An Act to Provide Natural Organic Reduction Facilities for Maine Residents for the Conversion of Human Remains to Soil
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0536
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: DOUDERA, SARGENT, ZEIGLER, HICKMAN, CRAVEN, JAUCH, MATLACK, BRENNER
Amends: 13 MRSA §1031-A, 13 MRSA §1032, 13 MRSA §1035, 13 MRSA §1101-A, 13 MRSA §1265, 13 MRSA §1266, 13 MRSA §1303, 13 MRSA §1304, 22 MRSA §2841-A, 22 MRSA §2843, 22 MRSA §2843-A, 22 MRSA §2883, 22 MRSA §2886, 22 MRSA §2900, 22 MRSA §2954, 32 MRSA §1400, 32 MRSA §1405-B, 32 MRSA §1455-B

Legislative Document
No. 536
H.P. 341
House of Representatives, February 9, 2023
An Act to Provide Natural Organic Reduction Facilities for Maine 
Residents for the Conversion of Human Remains to Soil
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative DOUDERA of Camden.
Cosponsored by Representatives: SARGENT of York, ZEIGLER of Montville, Senator 
HICKMAN of Kennebec and
Representatives: CRAVEN of Lewiston, JAUCH of Topsham, MATLACK of St. George, 
Senator: BRENNER of Cumberland.
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.  Natural organic reduction.  "Natural organic reduction" means the contained 
accelerated conversion of human remains to soil.
2.  Natural organic reduction facility.  "Natural organic reduction facility" means a 
building or structure or a room or other space in a building or structure or real property 
where natural organic reduction is facilitated and occurs.
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, entombed in a mausoleum, vault or tomb, 
or cremated or subjected to natural organic reduction 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 or natural organic reduction.  The remains of a human body after cremation or 
natural organic reduction may be deposited in a niche of a columbarium or a crypt of a 
mausoleum, scattered in an area of a cemetery, buried 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 airtight, 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.  13 MRSA §1035, as amended by PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. C, §25, is further 
amended to read:
§1035.  Penalties
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person who fails to comply with or 
violates any of the provisions of this chapter in respect to the establishment, maintenance 
or operation of a cemetery, community mausoleum, crematory, natural organic reduction 
facility or columbarium or to the disposal of dead human bodies commits a Class E crime 
except that, notwithstanding Title 17-A, sections 1704 and 1705, the fine may not be less 
than $100 or more than $500.
Sec. 4.  13 MRSA §1101-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 421, §1, is amended 
to read:
2.  Columbarium.  "Columbarium" means a structure or room or space in a mausoleum 
or other building containing niches or recesses for disposition of cremated human remains 
or human remains that have been subjected to natural organic reduction.
Sec. 5.  13 MRSA §1265, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 474, §1, is amended to read:
§1265.  Tangible personal property
Upon written request and payment of any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses, a 
cemetery or, crematory or natural organic reduction facility shall deliver to a person, the 
person's attorney-in-fact or the person's personal representative any item of tangible 
personal property purchased by that person but remaining in the possession of the cemetery 
or, crematory or natural organic reduction facility.
Sec. 6.  13 MRSA §1266, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 474, §1, is amended to read:
§1266.  Solicitation of cemetery or crematory or other services or property
Uninvited telephone or door-to-door solicitations for crematory or, cemetery or natural 
organic reduction facility services or property are prohibited.  This section may not be 
construed to limit the raising of funds for capital improvements as long as those funds are 
not raised through the purchase of cemetery or, crematory or natural organic reduction 
facility services or property.  Uninvited solicitations may not be construed to include 
solicitations resulting from uninvited good-faith personal referrals from individuals 
purchasing services or property from a cemetery or, crematory or natural organic reduction 
facility.
Sec. 7.  13 MRSA §1303, 2nd ¶ is amended to read:
Every such cemetery shall must be located in accordance with statutes already in force 
and effect, and only after consent for such location has been obtained from the municipality 
or other political subdivision where the same is proposed to be located, as well as from the 
Bureau of Health Department of Health and Human Services.  No A cemetery, community 
mausoleum, crematory, natural organic reduction facility or columbarium hereafter 
established shall may not be maintained or operated for the purpose of private profit or 
gain, either directly or indirectly, to any director, officer or member of the cemetery 
association or other agency owning, maintaining or operating the same, or of any holding 
company or development company employed to develop, build and dispose of the same.  
A cemetery lawfully established prior to July 24, 1937 may continue to be owned, 
maintained and operated under the form of organization adopted therefor.  Any corporation 
organized prior to July 24, 1937 which that is authorized or empowered to own, construct, 
maintain or operate cemeteries or burial grounds may lawfully own, construct, maintain or 
operate mausoleums, crematories or columbaria in connection therewith, in accordance 
with the laws existing and effective up to the time of July 24, 1937.
Sec. 8.  13 MRSA §1304 is amended to read:
§1304.  Sales for speculation or investment
The sale of cemetery lots and plots, or the sale of crypts in a community mausoleum or 
niches in a columbarium for speculative or financial investment purposes, or the 
conveyance of any portion of a cemetery already dedicated to burial purposes as security 
for debt, is prohibited.  Every such conveyance, whether made by a person or by a cemetery 
association, or by a company or association owning and operating a community 
mausoleum, crematory, natural organic reduction facility or columbarium, or by any 
holding, development or subsidiary company, shall be is void and of no effect. Whoever 
makes or attempts to make a sale or conveyance contrary to this section shall be guilty of 
a misdemeanor and must be punished as provided in section 1035.
Sec. 9.  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.  Natural organic reduction.  "Natural organic reduction" means the contained 
accelerated conversion of human remains to soil.
2.  Natural organic reduction facility.  "Natural organic reduction facility" means a 
building or structure or a room or other space in a building or structure or real property 
where natural organic reduction is facilitated and occurs.
Sec. 10.  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, subjected to natural organic reduction or otherwise disposed of or removed from 
the State 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 sections 1405 and 1405-B 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. 11.  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, use by medical science, natural organic reduction 
or removal from the State only upon receipt of a certificate of release by a duly appointed 
medicolegal death investigator or medical examiner as specified in Title 32, section 1405 
or section 1405-B, subsection 6.
Sec. 12.  22 MRSA §2843, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2013, c. 20, §1, is further 
amended to read:
3.  Permit for burial.  The person in charge of each burying ground or, crematory or 
natural organic reduction facility in this State shall endorse, and provide the date the body 
was disposed of on, each such permit with which that person is presented, and return it to 
the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or to the clerk of the municipality in which such 
burying ground or, crematory or facility is located within 7 days after the date of 
disposition.  If there is no person in charge of the burying ground, an official of the 
municipality in which the burying ground is located shall endorse, and provide the date the 
body was disposed of on, each such permit, and present it to the State Registrar of Vital 
Statistics or the clerk of the municipality.  The funeral director or authorized person shall 
present a copy of each permit, after endorsement, to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics 
or the clerk of the municipality where death occurred and to the clerk who issued the permit.
Sec. 13.  22 MRSA §2843, sub-§3-A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 257, §1, is further 
amended to read:
3-A.  Authorization for burial of cremated or other remains in public burying 
ground.  The State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall provide an authorization to be used 
for the purposes of this subsection.  If cremated human remains that have been cremated or 
subjected to natural organic reduction are buried in a public burying ground in the State, 
the person in charge of the public burying ground shall endorse and record the date the 
cremated remains were buried on an authorization for the remains and return the 
authorization to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or to the clerk of the municipality in 
which the public burying ground is located within 7 days after the cremated remains were 
buried.  If there is no person in charge of the public burying ground, an official of the 
municipality in which the public burying ground is located shall endorse and record the 
date the cremated remains were buried on the authorization and present the authorization 
to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or the clerk of the municipality.  If an authorization 
is not returned to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics within 7 days after cremated remains 
were buried, the funeral director or authorized person may present a copy of the 
authorization, if the authorization has been endorsed, to the State Registrar of Vital 
Statistics or the clerk of the municipality where death occurred and to the clerk who issued 
the authorization.
For purposes of this subsection, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
A.  "Authorization" means the form or electronic process prescribed and furnished by 
the State Registrar of Vital Statistics for the purpose of recording the consent of an 
authorized person for the burial or removal of cremated human remains that have been 
cremated or subjected to natural organic reduction in a public burying ground as 
specified by department rule.
B.  "Burial" means all manner of dispersal or deposit in or on the ground or in a 
structure.
C.  "Public burying ground" has the same meaning as in Title 13, section 1101‑A, 
subsection 4.
Sec. 14.  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 or subject to natural organic reduction the remains or dead body.  
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. 15.  22 MRSA §2843-A, sub-§10, as amended by PL 2017, c. 101, §3, is 
further amended to read:
10.  Funeral director or practitioner of funeral service.  The following provisions 
apply to the actions and liability of a funeral director or practitioner of funeral service, 
cemeteries and, crematories and natural organic reduction facilities and their employees.
A.  If there is a dispute regarding custody and control, a funeral director or practitioner 
of funeral service may refuse to accept the remains or dead body, inter or otherwise 
dispose of the remains or dead body or complete funeral arrangements until the funeral 
director or practitioner of funeral service is provided with a court order under 
subsection 4 or a written agreement of the person who has custody and control.
B.  If there is a dispute regarding custody and control, pending a court determination 
under subsection 4 a funeral director or practitioner of funeral service who has physical 
possession of the remains or a dead body may embalm or refrigerate and shelter the 
remains or a dead body and may bill the estate of the subject for those costs, plus 
attorney's fees and court costs.
C.  A person who signs a statement of funeral goods and services, or a cremation or 
natural organic reduction authorization form or other authorization for disposition of 
the remains or a dead body is deemed to warrant the truthfulness of the facts set forth 
in the document, including but not limited to the existence of custody and control and 
the identity of the subject.
D.  A funeral director or practitioner of funeral service, cemetery, natural organic 
reduction facility or crematory may rely on a statement of funeral goods and services, 
or a cremation or natural organic reduction authorization form or other authorization 
signed by a person who has custody and control of the remains or a dead body and may 
carry out the instructions provided for in the statement of funeral goods and services 
or on the form or authorization unless the funeral director or practitioner of funeral 
service, cemetery, natural organic reduction facility or crematory knows of objections 
from another person.
E.  A funeral director or practitioner of funeral service, cemetery, natural organic 
reduction facility or crematory is not required to independently investigate custody and 
control of the remains or a dead body or who is next of kin.
F.  Upon cremation or natural organic reduction of the remains or dead body, the 
crematory or natural organic reduction facility shall prepare a certificate of cremation 
or natural organic reduction signed and dated by the person in charge of the cremation 
or natural organic reduction indicating the date of cremation or natural organic 
reduction and the identity of the cremated remains or dead body as identified by the 
funeral director or practitioner of funeral service or the cremation or natural organic 
reduction authorization form, including the deceased person's full name, date and place 
of death, gender and veteran status.  The crematory or natural organic reduction facility 
shall provide the certificate of cremation or natural organic reduction to the funeral 
director or practitioner of funeral service or the person who has custody and control of 
the remains or dead body.
Sec. 16.  22 MRSA §2883, 3rd ¶, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 386, §5, is amended to 
read:
As used in this section, "burial" includes cremation or natural organic reduction as 
defined in section 2841-A, subsection 1 and burial of the cremated remains of the body.
Sec. 17.  22 MRSA §2886, as corrected by RR 2021, c. 2, Pt. B, §147, is amended 
to read:
§2886.  Bond for proper disposal; traffic trafficking 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, cremated or subjected to natural organic 
reduction. 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 trafficks 
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. 18.  22 MRSA §2900, sub-§1, ¶D is enacted to read:
D.  "Cremate" means subject to the process of cremation or natural organic reduction 
as defined in section 2841-A, subsection 1.
Sec. 19.  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 or natural organic 
reduction and use of remains in a funeral service.  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, or natural organic reduction shall cause the part to be removed without 
unnecessary mutilation. For purposes of this subsection, "natural organic reduction" has 
the same meaning as in section 2841-A, subsection 1.
Sec. 20.  32 MRSA §1400, sub-§4-A is enacted to read:
4-A.  Natural organic reduction.  "Natural organic reduction" means the contained 
accelerated conversion of human remains to soil.
Sec. 21.  32 MRSA §1400, sub-§4-B is enacted to read:
4-B.  Natural organic reduction facility.  "Natural organic reduction facility" means 
a building or structure or a room or other space in a building or structure or real property 
where natural organic reduction is facilitated and occurs.
Sec. 22.  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, 
transportation of human remains to the place of burial or, cremation or natural organic 
reduction, 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, natural organic reduction facility, 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.
Sec. 23.  32 MRSA §1405-B is enacted to read:
§1405-B.  Natural organic reduction
A cemetery corporation operating within the State, after obtaining a license from the 
Department of Health and Human Services, referred to in this section as "the department," 
and meeting the requirements of this section, may establish and maintain suitable buildings 
and appliances for subjecting the body of a deceased person to natural organic reduction 
and, in accordance with this section and the rules of the department, may subject the body 
to natural organic reduction and dispose of the remains of the body.
1. Application for licensure.  A cemetery corporation operating within the State 
seeking to establish a natural organic reduction facility shall submit the following 
information to the department in application for licensure:
A. A list of the directors, employees and certificate holders of the cemetery corporation;
B. A certified survey of the site and location within the State the natural organic 
reduction facility will be situated;
C. A business plan for the operation of the natural organic reduction facility, including 
but not limited to the number of bodies expected to be subjected to natural organic 
reduction each year, the number of sites within the natural organic reduction facility 
for subjecting bodies to natural organic reduction and the manufacturing costs, capital 
costs, financing, anticipated number of employees and types of services provided and 
pricing of those services;
D. A description of any anticipated effect the natural organic reduction facility will 
have within the State;
E. Plans, designs and costs of any structures to be built or retrofitted for the natural 
organic reduction facility; and
F. A description of any approvals or permits required to build or retrofit the natural 
organic reduction facility required under state laws and local ordinances and 
documentation showing that the approvals or permits have been obtained.
Within 35 days of receiving an application pursuant to this subsection, the department may 
request any other information the department considers necessary.
2. Timeline for processing application; notification of results.  The department shall 
approve or deny an application for licensure submitted under subsection 1 within 90 days 
of receiving a complete application.  The department shall provide, by registered or 
certified mail addressed to the cemetery corporation at its principal office, written notice 
of its determination to the cemetery corporation and, if the application is denied, the reasons 
for denying the application.
3. Authority.  A natural organic reduction facility licensed under this section may:
A. Subject the body of a deceased person to natural organic reduction;
B. Meet with members of the public to arrange and provide for natural organic 
reduction;
C. Enter into contracts for the provision of disposition by natural organic reduction, 
except that the natural organic reduction facility may not enter into pre-need contracts 
under Title 13, section 1264;
D. Arrange, direct or perform the removal or transportation of a deceased person; and
E. Secure and file all necessary certificates, permits, forms or other documents.
4. Certification required.  An employee of a natural organic reduction facility who is 
responsible for the daily operations of natural organic reduction must be certified by the 
department within one year of the employee's beginning employment.  Renewal of the 
employee's certification must occur every 5 years.
5. Facility requirements.  A natural organic reduction facility shall:
A. Maintain the facility in a clean, orderly and sanitary manner;
B. Have adequate ventilation;
C. Have a temporary storage area to store the remains of human bodies that is not 
accessible to the general public; and
D. Structure the facility in a manner that protects privacy, including by having tightly 
closed and rigid doors, covered windows and locked and secured entrances.
6. Certificate from medical examiner or medicolegal death investigator.  The body 
of a deceased person may not be subjected to natural organic reduction within 48 hours 
after death unless the person died of a contagious or infectious disease, and in no event may 
the body of a deceased person be subjected to natural organic reduction until the natural 
organic reduction facility in charge of the disposition has received a certificate from a duly 
appointed medical examiner or medicolegal death investigator appointed pursuant to Title 
22, section 3023-A that the medical examiner or medicolegal death investigator has made 
personal inquiry into the cause and manner of death and is satisfied that further examination 
or judicial inquiry concerning the cause and manner of death is not necessary.  This 
certificate, a certified copy of the death certificate and a burial transit permit, if necessary, 
when presented by the authorized person as defined in Title 22, section 2846 is sufficient 
authority for the body to be subjected to natural organic reduction, and the natural organic 
reduction facility in charge of the disposition may not refuse to subject the body to natural 
organic reduction solely because these documents are presented by such an authorized 
person.  The certificate must be retained by the natural organic reduction facility in charge 
of subjecting the body to natural organic reduction for a period of 15 years.  For the 
certificate, the medical examiner must receive a fee of $25 payable by the person requesting 
the certificate.  This fee may be waived at the discretion of the Chief Medical Examiner.
7. Privacy of human remains.  A natural organic reduction facility shall adopt policies 
to ensure that the privacy of human remains is respected.  The facility shall restrict access 
to the storage area where human remains are stored or being subjected to natural organic 
reduction, except to an authorized person.  For the purposes of this subsection, "authorized 
person" means:
A. A licensed funeral director;
B. A student of the practice of funeral services;
C. Officers or trustees of the cemetery corporation operating the natural organic 
reduction facility;
D. Designated employees or agents of the natural organic reduction facility;
E. State or municipal employees acting within the scope of their duties;
F. Designated instructors of the practice of funeral services;
G. Licensed physicians or nurses; and
H. Members of the immediate family of the deceased person or their agents.
8. Statement regarding condition of body.  The next of kin of the deceased person or 
other authorized person shall attest that the body of the deceased person does not contain a 
battery, battery pack, power cell, radioactive implant or radioactive device.
9. Container requirements.  Upon delivery to the natural organic reduction facility, 
the body of a deceased person must be in a container or wrapped in a manner sufficient to 
contain the body and fully decompose through natural organic reduction.  If the container 
or wrappings are not able to be naturally organically reduced, the natural organic reduction 
facility shall timely notify the person making the funeral arrangements that the body of the 
deceased person will be transferred to an alternative container and the person making the 
funeral arrangements shall sign an acknowledgement that this timely notification was 
made.  This record must be maintained by the natural organic reduction facility.  The body 
of the deceased person may then be transferred to an alternative container by a licensed 
funeral director.
10. Opening container prohibited; exceptions. The container or wrappings required 
in subsection 9 may not be opened or removed unless by a licensed funeral director in the 
presence of a witness if good cause exists to confirm the identity of the deceased person, 
to ensure that devices identified in subsection 8 are not present or upon reasonable demand 
by the person's next of kin or agent.  If the container or wrappings are opened or removed, 
the natural organic reduction facility must document in its records the reason, the name of 
the person who authorized the opening of the container or removal of the wrappings, the 
name of the person who opened the container or removed the wrappings and the name of 
the witness.
11. Multiple deceased persons.  A natural organic reduction facility may not subject 
more than one deceased person's body to natural organic reduction in the same container at 
one time unless the facility receives explicit, signed authorization by the person making 
funeral arrangements.  This record must be maintained by the natural organic reduction 
facility.
12. Treatment of remains after natural organic reduction.  Following the natural 
organic reduction of the body of a deceased person, a natural organic reduction facility:
A. Shall thoroughly clean the interior of the container used for natural organic 
reduction;
B. Shall place the remains of the body in an individual container that is sufficient to 
hold the remains and does not contain other remains unless authorized pursuant to 
subsection 11;
C. Shall label the container of the remains of the body with the name of the deceased 
person whose body was subjected to natural organic reduction;
D. May use a magnet and sieve or other appropriate method to separate the human 
remains from any foreign material. The foreign material must be disposed of in 
accordance with department rules; and
E. Shall pulverize the remains of the body until no single fragment is recognizable as 
skeletal tissue.
13. Inspection.  Upon inspection of a natural organic reduction facility, the department 
may require the facility to produce records of the facility's operation and maintenance, 
including authorizations for the disposition of bodies of deceased persons.
14. Rulemaking.  The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.  Rules 
adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 24.  32 MRSA §1455-B, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 402, Pt. J, §7, is 
amended to read:
6.  Unauthorized commission; crematory, natural organic reduction facility, 
mausoleum or cemetery.  Solicitation or acceptance by a licensee of any commission, 
bonus or rebate in consideration of recommending or causing human remains to be 
disposed of in any crematory, natural organic reduction facility, mausoleum or cemetery;
Sec. 25.  Rulemaking. The Department of Health and Human Services and the 
Department of Professional and Financial Regulation shall amend their rules in order to 
implement this Act.
SUMMARY
This bill provides for the treatment of human remains by natural organic reduction as 
an alternative to burial in a casket or cremation.  Natural organic reduction is the contained 
accelerated conversion of human remains to soil.