§ 40-19-280 — Removal or embalming of body where information discloses death caused by crime or violence; notice to next-of-kin before body sent to funeral establishment; contract to pay insurance or benefits to funeral establishment; interference with public freedom of choice.

(A) No person licensed as a funeral director or embalmer shall remove or embalm a dead human body when the person has information indicating crime or violence of any sort in connection with the cause of death until permission first has been obtained from the coroner or medical examiner or some other qualified person acting in this capacity. (B) No public officer or employee, the official of any public institution, physician, surgeon, or any other person having a professional relationship with a decedent may send or cause to be sent to a funeral establishment or to a person licensed for the practice of funeral service the remains of a deceased person without having first made due inquiry as to the desires of the next of kin and of the persons who may be chargeable with the funeral and expenses of the decedent, such as the person named in the decedent's United States Department of Defense Record of Emergency Data Form (DD Form 93), or its successor form, if the decedent died while serving in any branch of the United States Armed Services, as defined in 10 U.S.C. Section 1481. If any kin is found, authority and directions of the kin govern except in those instances where the deceased made prior arrangements in writing, such as the aforementioned Record of Emergency Data. (C) No company, corporation, or association engaged in the business of paying or providing for the payment of the expenses of the funeral, disposition, or other similar expenses of the deceased members or of certificate holders, or engaged in the business of providing insurance upon the life of an individual, under which an obligation may arise to care for the remains of the insured, shall contract to pay or shall pay insurance or benefits, or part of insurance or benefits, to a funeral establishment, licensee, or individual in a manner which may deprive the representative, next of kin, or family of the deceased person from, or in any way control them in, procuring a funeral establishment, person licensed for the practice of funeral service, or other proper and competent person to perform funeral services and furnish supplies to care for the remains of the decedent. (D) No person licensed as a funeral director or embalmer or anyone acting for a funeral director or embalmer shall have a part in a transaction or business which in any way interferes with the freedom of choice of the general public to choose a person licensed for the practice of funeral service or to choose a funeral establishment except where the body or a part of the body is given for anatomical purposes. (E) It is unlawful for a person, partnership, corporation, or association who has not been licensed or registered as provided for in this chapter to transact, practice, or hold himself out as transacting or practicing funeral service or operating or maintaining a funeral establishment, crematory, or retail sales outlet within this State.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1998 Act No. 380, SECTION 1; 2002 Act No. 322, SECTION 8; 2010 Act No. 221, SECTION 2, eff June 8, 2010. Editor's Note Prior Laws:1955 (49) 550; 1962 Code SECTION 56-673; 1983 Act No. 146, SECTION 1; 1976 Code SECTION 40-19-190. Effect of Amendment The 2010 amendment in subsection (B) added the end of the first sentence, relating to United States Department of Defense Record of Emergency, and in the second sentence, added the reference to Record of Emergency Data.