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Committee allows counties option to cremate indigent remains, requires coroner consultation
Summary
The committee passed a substitute for Senate Bill 37 to amend KRS 72.450 to let fiscal courts or other paying authorities choose cremation for indigent burials, and added a requirement to consult the county coroner. Jewish leaders told the committee they would offer to cover burial costs for indigent Jewish decedents.
A committee substitute for Senate Bill 37 that would give fiscal courts and other local paying authorities the option to cremate the remains of indigent decedents cleared the committee after debate on religious, logistical and timing issues.
State Senator Greg Hawkins, the bill sponsor, told the committee the proposal would amend KRS 72.450 to allow counties that now must bury indigent decedents to choose cremation instead. "This bill gives them the option to cremate that person, and the Senate committee sub also requires the fiscal court or the person who bears the burden of payment to consult with the coroner in the county before making that decision," Hawkins said.
Hawkins said he had consulted with members of the Jewish…
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