Looks like the General Assembly has been pretty busy with respect to House Bill 1241. I've not been feeling well for the past several weeks and haven't kept track of the Bill's progress some some time. I was pretty surprised to see tonight that HB 1241 passed the House on 2/4/2002, was referred to the Senate and, on 2/21/2002, received a "do pass" recommendation from the Senate Committee on Natural Resources. If the Bill passes the Senate, is then ratified by the House and signed by the Governor, it will become law on 7/1/2002. Though the language might be easier to follow in the PDF version, here's the relevant portion of the bill: IC 23-14-57-1 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2002]: SECTION 1. (a) As used in this section, "removed" refers to the disinterment, disentombment, or disinurnment of the remains of a deceased human. (b) Except as provided in subsection (e), the remains, either cremated or uncremated, of a deceased human shall not be removed from a cemetery without: (1) a written order of issued by the state department of health; (2) the written consent of: (A) the owner of the cemetery; or (B) the owner's representative; and (3) the written consent of: (A) the spouse of the deceased; or (B) the parents of the deceased in the case of a deceased minor child; or a court order; authorizing the disinterment, disentombment, or disinurnment. (c) Before issuing a written authorization under subsection (b), the state department of health shall do the following: (1) Obtain written evidence of the legal ownership of the property from which the remains will be removed. (2) Send written notice to the department of natural resources, division of historic preservation and archeology, of the time, date, and place from which the remains will be removed. (3) Obtain written evidence that a licensed funeral director has agreed to: (A) be present at the removal and at the reinterment, reentombment, or reinurnment of the remains; and (B) cause the completed order of the state department of health to be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county where the removal occurred. (4) Obtain written evidence that a notice of the proposed removal has been published at least five (5) days before a written order is issued by the state department of health in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the removal will occur. (5) Obtain a copy of: (A) the written consent required under subsection (b)(3); or (B) a court order obtained by a person under subsection (d). (d) If the written consent of: (1) the spouse of the deceased; or (2) the parents of the deceased in the case of a deceased minor; is not available, a person who has made a request under this section to the state department of health may petition a court to determine whether to waive the consent requirement of subsection (b)(3). In determining whether to waive the requirement, the court shall consider the viewpoint of any issue (as defined in IC 29-1-1-3) of the deceased. In a proceeding under this subsection, the court may not order the disinterment, disentombment, or disinurnment of the remains of a deceased human. (e) This subsection applies only if the human remains are on property owned or leased by a coal company. The remains, either cremated or uncremated, of a deceased human may be removed from a cemetery by a coal company if the coal company obtains a court order authorizing the disinterment, disentombment, or disinurnment. Before issuing a court order under this subsection, a court must conduct a hearing and be satisfied as to the following: (1) That the property is owned or leased by the coal company. (2) That the coal company has obtained the written consent of: (A) the spouse of the deceased; or (B) the parents of the deceased in the case of a deceased minor child; authorizing the disinterment, disentombment, or disinurnment. If the consent is not available, the court may waive the requirement after considering the viewpoint of any issue {decendants} (as defined in IC 29-1-1-3) of the deceased. (3) That the department of natural resources, division of historic preservation and archeology, has received at least five (5) days written notice of the time, date, and place of any hearing under this subsection. The notice must describe the proposed place from which the remains will be removed. (4) That a licensed funeral director has agreed to: (A) be present at the removal and at the reinterment, reentombment, or reinurnment of the remains; and (B) cause the completed order of the state department of health to be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county where the removal occurred. (5) That the coal company has caused a notice of the proposed removal to be published at least five (5) days before the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the removal will occur. (6) That the coal company will notify the department of natural resources, division of historic preservation and archeology, after the hearing of the proposed time and date when the remains will be removed. (f) The state department of health may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to implement this section. ====================== For more details and the PDF version of the engrossed bill, see: http://www.state.in.us/serv/lsa_billinfo and type in "1241" as the Bill number.