Committee approves bill extending time before embalming or refrigeration to 48 hours

Representative John Holcomb presented House Bill 13‑22 to the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, asking the panel to extend from 24 to 48 hours the period before a dead body must be embalmed or refrigerated whether it will be buried or cremated. Holcomb said the change responds to logistical challenges, including short winter daylight and limited cooler capacity at small funeral homes.

Audrey Coleman, director of communications for Aurora, the state’s organ procurement organization, urged an amendment to protect registered donors. ``A decedent's body must be refrigerated within 12 hours of death to ensure that tissue and ocular recovery can start by the 24th hour of death,'' Coleman told the committee, and asked that registered organ, tissue or ocular donor cases be refrigerated immediately so donation can proceed.

Senator Davis asked whether county coroners opposed the bill; Holcomb said coroners told him the bill gave them more time for investigations and did not object. Other members expressed concern that allowing a body to remain unrefrigerated for 48 hours could pose public‑health risks when refrigeration is unavailable. Senator Sullivan and others raised the possibility that smaller funeral homes would face unfunded mandates if required to obtain cooling equipment.

Holcomb said he had discussed the change with the state board for embalming and funeral directors, who preferred a legislative change rather than a rules change. He also said the House previously approved the bill overwhelmingly.

The committee did not adopt the donor exception on the floor. After public comment and questions, Representative Holcomb closed and the committee made a motion to pass the bill; the measure was approved by voice vote.

Next steps: HB 13‑22 now moves to the full chamber process for further consideration, and sponsors indicated they would accept downstream amendments to address Aurora's tissue‑donation concerns.