September 11, 2013, Introduced by Senators CASWELL and PAPPAGEORGE and referred to the Committee on Health Policy.
A bill to amend 1978 PA 368, entitled
"Public health code,"
by amending sections 2652, 2653, 2655, 2656, 2658, and 2659 (MCL
333.2652, 333.2653, 333.2655, 333.2656, 333.2658, and 333.2659),
sections 2652, 2653, 2655, and 2658 as amended by 2006 PA 301, and
by adding section 2652a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2652. (1) The department shall receive dead human bodies
,
or parts of dead human bodies , that are designated
for
scientific
uses and use in this state
or that are referred to it by
the medical examiner under section 2653. The department shall
allocate the bodies or parts described in this subsection to
hospitals
and educational institutions requiring that require them
for use in medical instruction or for the purpose of instruction,
study, and use in the promotion of education in the health sciences
in this state. The department shall keep permanent records of the
receipt, and
disposition allocation, and
final disposition of dead
human bodies and parts of dead human bodies under this section.
(2) The department may designate Michigan state university,
Wayne
state university, or the university of Michigan, or an organ
procurement organization to perform the duties and responsibilities
of this section and sections 2653 to 2663. As used in this
subsection, "organ procurement organization" means that term as
defined in section 10102.
(3)
A If designated under
subsection (2), a university
designated
under subsection (2) may or
organization shall exercise
all of the powers of the department contained in this section and
sections
2653 to 2663. as delegated by the department.
Sec. 2652a. (1) A county medical examiner appointed under 1953
PA 181, MCL 52.201 to 52.216, shall issue a request for proposals
to apply to become a preferred provider under this part for the
county or counties under the medical examiner's jurisdiction. To be
a preferred provider under this part, the entity must be a funeral
establishment licensed under article 18 of the occupational code,
1980 PA 299, MCL 339.1801 to 339.1812. By 60 days after the
effective date of the amendatory act that added this section and
every 3 years after the effective date of the amendatory act that
added this section, the county medical examiner shall notify the
department of all entities that are approved to be a preferred
provider under this section for the county or counties under the
medical examiner's jurisdiction.
(2) By 120 days after the effective date of the amendatory act
that added this section, the department shall establish or contract
to establish the unclaimed body program under this section. The
department shall ensure that the unclaimed body program does all of
the following:
(a) Facilitates the efficient transfer and proper final
disposition of unclaimed bodies in this state.
(b) Refers unclaimed bodies suitable for instruction, study,
or use for allocation to hospitals and educational institutions as
provided in section 2652(1).
(c) If an unclaimed body is not suitable for instruction or
study or is declined for use as provided in subdivision (b),
facilitates the transfer of that unclaimed body to a preferred
provider under this section for final disposition.
(d) Provides notice to the department of human services
whether an unclaimed body is referred for instruction, study, or
use under subdivision (b) or is transferred to a preferred provider
under subdivision (c).
(3) An entity approved to be a preferred provider under this
section shall handle unclaimed bodies and supervise the final
disposition of unclaimed bodies in this state for a cost of no more
than the amount paid by the department of human services for that
disposition.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the
county medical examiner shall allocate unclaimed bodies to
preferred providers in the county or counties under his or her
jurisdiction on a rotational basis. If determined appropriate by
the county medical examiner for the efficient and effective
administration of the unclaimed body program in his or her
jurisdiction, the county medical examiner may allocate an unclaimed
body to a preferred provider regardless of its location in the
rotation.
(5) The county medical examiner may apply for assistance from
the department of human services to implement the requirements of
this section and section 2653.
(6) The county medical examiner's designation of a decedent's
body as an unclaimed body under section 2653 may be relied upon by
the preferred provider handling the unclaimed body and supervising
its final disposition and by the cemetery or crematory conducting
the final disposition.
(7) A county medical examiner, a preferred provider, a funeral
director, a designated hospital or educational institution, or a
cemetery or crematory is not liable for damages arising out of his
or her or its actions taken in an effort to comply with this
section and section 2653.
(8) If the final disposition of an unclaimed body is
cremation, the preferred provider may provide for a proper
disposition of the cremated remains subject to the requirements of
section 1809a of the occupational code, 1980 PA 299, MCL 339.1809a.
(9) An entity approved to be a preferred provider under this
section shall maintain its active establishment license under
section 1806 of the occupational code, 1980 PA 299, MCL 339.1806,
to maintain its eligibility as a preferred provider under this
section. Any change in status of that license revokes that
licensee's preferred provider designation until such time as the
provider is redesignated as a preferred provider under this
section.
Sec. 2653. (1) As used in sections 2652 to 2663, "unclaimed
body" means a dead human body for which the deceased has not
provided a final disposition, for which an estate or assets to
defray
costs of burial final
disposition do not exist, and that is
not
claimed for burial final
disposition by a person, relative, or
court appointed fiduciary who has the right to control final
disposition of the body.
(2)
An A person, including an official of a public institution
or
a state or local officer, who is in charge or control of an a
presumed
unclaimed body which would have to
be buried at public
expense
shall use due diligence to notify the persons with
authority
to control the interment or disposition of the unclaimed
body
under shall refer the matter
to the county medical examiner.
The county medical examiner shall ascertain, in cooperation with
the referring person, whether the decedent's body should be
designated as an unclaimed body. Upon referral, the county medical
examiner shall make a reasonable attempt in good faith to locate an
individual who has the authority to make decisions regarding
funeral arrangements and the handling and disposition of the
decedent's body, as provided in section 3206 of the estates and
protected
individuals code, 1998 PA 386, MCL 700.3206, . If there
is
no person under section 3206 of the estates and protected
individuals
code, 1998 PA 386, MCL 700.3206, to direct the
disposition
of the unclaimed body in a manner other than provided
by
this section and sections 2655 to 2659, the unclaimed body shall
become
available to the department. Upon written request by the
department
for notification concerning unclaimed bodies coming
under
his or her jurisdiction, the officer, for the definite period
specified
in the request of the department, shall notify the
department
by telephone, facsimile, or electronic mail immediately
following
72 hours after death, excluding Sundays and holidays,
stating,
when possible, the name, age, sex, religion, and cause of
death
of the deceased, and shall release the body according to the
regulations
or instructions of the department.including
a
reasonable attempt in good faith to determine if the decedent is
eligible for payment of funeral and burial expenses as an honorably
discharged member of the armed forces of the United States. If
after conducting that reasonable attempt the medical examiner is
unable to locate an individual with final disposition authority,
the medical examiner shall designate the decedent's body as an
unclaimed body.
(3) If the deceased is an honorably discharged member of the
armed forces of the United States, the medical examiner shall
notify and surrender the body to the appropriate personnel. If the
deceased was a member of a religious faith maintaining a benevolent
association
that will provide for the burial of the deceased in
accordance
with pursuant to the tenets of the religion, the
department
medical examiner shall notify the benevolent association
of the death of the deceased by telephone, facsimile, or electronic
mail , and shall surrender the body to the benevolent
association
upon request.
(4) Subject to subsection (5) and in compliance with the
unclaimed body program established under section 2652a, a medical
examiner may refer an unclaimed body suitable for instruction,
study, or use for allocation to a hospital or educational
institution as provided in section 2652(1). Subject to subsection
(5) and in compliance with the unclaimed body program established
under section 2652a, if a body designated as an unclaimed body
under subsection (2) is not suitable for instruction, study, or use
by a hospital or educational institution under section 2652, the
medical examiner shall refer the unclaimed body to a preferred
provider for final disposition as provided in section 2652a. The
county medical examiner shall authorize the final disposition of an
unclaimed body referred under this subsection as provided in
section 3206(8) of the estates and protected individuals code, 1978
PA 386, MCL 700.3206.
(5) A hospital, educational institution, or preferred provider
that receives an unclaimed body under subsection (4) shall hold the
unclaimed body for 30 days, during which period the body is subject
to identification and claim by a person with authority over the
body under section 3206 of the estates and protected individuals
code, 1998 PA 386, MCL 700.3206.
Sec.
2655. An A hospital or
educational institution that
receives
an unclaimed body retained by the
department for
scientific
or educational purposes instruction,
study, or use as
provided
in section 2652(1) shall be embalmed
and disposed of in
accordance
with standards adopted under section 2678. The unclaimed
body
shall be held for 30 days by the person to whom it has been
assigned
for scientific or educational purposes. The body is
subject
during this period to identification and claim by an
authenticated
person with authority over the body under section
3206
of the estates and protected individuals code, 1998 PA 386,
MCL
700.3206, for the purpose of interment or other disposition in
accordance
with the directions of that person.handle
the body in
compliance with the unclaimed body program established under
section 2652a.
Sec.
2656. A person receiving hospital
or educational
institution
that receives an unclaimed body for educational
purposes
instruction, study, or use as
provided in section 2652(1)
shall bear all reasonable expense incurred in the preservation and
transportation
of the unclaimed body. and The
hospital or
educational institution shall keep a permanent record of unclaimed
bodies
received, giving including
the identification number, name,
age, religion, and sex, the place of last residence of the
deceased,
decedent, and the source and disposition, with dates, of
the
unclaimed body. A person receiving hospital or educational
institution
that receives an unclaimed body , or part thereof, of
an
unclaimed body for educational
purposes instruction, study,
or
use
as provided in section 2652(1) shall dispose
of the body in
accordance
with the standards adopted under section 2678.handle the
body in compliance with the unclaimed body program established
under section 2652a.
Sec. 2658. A person, unless specifically authorized by law,
shall
not hold conduct a postmortem examination of an unclaimed
body without the express permission of the director of the
department.
When, through the failure of If
a person fails to
notify
the department medical
examiner of an unclaimed body under
section
2653 or fails to promptly to release
an unclaimed body as
required
by the department, under
this part, and due to that
failure
the body becomes unfit for scientific
or educational
purposes,
instruction, study, or use as
provided in section
2652(1),
the department shall so certify that failure, and the cost
of
the final disposition of the unclaimed
body shall be interred at
the
expense of those the
persons responsible for the
noncompliance.failure.
Sec. 2659. The department may adopt standards pursuant to
section 2678, including standards applicable to the unclaimed body
program established under section 2652a, for the transportation,
reception, preservation, storage, records, and allocation of
unclaimed bodies or parts of unclaimed bodies.