Senate Bill sb1868

    Florida Senate - 2002                                  SB 1868

    By Senator Peaden





    1-1519-02                                               See HB

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to unclaimed bodies; amending

  3         s. 245.06, F.S.; providing procedures for

  4         disposition of unclaimed bodies of veterans;

  5         providing an effective date.

  6

  7  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  8

  9         Section 1.  Section 245.06, Florida Statutes, is

10  amended to read:

11         245.06  Unclaimed dead bodies or human remains;

12  disposition, procedure.--All public officers, agents, or

13  employees of every county, city, village, town, or

14  municipality and every person in charge of any prison, morgue,

15  hospital, funeral parlor, or mortuary and all other persons

16  coming into possession, charge, or control of any dead human

17  body or remains which are is unclaimed or which are is

18  required to be buried or cremated at public expense are hereby

19  required to notify, immediately, the anatomical board,

20  whenever any such body, or bodies, or remains come into its

21  possession, charge, or control. Notification of the anatomical

22  board is not required if the death was caused by crushing

23  injury, the deceased had a contagious disease, an autopsy was

24  required to determine cause of death, the body was in a state

25  of severe decomposition, or a family member objects to use of

26  the body for medical education and research.

27         (1)  The person or entity in charge or control of the

28  dead body or human remains shall make a reasonable effort to

29  determine:

30

31

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2002                                  SB 1868
    1-1519-02                                               See HB




  1         (a)  The identity of the deceased person body and shall

  2  further make a reasonable effort to contact any relatives of

  3  such deceased person.

  4         (b)  Whether or not the deceased person is entitled to

  5  burial in a national cemetery as a veteran of the armed forces

  6  and, if so, the funeral home shall make arrangements for such

  7  burial services. For purposes of this subsection "a reasonable

  8  effort" includes contacting the county veterans service office

  9  or regional office of the United States Department of Veterans

10  Affairs.

11         (2)  Such dead human bodies as described in this

12  chapter shall be delivered to the anatomical board as soon as

13  possible after death.

14         (3)  Nothing herein shall affect the right of a medical

15  examiner to hold such dead body or remains for the purpose of

16  investigating the cause of death, nor shall this chapter

17  affect the right of any court of competent jurisdiction to

18  enter an order affecting the disposition of such body or

19  remains.

20

21  For purposes of this chapter, the term "anatomical board"

22  means the anatomical board of this state located at the

23  University of Florida Health Science Center.

24         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

25  law.

26

27            *****************************************

28                          HOUSE SUMMARY

29
      With respect to unclaimed bodies, requires that a
30    reasonable effort be made to determine if the deceased
      person is a veteran of the armed forces and, if so, that
31    arrangements be made for proper burial services.

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.