Introduced Version
House Bill 2420 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2420
(By Delegate Perry)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §9-5-18 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to permitting funeral directors to
decide the type of services that will be rendered for the
amount paid by the Department of Health and Human Resources
for funeral expenses for indigent persons, including
cremation; requiring a funeral director to make a reasonable
effort to give notice to the next of kin if he or she elects
to provide for the disposition of the human remains by
cremation; permitting the funeral director to proceed with
cremation if the next of kin does not pay the difference
between the cost of cremation and the cost of the type of
service the next of kin desires; requiring a funeral director
to execute an affidavit setting forth the efforts made to
notify the next of kin concerning the intent to cremate the
remains of an individual; establishing a criminal penalty for making a false affidavit; and prohibiting a cremation from
taking place sooner than twenty-four hours after the funeral
director has received a body.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §9-5-18 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
§9-5-18. Funeral and cremation expenses for indigent persons;
filing of affidavits to certify indigency and notice
to next of kin; permitting funeral directors to
decide type of service; penalties for false swearing;
payment by division.
(a) The Department of Health and Human Resources shall pay for
reasonable funeral service expenses for indigent persons, in an
amount not to exceed $1,250.
(b) For purposes of this section, the indigency of a deceased
person is determined by the filing of an affidavit with the
department, in a form provided by and determined in accordance with
the income guidelines as set forth by the department: (1) Signed
by the heir or heirs-at-law which states that the estate of the
deceased person is pecuniarily unable to pay the costs associated
with a funeral; or (2) signed by the county coroner or the county
health officer, the attending physician or other person signing the death certificate or the state medical examiner stating that the
deceased person has no heirs or that heirs have not been located
after a reasonable search and that the deceased person had no
estate or the estate is pecuniarily unable to pay the costs
associated with a funeral.
(c) Payment shall be made by the department to the person or
persons who have furnished the services and supplies for the
indigent person's funeral expenses or to the persons who have
advanced payment for same, as the department may determine,
pursuant to appropriations for expenditures made by the Legislature
for such purpose.
(d) For purposes of this section, "reasonable funeral service
expenses" means expenses for services provided by a funeral
director for the disposition of human remains.
(e) (1) A funeral director providing for the disposition of
human remains under this section is permitted to decide the type of
services that will be rendered for the amount paid by the
department, including cremation. If the funeral director elects to
provide for the disposition of the human remains by cremation, a
reasonable effort must be made by the funeral director to give
notice to the next of kin, if any are known. If the next of kin
object to the cremation, the funeral director may proceed with the
cremation only if the next of kin are unwilling or unable to pay
the difference between the cost of cremation and the cost of the type of service the next of kin desire.
__(2) The funeral director shall execute an affidavit setting
forth the efforts made to notify the next of kin concerning the
intent to cremate the remains of an individual. In no event may a
cremation take place sooner than twenty-four hours after the
funeral director receives the body.
(e) (f) Any person who knowingly swears falsely in an affidavit
required by this section shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or confined
in the county or regional jail for a period of not more than six
months, or both fined and confined.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit funeral directors to
decide the type of services that will be rendered for the amount paid
by the Department of Health and Human Resources for funeral expenses
for indigent persons, including cremation. The bill requires a funeral
director to make a reasonable effort to give notice to the next of kin
if he or she elects to provide for the disposition of the human
remains by cremation. The bill permits the funeral director to proceed
with cremation only if the next of kin does not pay the difference
between the cost of cremation and the cost of the type of service the
next of kin desires. The bill requires a funeral director to execute
an affidavit sets forth the efforts made to notify the next of kin
concerning the intent to cremate the remains of an individual. The
bill establishing a criminal penalty for making a false affidavit. The
bill prohibits a cremation from taking place sooner than twenty-four
hours after the funeral director has received a body.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the
present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be
added.