An Act to Authorize Burials with Biodegradable Containers, Including Tree Pods
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0762
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: BRAKEY, ANDREWS, CLUCHEY
Amends: 13 MRSA §1031-A, 13 MRSA §1032, 22 MRSA §2841-A, 22 MRSA §2843, 22 MRSA §2843-A, 22 MRSA §2881-A, 22 MRSA §2883, 22 MRSA §2886, 22 MRSA §2954, 32 MRSA §1400

Legislative Document
No. 762
S.P. 320
In Senate, February 16, 2023
An Act to Authorize Burials with Biodegradable Containers, 
Including Tree Pods
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BRAKEY of Androscoggin.
Cosponsored by Representatives: ANDREWS of Paris, CLUCHEY of Bowdoinham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  13 MRSA §1031-A is enacted to read:
§1031-A.  Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1.  Biodegradable container.  "Biodegradable container" means a container, such as 
a casket or an urn, that holds human remains or cremated remains and that is capable of 
being decomposed and includes, but is not limited to, a tree pod.
2.  Tree pod.  "Tree pod" means a biodegradable container that is buried directly 
beneath the roots of a tree.
Sec. 2.  13 MRSA §1032 is amended to read:
§1032.  Disposal of bodies
Except as otherwise provided by law, or in case of a dead body being rightfully carried 
through or removed from the State for the purpose of burial or disposition elsewhere, every 
dead body of a human being dying within the State and the remains of any body after 
dissection therein shall must be decently buried, including by being buried in a 
biodegradable container, entombed in a mausoleum, vault or tomb, or cremated within a 
reasonable time after death. The permanent disposition of such bodies or remains shall must 
be by interment in the earth, or deposit in a chamber, vault or tomb of a cemetery owned, 
maintained and operated in accordance with the laws of this State, by deposit in a crypt of 
a mausoleum, or by cremation. The remains of a human body after cremation may be 
deposited in a niche of a columbarium or a crypt of a mausoleum, buried, including by 
being buried in a biodegradable container, or disposed of in any manner not contrary to 
law. No A deposit of the bodies or remains of the human dead shall may not be made in a 
single chamber, vault or tomb partly above and partly below the natural surface of the 
ground, unless the part thereof below such surface is of a permanent character, constructed 
of materials capable of withstanding extreme climatic conditions, waterproof and air tight, 
and capable of being sealed permanently to prevent all escape of effluvia, and unless the 
part thereof above the natural surface of the ground is constructed of natural stone of a 
standard not less than that required by the United States Government for monuments 
erected in national cemeteries, or durability sufficient to withstand all conditions of 
weather.
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §2841-A is enacted to read:
§2841-A.  Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1.  Biodegradable container.  "Biodegradable container" means a container, such as 
a casket or an urn, that holds human remains or cremated remains and that is capable of 
being decomposed and includes, but is not limited to, a tree pod.
2.  Tree pod.  "Tree pod" means a biodegradable container that is buried directly 
beneath the roots of a tree.
Sec. 4.  22 MRSA §2843, first ¶, as amended by PL 2009, c. 601, §27, is further 
amended to read:
Except as authorized by the department, a dead human body may not be buried, 
cremated or otherwise disposed of or removed from the State, including by being buried in 
a biodegradable container, until a funeral director or other authorized person in charge of 
the disposition of the dead human body or its removal from the State has obtained a permit 
from the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or the clerk of the municipality where death 
occurred or where the establishment of a funeral director having custody of the dead human 
body is located as specified by department rule. The permit is sufficient authority for final 
disposition in any place where dead human bodies are disposed of in this State, as long as 
the requirements of Title 32, section 1405 are met in appropriate cases. The permit may not 
be issued to anyone other than a funeral director until the state registrar or the clerk of the 
municipality receives a medical certificate that has been signed by a physician or a medical 
examiner that indicates that the physician or medical examiner has personally examined 
the body after death.  A permit must also be issued if a nurse practitioner or physician 
assistant has signed the medical certificate indicating that the nurse practitioner or 
physician assistant has knowledge of the deceased's recent medical condition or was in 
charge of the deceased's care and that the nurse practitioner or physician assistant has 
personally examined the body after death.  The authorized person may transport a dead 
human body only upon receipt of this permit.
Sec. 5.  22 MRSA §2843, 2nd ¶, as amended by PL 2009, c. 601, §27, is further 
amended to read:
The State Registrar of Vital Statistics or a municipal clerk may issue a permit for final 
disposition by cremation, burial at sea, burial in a biodegradable container, use by medical 
science or removal from the State only upon receipt of a certificate of release by a duly 
appointed medical examiner as specified in Title 32, section 1405.
Sec. 6.  22 MRSA §2843, sub-§3-A, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 257, §1, is 
amended to read:
B.  "Burial" means all manner of dispersal or deposit in or on the ground or in a 
structure, including burial in a biodegradable container.
Sec. 7.  22 MRSA §2843-A, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 2017, c. 475, 
Pt. A, §31, is amended by amending the 4th blocked paragraph to read:
The remains or a dead body is considered abandoned if no one takes custody and control 
of the remains or dead body for a period of 15 days.  A funeral director or practitioner of 
funeral service who has physical possession of abandoned remains or an abandoned dead 
body may bury or cremate the remains or dead body, including burying the remains in a 
biodegradable container.  The funeral director or practitioner of funeral service may 
embalm or refrigerate abandoned remains or an abandoned dead body without 
authorization.  A certificate of abandonment that indicates the means of disposition must 
be filed in the municipality where the death occurred.
Sec. 8.  22 MRSA §2881-A is enacted to read:
§2881-A.  Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1.  Biodegradable container.  "Biodegradable container" means a container, such as 
a casket or an urn, that holds human remains or cremated remains and that is capable of 
being decomposed and includes, but is not limited to, a tree pod.
2.  Tree pod.  "Tree pod" means a biodegradable container that is buried directly 
beneath the roots of a tree.
Sec. 9.  22 MRSA §2883, 3rd ¶, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 386, §5, is amended to 
read:
As used in this section, "burial" includes cremation and burial of the cremated remains 
of the body, including burial in a biodegradable container.
Sec. 10.  22 MRSA §2886, as corrected by RR 2021, c. 2, Pt. B, §147, is amended 
to read:
§2886.  Bond for proper disposal; traffic outside of State
A school, college, university, recognized medical school in New England, or physician 
or surgeon may not receive a body until a bond is given to the Treasurer of State by the 
physician or surgeon, or by and in behalf of the school, college, university or recognized 
medical school in New England, to be approved by a justice of a court of record in and for 
the county in which the physician or surgeon resides, or in which the school, college, 
university or recognized medical school in New England is situated. The bond must be in 
the penal sum of $1,000, conditioned that all bodies that the physician or surgeon or the 
school, college, university or recognized medical school in New England receives 
thereafter are used only for the promotion within the State of medical education, which 
includes nursing training and premedical education, and, when no longer needed for such 
educational purposes, are decently buried, including by being buried in a biodegradable 
container. The bond must be examined annually in the month of December by the Treasurer 
of State and the Treasurer of State shall certify in writing upon each bond in the Treasurer 
of State's possession approval of the bond.  If a bond is not approved by the Treasurer of 
State, the Treasurer of State shall immediately notify the party giving the bond, who shall 
forthwith file a new bond.  A person that sells or buys a body or in any way traffics in the 
same, transmits or conveys a body to any place outside of the State or causes the same to 
be done, except as provided in section 2884, must be punished by a fine of not more than 
$200 or by imprisonment for not more than 11 months.
Sec. 11.  22 MRSA §2954, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 601, §2, is amended 
to read:
9.  Superior rights.  Subject to section 2951, subsection 8 and section 2961, the rights 
of the person to which a part passes under section 2951 are superior to rights of all others 
with respect to the part.  The person may accept or reject an anatomical gift in whole or in 
part.  Subject to the terms of the document of gift and this chapter, a person that accepts an 
anatomical gift of an entire body may allow embalming or cremation and use of remains in 
a funeral service, including burial in a biodegradable container.  If the gift is of a part, the 
person to which the part passes under section 2951, upon the death of the donor and before 
embalming or cremation, shall cause the part to be removed without unnecessary 
mutilation. As used in this subsection, "biodegradable container" has the same meaning as 
in section 2881-A, subsection 1.
Sec. 12.  32 MRSA §1400, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2021, c. 183, §1, is further 
amended to read:
5.  Practice of funeral service.  "Practice of funeral service" means the engagement 
of a person in the care or disposition of the human remains or in the practice of disinfecting 
and preparing by embalming or otherwise the human remains for the funeral service, 
including preparing for burial in a biodegradable container, transportation of human 
remains to the place of burial or cremation, or the practice of helping to meet the emotions 
and disposition of the bereaved or the practice of funeral directing or embalming as 
presently known, whether under these titles or designations or otherwise. "Practice of 
funeral service" also means making arrangements for funeral services or making financial 
arrangements for the rendering of such services.  "Practice of funeral service" does not 
mean the ownership or operation of a cemetery, crematorium, mausoleum or columbarium 
or any other facility used for burial of human remains.  "Practice of funeral service" does 
not include the transportation of human remains by an authorized person.  "Practice of 
funeral service" does not include the manufacturing or selling of caskets or alternative 
containers.
A license for the practice of funeral service as used in this chapter is the license given to a 
person who is engaged in the practice of funeral service as above defined.
As used in this subsection, "biodegradable container" has the same meaning as in Title 22, 
section 2881-A, subsection 1.
Sec. 13.  Rulemaking.  The Department of Health and Human Services and the 
Department of Professional and Financial Regulation shall update their rules in order to 
authorize the burial of biodegradable containers.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the burial of biodegradable containers, such as a casket or an urn, 
containing human remains or cremated remains, including tree pods, which are containers 
buried directly underneath the roots of a tree.