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An Act Regarding Permits for Final Disposition of Dead Human Bodies
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §2843, sub-§§2 and 3, as amended by PL 2009, c. 601, §27, are further amended to read:
 
2. Permit for disinterment or removal.   A dead human body may not be disinterred or removed from any vault or tomb until the person in charge of the disinterment or removal has obtained a permit from the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or from the clerk of the municipality where the dead human body is buried or entombed. The permit must be issued upon receipt of a notarized application signed by the next of kin of the deceased who verifies that the signer is the closest surviving known relative and, wherewhen any other family member of equal or greater legal or blood relationship or a domestic partner of the decedent also survives, that all such persons are aware of, and do not object to, the disinterment or removal. Nothing contained in thisThis subsection precludesdoes not preclude a court of competent jurisdiction from ordering or enjoining disinterment or removal pursuant to section 3029 or in other appropriate circumstances. For purposes of this subsection, "domestic partner" means one of 2 unmarried adults who are domiciled together under long-term arrangements that evidence a commitment to remain responsible indefinitely for each other's welfare.
 
3. Permit for burial.   The person in charge of each burying ground or crematory in this State shall endorse, and provide the date the body was disposed of on, each such permit with which that person is presented, and return it to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or to the clerk of the municipality in which such burying ground or crematory is located within 7 days after the date of disposition. If there is no person in charge of the burying ground, an official of the municipality in which the burying ground is located shall endorse, and provide the date the body was disposed of on, each such permit, and present it to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or the clerk of the municipality. The funeral director or authorized person shall present a copy of each permit, after endorsement, to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or the clerk of the municipality where death occurred and to the clerk who issued the permit.
 
SUMMARY
This bill adds the State Registrar of Vital Statistics as a source for obtaining the disposition permit required for transportation, burial, cremation or other disposal of a dead human body after a body is disinterred or removed from a vault or tomb. Currently, the law allows only municipal clerks to issue disposition permits when a body is disinterred or removed. The bill also requires a person in charge of burial grounds or a crematory to add the date that body was disposed of on the disposition permit and return the permit to the registrar or the clerk of the municipality.