HCS HB 111 -- UNCLAIMED VETERANS' REMAINS

SPONSOR:  Day

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass by consent" by the Committee on
Veterans.

This substitute allows the unclaimed remains of a veteran to be
collected by a veterans' service organization for the purpose of
interment in a veterans' cemetery if the remains have been in
possession of a funeral establishment for at least one year and
the funeral establishment has given written notice to another
funeral establishment or a person who contracted for the
cremation or interment.  If the address of the person entitled to
the remains cannot be reasonably ascertained, notice must be
given in a newspaper of general circulation in the county of the
veteran's residence.  If the veteran's residence is unknown,
notice must be given in the county where the veteran died or, if
the death location is unknown, in the county in which the funeral
establishment is located.  If the remains are not claimed within
30 days of the written notice or within four months of the date
of the first newspaper publication, the remains may be given to a
veterans' service organization for interment.

A veterans' service organization is not liable for simple
negligence if it does not scatter the remains but must take all
reasonable steps to inter the remains in a veterans' cemetery.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2010, FY 2011, and
FY 2012.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that there are a number of unclaimed
veterans' remains in funeral homes throughout the state.  These
homes are reluctant to release these remains to the veterans'
service organizations due to liability issues.  The bill will
provide a decent burial that the veteran deserves.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Day; Missouri Funeral
Directors and Embalmers Association; Dewey Riehn, Veterans of
Foreign Wars of the United States, Missouri Department; and Tim
Norton, Missouri Veterans' Commission

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated November 17, 2009 at 9:23 am