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The
following bills were sent to the Governor and were signed into law
during the recent legislative session.
AB
1139, Thomson:
Death Certificates - Chapter 827 Signed
by Governor 9/23/02
This
law will require that a certificate of death include information
indicating whether the decedent was pregnant at the time of death or
within the year prior to the death if known. It will not require a
pregnancy test nor a review of medical records to determine pregnancy.
AB
2550, Nation:
Electronic Death Registration - Chapter
857 Signed by Governor 9/25/02
This
law will require that on or before January 1, 2005, the CA Department of
Health Services implement an Internet-based electronic death
registration system for the creation, storage and transfer of death
registration information.
In
addition, beginning January 1, 2003, an applicant for a permit for the
disposition of human remains will pay a fee of six dollars to the local
registrar of births and deaths. Effective January 1, 2005, this fee will
be reduced to $4. The funds will be used to implement and maintain the
electronic death registration system.
AB
2778, Calderon:
Annuities for the payment of funeral and burial
expenses -
Chapter 347, Signed by Governor 8/31/02
This
law will require that the initial face value of an annuity purchased for
the future payment of funeral and burial expenses be increased from
$10,000 to $15,000.
SB
17, Figueroa:
Cemeteries, Human remains - Chapter 819
Signed by Governor 9/23/02
Effective
July 1, 2003, this law will:
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Require
all cemeteries for which a certificate of authority is required and
all crematories that are licensed, to be supervised by a manager
that has passed a written examination;
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Require
the bureau to inspect the books, records, and premises of any
cemetery for which a certificate of authority from the bureau is
required including access to all books, records, buildings,
mausoleums, columbariums, and storage areas during specified times;
and
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Requires
that the bureau conduct at least one annual unannounced
inspection of a cemetery for which a certificate of authority is
required.
This
bill would prohibit a person from engaging in the business of, acting
as, or advertising as, a cemetery or crematory manager without a license
from the bureau, effective July 1, 2003
The
law redefines the penalty as greater than a misdemeanor by specifying
that punishment be up to one year in county jail or up to $10,000 fine
or both:
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For
depositing or disposing of human remains except in a cemetery;
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For
failing to inter a corpse within a reasonable period;
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For
failing to furnish or to furnishing false information affecting
specified certificates or records; and
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To
willfully alter or knowingly possess altered documents or to falsify
a birth certificate, death certificate, or marriage certificate.
SB
1455, Johannessen:
Northern CA Veterans Cemetery - Chapter
502, Signed by Governor 9/12/02
This
law authorizes the state Department of Veteran Affairs to apply for a
grant of not more than $7 million from the federal Department of
Veterans Affairs to develop a Northern California Veterans Cemetery.
SB
1952, Figueroa:
Cemetery and Funeral Bureau - Chapter
825, Signed by Governor 9/23/02
This
law implements the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Sunset
Review Committee. The law will continue to allow for the ongoing review
of the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau by the Joint Legislative Review
Committee. The law also:
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Requires
the cemetery to provide a copy of the consumer guide to the consumer
prior to drafting a contract with the consumer;
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Increases
the delinquency fee for failure to renew a cemetery or crematory
license by 150%;
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Requires
exempt funeral establishments to file an annual declaration of
non-reporting status;
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Requires
the bureau to conduct a comprehensive study on the need to regulate
3rd party casket retailers;
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Requires
the bureau to conduct a study on the need for regulation of
proprietary employees of religious
corporations, churches, religious societies and religious
denominations;
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Defines
cemetery manager as someone who is maintaining, operating or
improving a cemetery and defines a licensing process for cemetery
managers;
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Defines
crematory manager as someone who is maintaining or operating a
crematory for the cremation of human remains and defines a licensing
process for crematory managers;
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Requires
a licensed cemetery to employ and designate a cemetery manager
(cemeteries within close geographical
proximity may share a cemetery manager;)
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Extends
the $8.50 burial, entombment, inurnment fee and cremation fee until
December 31, 2007; and
- Changes
the examination fee from the Bureau’s actual costs to no more than
$500 for the crematory manager exam and $900 for the cemetery
manager exam.
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