08RS House Bill 295

House Bill 295

Actions

Last Action	posted in committee
Title	AN ACT relating to human remains and burial objects.
Bill Documents	Bill
Impact Statements	Corrections Impact Local Mandate
Bill Request Number	1276
Sponsors	R. Meeks, R. Crimm
Summary of Original Version	Create new sections of KRS Chapter 171 to require persons excavating archaeological sites on private property to obtain a permit from the Kentucky Heritage Council; establish a process by which the landowner shall provide reasonable access to the cemeteries to the descendants and relatives of those buried within; place responsibility on the land owner to maintain the cemetery's integrity; make denial of access to the cemetery a violation; set out a process by which the state shall dispose of human remains within its custody and control; permit a legally recognized tribal government to conduct reinterment ceremonies for Native Americans; require a person who encounters or accidentally disturbs human remains to immediately cease disturbing the ground in the area of the human remains; place responsibility of encountered or accidentally discovered human remains on the cemetery owner or the state and require responsible party to dispose of; require persons wishing to possess human remains or burial objects to obtain a permit from the Office of Vital Statistics and limit possession to teaching, medical, scientific, or training purposes; make unlawful possession of human remains or burial objects a Class A misdemeanor for the first offense and a Class D felony for each subsequent offense; make a person who unlawfully possesses human remains or burial objects to reimburse the state for the cost of properly disposing of the remains and objects; prohibit the excavation of human remains and burial objects; amend KRS 525.105 to delete the requirement that desecration of a venerated object is shown only when one's purpose is commercial gain or exploitation; require that the tools, implements, or vehicles used in desecrating human objects be seized and sold with profits from such sale going to the council; require violator to reimburse the Commonwealth for its costs in properly disposing the human remains and the land owner for damage to the property; amend KRS 525.120 to increase penalty for abuse of a corpse from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony; require human remains possessed or so used to be seized and forfeited to the state; require the violator to reimburse the Commonwealth for the cost of properly disposing the human remains.
Index Headings of Original Version	Corrections Impact - Abuse of a corpse, penalty, increase of Local Mandate - Archaeological sites, family access, landowner compliance, requirement Cemeteries and Burials - Human remains and burial objects, archaeological sites, requirement Crimes and Punishments - Abuse of a corpse, penalty, increase of Embalmers and Funeral Directors - Human remains, Native American, reinterment procedure for Parks and Shrines - Archaeological sites, access permit for, requirement Property - Archaeological sites, family access, landowner compliance, requirement

01/15/08	introduced in House
01/17/08	to Local Government (H)
02/29/08	posted in committee