authorization
form or for the final disposition of the person's cremated
remains. Despite the existence of such an antemortem cremation
authorization, a person identified under division (A) of section
4717.22 of the Revised Code as being entitled to act as the
authorizing agent with the right of disposition for the cremation
of the a decedent named in the antemortem authorization, in the
descending order of priority in which they are listed, under
section 2108.70 or 2108.81 of the Revised Code may modify, in
writing, the arrangements for the final disposition of the
cremated remains of the decedent set forth in the authorization
form or may cancel the cremation and claim the decedent's body for
purposes of making alternative arrangements for the final
disposition of the decedent's body. The revocation of an
antemortem cremation authorization form executed under division
(A) of this section, or the cancellation of the cremation of the
person named in the antemortem authorization or modification of
the arrangements for the final disposition of the person's
cremated remains as authorized by this division, does not affect
the validity or enforceability of any contract entered into for
the cremation of the person named in the antemortem authorization
or for the final disposition of the person's cremated remains.
(E) Nothing in this section applies to any antemortem
cremation authorization form executed prior to the effective date
of this section. Any cemetery, funeral home, crematory facility,
or other party may specify, with the written approval of the
person who executed the antemortem authorization, that such an
antemortem authorization is subject to sections 4717.21 to 4717.30
of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4717.24. (A) A cremation authorization form authorizing
the cremation of a dead human body, other than one that was
donated to science for purposes of medical education or research,
shall include at least all of the following information and
statements:
(1) The identity of A statement that the decedent has been
identified in accordance with division (B) of this section;
(2) The name of the funeral director or other individual who
obtained the burial or burial-transit permit authorizing the
cremation of the decedent;
(3) The name of the authorizing agent and the relationship of
the authorizing agent to the decedent;
(4) A statement that the authorizing agent in fact has the
right to authorize cremation of the decedent and that the
authorizing agent does not have actual knowledge of the existence
of any living person who has a superior priority right to act as
the authorizing agent under section 4717.22 of the Revised Code.
If the person executing the cremation authorization form knows of
another living person who has such a superior priority right, the
authorization form shall include a statement indicating that the
person executing the authorization form has made reasonable
efforts to contact the person having the superior priority right
and has been unable to do so and that the person executing the
authorization form has no reason to believe that the person having
the superior priority right would object to the cremation of the
decedent.
(5) A statement of whether the authorizing agent has actual
knowledge of the presence in the decedent of a pacemaker,
defibrillator, or any other mechanical or radioactive device or
implant that poses a hazard to the health or safety of personnel
performing the cremation;
(6) A statement indicating the crematory facility is to
cremate the casket or alternative container in which the decedent
was delivered to or accepted by the crematory facility;
(7) A statement of whether the crematory facility is
authorized to simultaneously cremate the decedent in the same
cremation chamber with one or more other decedents who were
related to the decedent named in the cremation authorization form
by consanguinity or affinity or who, at any time during the
one-year period preceding the decedent's death, lived with the
decedent in a common law marital relationship or otherwise
cohabited with the decedent. A cremation authorization form
executed under this section shall not authorize the simultaneous
cremation of a decedent in the same cremation chamber with one or
more other decedents except under the circumstances described in
the immediately preceding sentence.
(8) The names of any persons designated by the authorizing
agent to be present in the holding facility or cremation room
prior to or during the cremation of the decedent or during the
removal of the cremated remains from the cremation chamber;
(9) The authorization for the crematory facility to cremate
the decedent and to process or pulverize the cremated remains as
is the practice at the particular crematory facility;
(10) A statement of whether it is the crematory facility's
practice to return all of the residue removed from the cremation
chamber following the cremation or to separate and remove foreign
matter from the residue before returning the cremated remains to
the authorizing agent or the person designated on the
authorization form to receive the cremated remains pursuant to
division (A)(11) of this section;
(11) The name of the person who is to receive the cremated
remains of the decedent from the crematory facility;
(12) The manner in which the final disposition of the
cremated remains of the decedent is to occur, if known. If the
cremation authorization form does not specify the manner of the
final disposition of the cremated remains, it shall indicate that
the cremated remains will be held by the crematory facility for
thirty days after the cremation, unless, prior to the end of that
period, they are picked up from the crematory facility by the
person designated on the cremation authorization form to receive
them, the authorizing agent, or, if applicable, the funeral
director who obtained the burial or burial-transit permit for the
decedent, or are delivered or shipped by the operator of the
crematory facility to one of those persons. The authorization form
shall indicate that if no instructions for the final disposition
are provided on the authorization form and that if no arrangements
for final disposition have been made within the thirty-day period,
the crematory facility may return the cremated remains to the
authorizing agent. The authorization form shall further indicate
that if no arrangements for the final disposition of the cremated
remains have been made within sixty days after the completion of
the cremation and if the authorizing agent has not picked them up
or caused them to be picked up within that period, the operator
may dispose of them in accordance with division (C) of section
4717.27 of the Revised Code.
(13) A listing of the items of value to be delivered to the
crematory facility along with the dead human body, if any, and
instructions regarding how those items are to be handled;
(14) A statement of whether the authorizing agent has made
arrangements for any type of viewing of the decedent or for a
service with the decedent present prior to the cremation and, if
so, the date, time, and place of the service;
(15) A statement of whether the crematory facility may
proceed with the cremation at any time after the conditions set
forth in division (A) of section 4717.23 of the Revised Code have
been met and the decedent has been received at the facility;
(16) The certification of the authorizing agent to the effect
that all of the information and statements contained in the
authorization form are accurate;
(17) The signature of a funeral director licensed under this
chapter, or another individual, as a witness. If a licensed
funeral director signs the authorization form as a witness, the
funeral director is responsible for verifying the accuracy of the
information and statements required under divisions (A)(1) and (2)
of this section, but is not responsible for verifying the accuracy
of any of the other information or statements provided on the
authorization form by the authorizing agent, unless the funeral
director has actual knowledge to the contrary regarding any of the
other information or statements. In addition, at the time the
decedent is delivered to the crematory facility, the funeral
director shall certify that the dead human body delivered to the
crematory facility is that of the decedent identified on the
authorization form and shall certify that the responsibility
imposed on the funeral director by division (B) of section 4717.29
of the Revised Code has been carried out. If an individual other
than a licensed funeral director signs the authorization form as a
witness, the individual is not responsible for the accuracy of any
of the information or statements provided on the authorization
form, unless the individual has actual knowledge to the contrary
regarding any of the information or statements provided by the
authorizing agent and the signature of at least one witness who
observed the authorizing agent execute the cremation authorization
form.
(B) In making the identification of the decedent required by
division (A)(1) of this section, the funeral home arranging the
cremation shall require the authorizing agent or the agent's
appointed representative to visually identify the decedent's
remains or a photograph or other visual image of the remains. If
identification is by photograph or other visual image, the
authorizing agent or representative shall sign the photograph or
other visual image. If visual identification is not feasible,
other positive identification of the decedent may be used
including, but not limited to, reliance upon an identification
made through the coroner's office or identification of photographs
or other visual images of scars, tattoos, or physical deformities
taken from the decedent's remains.
(C) An authorizing agent who is not available to execute a
cremation authorization form in person may designate another
individual to serve as the authorizing agent by providing to the
operator of the crematory facility where the cremation is to occur
a written designation, acknowledged before a notary public or
other person authorized to administer oaths, authorizing that
other individual to serve as the authorizing agent, or by sending
to the operator a facsimile transmission of the written
designation that has been so acknowledged. Any such written
designation shall contain the name of the decedent, the name and
address of the authorizing agent, the relationship of the
authorizing agent to the decedent, and the name and address of the
individual who is being designated to serve as the authorizing
agent. Upon receiving such a written designation or a facsimile
transmission of such a written designation, the operator shall
permit the individual named in the written designation to serve as
the authorizing agent and to execute the cremation authorization
form authorizing the cremation of the decedent named in the
written designation.
(C)(D) An authorizing agent who signs a cremation
authorization form under this section is hereby deemed to warrant
the accuracy of the information and statements contained in the
such authorization form, including the person's
identification of
the decedent and the agent's authority to authorize the cremation.
A funeral home and its employees are not responsible for verifying
the accuracy of any information or statements the authorizing
agent made on the authorization form, unless the funeral home or
its employees have actual knowledge to the contrary regarding any
such information or statement. When delivering the decedent's
remains to a crematory facility or in carrying out the disposition
in its own facility, the funeral home is responsible for having
the decedent identified pursuant to division (B) of this section
and carrying out the obligations imposed on the funeral home by
division (B) of section 4717.29 of the Revised Code.
(D)(E) At any time after executing a cremation authorization
form and prior to the beginning of the cremation process, the
authorizing agent who executed the cremation authorization form
under division (A) or (B)(C) of this section may, in writing,
modify the arrangements for the final disposition of the cremated
remains of the decedent set forth in the authorization form or
may, in writing, revoke the authorization, cancel the cremation,
and claim the decedent's body for purposes of making alternative
arrangements for the final disposition of the decedent's body. The
operator of a crematory facility shall cancel the cremation if the
operator receives such a revocation before beginning the
cremation.
(E)(F) A cremation authorization form executed under this
section does not constitute a contract for conducting the
cremation of the decedent named in the authorization form or for
the final disposition of the cremated remains of the decedent. The
revocation of a cremation authorization form or modification of
the arrangements for the final disposition of the cremated remains
of the decedent pursuant to division
(D)(E) of this section does
not affect the validity or enforceability of any contract for the
cremation of the decedent named in the authorization form or for
the final disposition of the cremated remains of the decedent.
Sec. 4717.30. (A) The operator of a crematory facility or a
funeral director is not liable in damages in a civil action for
any of the following actions or omissions, unless the actions or
omissions were made with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a
wanton or reckless manner or unless any of the conditions set
forth in divisions (B)(1) to (3) of this section apply:
(1)(a) For having arranged or performed the cremation of the
decedent, or having released or disposed of the cremated remains,
in accordance with the instructions set forth in the cremation
authorization form executed by the decedent on an antemortem basis
under section 4717.21 of the Revised Code;
(b) Having For having arranged or performed the cremation of
the decedent or body parts removed from the decedent or living
person or having released or disposed of the cremated remains in
accordance with the instructions set forth in a cremation
authorization form executed in person by the person authorized to
serve as the authorizing agent for the cremation of the decedent
or for the cremation of body parts of the decedent or living
person, named in the cremation authorization form executed under
section 4717.24 or 4717.25 of the Revised Code.
(2) Having For having arranged or performed the cremation of
the decedent, or having released or disposed of the cremated
remains, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the
cremation authorization form executed by a designated agent under
division (B)(C) of section 4717.24 of the Revised Code.
(B) The operator of a crematory facility is not liable in
damages in a civil action for refusing to accept a dead human body
or body parts or to perform a cremation under any of the following
circumstances, unless the refusal was made with malicious purpose,
in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner:
(1) The operator has actual knowledge that there is a dispute
regarding the cremation of the decedent or body parts, until such
time as the operator receives an order of the
probate court of
common pleas having jurisdiction ordering the cremation of the
decedent or body parts or until the operator receives from the
parties to the dispute a copy of a written agreement resolving the
dispute and authorizing the cremation to be performed.
(2) The operator has a reasonable basis for questioning the
accuracy of any of the information or statements contained in a
cremation authorization form executed under section 4717.21,
4717.24, or 4717.25 of the Revised Code, as applicable, that
authorizes the cremation of the decedent or body parts.
(3) The operator has any other lawful reason for refusing to
accept the dead human body or body parts or to perform the
cremation.
(C) The operator of a crematory facility or a funeral
director is not liable in damages in a civil action for refusing
to release or dispose of the cremated remains of a decedent or
body parts when the operator or funeral director has actual
knowledge that there is a dispute regarding the release or final
disposition of the cremated remains in connection with any damages
sustained, prior to the time the operator or funeral director
receives an order of the probate court of common pleas having
jurisdiction ordering the release or final disposition of the
cremated remains, or prior to the time the facility operator or
funeral director receives from the parties to the dispute a copy
of a written agreement resolving the dispute and authorizing the
cremation to be performed.
(D) The operator of a crematory facility is not liable in
damages in a civil action in connection with the cremation of, or
disposition of the cremated remains of, any dental gold, jewelry,
or other items of value delivered to the facility with a dead
human body or body parts, unless either or both of the following
apply:
(1) The cremation authorization form authorizing the
cremation of the decedent or body parts executed under section
4717.21, 4717.24, or 4717.25 of the Revised Code, as applicable,
contains specific instructions for the removal or recovery and
disposition of any such dental gold, jewelry, or other items of
value prior to or after the cremation, and the operator has failed
to comply with the written instructions.
(2) The actions or omissions of the operator were made with
malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless
manner.
(E)(1) This section does not create a new cause of action
against or substantive legal right against the operator of a
crematory facility or a funeral director.
(2) This section does not affect any immunities from civil
liability or defenses established by another section of the
Revised Code or available at common law to which the operator of a
crematory or a funeral director may be entitled under
circumstances not covered by this section.
Section 2. That existing sections 4717.05, 4717.06, 4717.10,
4717.11, 4717.12, 4717.21, 4717.24, and 4717.30 of the Revised
Code are hereby repealed.
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