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House committee advances bill to allow coroners to dispose of unclaimed cremated remains
Summary
The Committee of the Whole reported House Bill 2,331 favorably; the bill would create a process for coroners to relinquish custody or dispose of unclaimed cremated remains. Sponsors said Sedgwick County holds over 500 boxes of cremated remains; proponents included regional forensic and county officials.
The Committee of the Whole reported House Bill 2,331 favorably to the full House. The bill would amend laws on coroner procedures to create a process allowing a coroner to relinquish custody of, or dispose of, unclaimed cremated remains, the sponsor told members.
Representative Ward, presenting the bill, said it was introduced at the request of Sedgwick County government and that the county is in possession of "over 500 boxes of cremated remains in storage." He said proponents included the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center and the Sedgwick County Board of County Commissioners; the Kansas Office of Veterans Services provided neutral testimony and one private citizen opposed. The presenter said the committee found no fiscal effect from enacting the bill.
Representative Miller spoke in support on the floor, saying, "This is a good way to kind of clean up some issues that we were having with the ultimate disposition of unclaimed remains so, I urge your support." During debate an unnamed law enforcement chaplain described efforts to secure dignified memorialization for an indigent woman and urged passage, saying that helping find a dignified burial "is an act of supreme dignity." Representative Ward moved that the committee report the bill favorably; the chair stated the motion passed after the ayes were recorded.
The transcript does not record a final House floor roll-call tally for HB 2,331 in the provided segment; the Committee of the Whole recommended the bill be passed and the committee report was later adopted by the House.
