Bill Text: OH HB231 | 2009-2010 | 128th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: To give the right of disposal to the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs regarding abandoned or unclaimed remains of persons who are entitled to be buried in a national cemetery.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 11-6)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-06-17 - To Veterans Affairs [HB231 Detail]

Download: Ohio-2009-HB231-Introduced.html

---

As Introduced

128th General Assembly Regular Session 2009-2010

H. B. No. 231

Representative Bacon 

Cosponsors: Representatives Murray, Ruhl, Evans, Grossman, Mecklenborg, Harwood, Skindell, Bubp, Lehner, Derickson, Blessing, Brown, Stebelton, Ujvagi, Yuko, Hagan 

---

A BILL

To amend sections 2108.75 and 2108.81 of the Revised

1

Code to give the right of disposal to the United

2

States Secretary of Veterans Affairs regarding

3

abandoned or unclaimed remains of persons who are

4

entitled to be buried in a national cemetery.

5

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 2108.75 and 2108.81 of the Revised	6
Code be amended to read as follows:	7

Sec. 2108.75.  (A) A person shall be disqualified from	8
serving as a representative or successor representative, or from	9
having the right of disposition for a deceased adult pursuant to	10
division (B) of section 2108.81 of the Revised Code, if any of the	11
following occurs:	12

(1) The person dies.

13

(2) A probate court declares or determines that the person is	14
incompetent.	15

(3) The person resigns or declines to exercise the right as	16
described in section 2108.88 of the Revised Code.	17

(4) The person refuses to exercise the right within two days	18
after notification of the declarant's death.	19

(5) The person cannot be located with reasonable effort.

20

(6) The person meets the criteria described in section	21
2108.76 or 2108.77 of the Revised Code.	22

(B) No owner, employee, or agent of a funeral home, cemetery,	23
or crematory providing funeral, burial, or cremation services for	24
a declarant shall serve as a representative or successor	25
representative for the declarant unless the owner, employee, or	26
agent is related to the declarant by blood, marriage, or adoption.	27

(C) Subject to divisions (C)(2) and (D)(2) of section 2108.70	28
of the Revised Code, if a person is disqualified from serving as	29
the declarant's representative or successor representative, or	30
from having the right of disposition for a deceased adult pursuant	31
to section 2108.81 of the Revised Code, as described in division	32
(A) of this section, the right is automatically reassigned to, and	33
vests in, the next person who has the right pursuant to the	34
declarant's written declaration or pursuant to the order of	35
priority in section 2108.81 of the Revised Code.	36

Sec. 2108.81.  (A) If either of the following is true,	37
division (B) of this section shall apply:	38

(1) An adult has not executed a written declaration pursuant	39
to sections 2108.70 to 2108.73 of the Revised Code that remains in	40
force at the time of the adult's death.	41

(2) Each person to whom the right of disposition has been	42
assigned or reassigned pursuant to a written declaration is	43
disqualified from exercising the right as described in section	44
2108.75 of the Revised Code.	45

(B) Subject to divisiondivisions (A) and (C) of this section	46
and sections 2108.75 and 2108.79 of the Revised Code, the right	47
of disposition is assigned to the following persons, if mentally	48
competent adults who can be located with reasonable effort, in	49
the order of priority stated:	50

(1) The deceased person's surviving spouse;

51

(2) The sole surviving child of the deceased person or, if	52
there is more than one surviving child, all of the surviving	53
children, collectively;	54

(3) The deceased person's surviving parent or parents;

55

(4) The deceased person's surviving sibling, whether of the	56
whole or of the half blood or, if there is more than one sibling	57
of the whole or of the half blood, all of the surviving siblings,	58
collectively;	59

(5) The deceased person's surviving grandparent or	60
grandparents;	61

(6) The deceased person's surviving grandchild, or if there	62
is more than one surviving grandchild, all of the surviving	63
grandchildren collectively;	64

(7) The lineal descendants of the deceased person's	65
grandparents, as described in division (I) of section 2105.06 of	66
the Revised Code;	67

(8) The person who was the deceased person's guardian at the	68
time of the deceased person's death, if a guardian had been	69
appointed;	70

(9) Any other person willing to assume the right of	71
disposition, including the personal representative of the deceased	72
person's estate or the licensed funeral director with custody of	73
the deceased person's body, after attesting in writing that a good	74
faith effort has been made to locate the persons in divisions	75
(B)(1) to (8) of this section.	76

(10) If the deceased person was an indigent person or other	77
person the final disposition of whose body is the financial and	78
statutory responsibility of the state or a political subdivision	79
of this state, the public officer or employee responsible for	80
arranging the final disposition of the remains of the deceased	81
person.	82

(C) Prior to proceeding to a person described in division	83
(B)(9) of this section, the person having custody of a deceased	84
person's body or remains shall notify the United States department	85
of veterans affairs that the person has custody of the body or	86
remains of a person and the name of and other identifying	87
information relating to that person. The person shall give the	88
secretary of veterans affairs sixty days within which to examine	89
the records of the person, and the body or remains of the deceased	90
person, to determine whether the deceased person was a veteran	91
entitled to be buried in a national cemetery. The person shall	92
permit, upon request, the United States secretary of veterans	93
affairs to examine any records the person has in relation to the	94
deceased person, and to examine the body or remains. If the	95
secretary determines that the deceased person is entitled to be	96
buried in a national cemetery, upon notifying the person with	97
custody of the body or remains, the secretary is assigned the	98
right of disposition, and that right shall take priority over any	99
right assigned pursuant to division (B)(9) of this section. The	100
secretary may request the person with custody of the body or	101
remains to release custody of the body or remains to the	102
secretary. If the secretary makes such a request, the person with	103
custody of the body or remains shall release the body or remains	104
to the secretary.	105

Section 2. That existing sections 2108.75 and 2108.81 of the	106
Revised Code are hereby repealed.	107