Public Act 0338 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB1703 Enrolled LRB096 03472 RPM 13496 b

Public Act 096-0338

AN ACT concerning public health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by changing Section 11.4 as follows:

(210 ILCS 85/11.4)

Sec. 11.4. Disposition of fetus. A hospital having custody of a fetus following a spontaneous fetal demise occurring after a gestation period of less than 20 completed weeks must notify the mother of her right to arrange for the burial or cremation of the fetus. Notification may also include other options such as, but not limited to, a ceremony, a certificate, or common burial or cremation of fetal tissue. If, within 24 hours after being notified under this Section, the mother elects in writing to arrange for the burial or cremation of the fetus, the disposition of the fetus shall be subject to the same laws and rules that apply in the case of a fetal death that occurs in this State after a gestation period of 20 completed weeks or more. The Department of Public Health shall develop forms to be used for notifications and elections under this Section and hospitals shall provide the forms to the mother.

(Source: P.A. 92-348, eff. 1-1-02.)

Section 10. The Crematory Regulation Act is amended by changing Section 35 as follows:

(410 ILCS 18/35)

Sec. 35. Cremation procedures.

(a) Human remains shall not be cremated within 24 hours after the time of death, as indicated on the Medical Examiner's/Coroner's Certificate of Death. In any death, the human remains shall not be cremated by the crematory authority until a cremation permit has been received from the coroner or medical examiner of the county in which the death occurred and the crematory authority has received a cremation authorization form, executed by an authorizing agent, in accordance with the provisions of Section 15 of this Act. In no instance, however, shall the lapse of time between the death and the cremation be less than 24 hours, unless (i) it is known the deceased has an infectious or dangerous disease and that the time requirement is waived in writing by the medical examiner or coroner where the death occurred or (ii) because of a religious requirement.

(b) Except as set forth in subsection (a) of this Section, a crematory authority shall have the right to schedule the actual cremation to be performed at its own convenience, at any time after the human remains have been delivered to the crematory authority, unless the crematory authority has received specific instructions to the contrary on the cremation authorization form.

(c) No crematory authority shall cremate human remains when it has actual knowledge that human remains contain a pacemaker or any other material or implant that may be potentially hazardous to the person performing the cremation.

(d) No crematory authority shall refuse to accept human remains for cremation because such human remains are not embalmed.

(e) Whenever a crematory authority is unable or unauthorized to cremate human remains immediately upon taking custody of the remains, the crematory authority shall place the human remains in a holding facility in accordance with the crematory authority's rules and regulations. The crematory authority must notify the authorizing agent of the reasons for delay in cremation if a properly authorized cremation is not performed within any time period expressly contemplated in the authorization.

(f) A crematory authority shall not accept a casket or alternative container from which there is any evidence of the leakage of body fluids.

(g) The casket or the alternative container shall be cremated with the human remains or destroyed, unless the crematory authority has notified the authorizing agent to the contrary on the cremation authorization form and obtained the written consent of the authorizing agent.

(h) The simultaneous cremation of the human remains of more than one person within the same cremation chamber, without the prior written consent of the authorizing agent, is prohibited except for common cremation pursuant to Section 11.4 of the Hospital Licensing Act. Nothing in this subsection, however, shall prevent the simultaneous cremation within the same cremation chamber of body parts delivered to the crematory authority from multiple sources, or the use of cremation equipment that contains more than one cremation chamber.

(i) No unauthorized person shall be permitted in the holding facility or cremation room while any human remains are being held there awaiting cremation, being cremated, or being removed from the cremation chamber.

(j) A crematory authority shall not remove any dental gold, body parts, organs, or any item of value prior to or subsequent to a cremation without previously having received specific written authorization from the authorizing agent and written instructions for the delivery of these items to the authorizing agent. Under no circumstances shall a crematory authority profit from making or assisting in any removal of valuables.

(k) Upon the completion of each cremation, and insofar as is practicable, all of the recoverable residue of the cremation process shall be removed from the cremation chamber.

(l) If all of the recovered cremated remains will not fit within the receptacle that has been selected, the remainder of the cremated remains shall be returned to the authorizing agent or the agent's designee in a separate container. The crematory authority shall not return to an authorizing agent or the agent's designee more or less cremated remains than were removed from the cremation chamber.

(m) A crematory authority shall not knowingly represent to an authorizing agent or the agent's designee that a temporary container or urn contains the cremated remains of a specific decedent when it does not.

(n) Cremated remains shall be shipped only by a method that has an internal tracing system available and that provides a receipt signed by the person accepting delivery.

(o) A crematory authority shall maintain an identification system that shall ensure that it shall be able to identify the human remains in its possession throughout all phases of the cremation process.

(Source: P.A. 92-675, eff. 7-1-03.)

Section 15. The Vital Records Act is amended by adding Section 21.5 as follows:

(410 ILCS 535/21.5 new)

Sec. 21.5. Group burial; group cremation. Notwithstanding Sections 20 and 21 of this Act, a permit for a group burial or group cremation under Section 11.4 of the Hospital Licensing Act may be issued without a fetal death certificate. The Department shall adopt rules to implement this Section.