Kansas bill would set licensing and safety rules for terramation

The bill would provide for terramation at licensed facilities, with licensed operators performing the process. Each facility would need a state license, and its operator in charge would need an operator license. Operator applicants would need approved training. Facilities would have to meet applicable local and state building, zoning, and environmental rules. The operator in charge would also need a funeral director license unless the facility receives bodies only through licensed funeral establishments or branches. The Kansas university medical center would be exempt when terramating donated remains for dissection, demonstration, or teaching. The proposed act would take effect after publication in the statute book if enacted.

Before terramating a body, operators would need signed authorization and any required coroner's permit. The rules would apply to each body sent for terramation in Kansas. The form would have to be signed by someone legally allowed to choose the body's final care. A body with a potentially hazardous implant could not be terramated until the implant was removed. The authorizing agent would have to disclose any known implant and ensure its removal before delivery. The required documents would have to be received before each terramation.

Facilities would have to identify and safely pack remains, and get written consent from the deceased person's legal next of kin before recycling leftover materials. The facility's identification and packing duties would cover the remains throughout processing and when returned or shipped. Written permission from all authorizing agents would be needed to terramate more than one body in the same chamber. Recycling would have to follow state and federal law. These duties would apply during and after each terramation if the proposed act took effect.