reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-503 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 5 - Miscellaneous Provisions|Section 5-503 - Cremation -- Time Interval

    A person may not cremate a body until at least 12 hours after death.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-504 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 5 - Miscellaneous Provisions|Section 5-504 - Transporting to Crematory

    A person may not transport a body to a crematory without using a cot and pouch or receptacle.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-505 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 5 - Miscellaneous Provisions|Section 5-505 - Use of Casket

    (a)    Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a person may not require that a cremation be performed with a casket. However, the use of a simple container may be required.    (b)    The person arranging for final disposition of a body may specify that a casket:        (1)    Be used before cremation;        (2)    Be consumed during cremation;        (3)    Be used after cremation; or        (4)    Not be used before, during, or after cremation.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-506 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 5 - Miscellaneous Provisions|Section 5-506 - Control of Body by Health Officer

    (a)    A health officer may take control of a body that is being kept in a room where an individual lives and that is in a condition that endangers an individual in the house where the body is kept if:        (1)    At least 3 individuals living near the house or a physician asks the health officer, in writing, to order final disposition of the body;        (2)    The health officer issues an order for final disposition, within a time period stated in the order; and        (3)    Final disposition of the body is not made within that time.    (b)    A person may not obstruct the carrying out of an order of a health officer under this section.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-507 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 5 - Miscellaneous Provisions|Section 5-507 - Penalty

    (a)    A person who violates any provision of § 5-502, § 5-503, § 5-504, or § 5-505 of this subtitle is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000.    (b)    A person who violates any provision of § 5-506(b) of this subtitle is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $200 or imprisonment not exceeding 6 months.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-508 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 5 - Miscellaneous Provisions|Section 5-508 - Definitions

    (a)    In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.    (b)    “Authorizing agent” means the individual who has legal authority to arrange for and make decisions regarding the final disposition of a dead human body, including by cremation.    (c)    “Cremation” means the disposition of a dead human body by means of incineration.    (d)    “Crematory” is a building in which cremations are performed.    (e)    “Decedent” means a dead human being.    (f)    “Practitioner” means a person who is licensed by the State as a funeral director, mortician, or surviving spouse licensee to practice mortuary science.    (g)    “Pre-need contract” means an agreement prior to the time of death between a consumer and a practitioner to provide any goods and services regarding the final disposition of a dead human body.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-510 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 5 - Miscellaneous Provisions|Section 5-510 - Disposition of Body Other Than by Will -- Failure to Agree on Disposition

    (a)    (1)    If the majority of individuals under § 5-509(c) of this subtitle cannot agree on the arrangements, any individual specified in § 5-509(c) of this subtitle or the practitioner who has custody of the body, or both, may file a petition in the circuit court for the county in which the decedent was domiciled at the time of death or the county in which the body is located requesting the court to decide the final disposition of the body.        (2)    The practitioner may add the court costs associated with a petition under this subsection to the costs of final disposition.    (b)    In the event of a disagreement under subsection (a) of this section, a practitioner is not liable for refusing to accept the body or to inter or otherwise dispose of the body of the decedent or complete the arrangements for the final disposition of the body until the practitioner receives a court order or other written agreement signed by the parties in the disagreement that decides the final disposition of the body.    (c)    If the practitioner retains the body for final disposition in accordance with a court order or written agreement among the parties, the practitioner may embalm or refrigerate and shelter the body, or both, in order to preserve it while awaiting the final decision and may add the costs of embalming and refrigeration and sheltering to the final disposition costs.    (d)    (1)    This section may not be construed to require or to impose a duty upon a practitioner to bring an action under this section.        (2)    A practitioner may not be held criminally or civilly liable for choosing not to bring an action under this section.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-511 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 5 - Miscellaneous Provisions|Section 5-511 - Reliance on Authorizing Agent's Representations; Duty to Investigate; Filing to Become Authorizing Agent

    (a)    A practitioner and an operator of a crematory may rely on the representations made by an authorizing agent and are not guarantors of the reliability of those representations.    (b)    A practitioner and an operator of a crematory have no responsibility to contact or to independently investigate the existence of any next of kin of the decedent.    (c)    An individual may file a petition with the appropriate court to obtain the authority to be authorizing agent:        (1)    If the individual alleges that permitting one or more of the individuals with priority under § 5-509(c) of this subtitle to authorize arrangements for the final disposition of the body of a decedent may cause substantial injustice; or        (2)    If, considering all the circumstances, an individual other than an individual with priority under § 5-509(c) of this subtitle had a closer personal affinity to the decedent and should be allowed to make the arrangements.    (d)    Pending the outcome of a petition filed under this section, a practitioner shall suspend any arrangements with the individuals under § 5-509(c) of this subtitle.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-512 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 5 - Miscellaneous Provisions|Section 5-512 - Authorizing Agent as Personal Representative Not Required; Documents Negating Cremation

    (a)    A practitioner or an operator of a crematory may not require an authorizing agent to obtain appointment as personal representative of the decedent’s estate as a condition precedent to making final arrangements or authorizing cremation of a decedent.    (b)    A person may not authorize cremation when a decedent has left instructions in a document that the decedent does not wish to be cremated.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-514 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 5 - Miscellaneous Provisions|Section 5-514 - Burial or Disposal of Body

    (a)    An individual may not bury or dispose of a body except:        (1)    In a family burial plot or other area allowed by a local ordinance;        (2)    In a crematory;        (3)    In a cemetery;        (4)    By donating the body to medical science; or        (5)    By removing the body to another state for final disposition in accordance with the laws of the other state.    (b)    An individual who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or a fine not exceeding $5,000 or both.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-701 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 7 - Child Fatality Review Teams|Section 5-701 - Definitions

    (a)    In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.    (b)    “Child” means an individual under the age of 18 years.    (c)    “Child death review case reporting system” means a national, standardized, web–based reporting system for the confidential collection, analysis, aggregation, and reporting of child death data that is maintained and operated by a national center for child death review.    (d)    “Data use agreement” means a contract between the Department and a national center for child death review that establishes the terms and conditions for the State and local child fatality review teams’ participation in a child death review case reporting system.    (e)    “Health care provider” means:        (1)    An individual licensed or certified under the Health Occupations Article to provide health care; or        (2)    A facility that provides health care to individuals.    (f)    “Local team” means the multidisciplinary and multiagency child fatality review team established for a county.    (g)    “Meeting” includes meetings through telephone conferencing.    (h)    “National center for child death review” means a public, private, nonprofit, or governmental organization or entity that is funded or otherwise recognized by the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for:        (1)    Developing a child death review case reporting system;        (2)    Training and serving as a liaison to State agencies participating in the system; and        (3)    Disseminating national child death review data generated by the system.    (i)    “State Team” means the State Child Fatality Review Team.    (j)    “Unexpected child death” means a death of a child investigated by the office of the Chief Medical Examiner as required by § 5–309 of this title.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-702 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 7 - Child Fatality Review Teams|Section 5-702 - Established

    (a)    There is a State Child Fatality Review Team.    (b)    The State Team is part of the Department for budgetary and administrative purposes.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-703 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 7 - Child Fatality Review Teams|Section 5-703 - Membership

    (a)    The State Team shall be a multidisciplinary and multiagency review team, composed of at least 25 members, including:        (1)    The Attorney General or the Attorney General’s designee;        (2)    The Chief Medical Examiner or the Chief Medical Examiner’s designee;        (3)    The Secretary of Human Services or the Secretary’s designee;        (4)    The Secretary of Health or the Secretary’s designee;        (5)    The State Superintendent of Schools or the Superintendent’s designee;        (6)    The Secretary of Juvenile Services or the Secretary’s designee;        (7)    The Deputy Director of the Division of Children and Youth of the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services or the Deputy Director’s designee;        (8)    The Secretary of State Police or the Secretary’s designee;        (9)    The president of the State’s Attorneys’ Association or the president’s designee;        (10)    The chief of the Division of Vital Records of the Department or the chief’s designee;        (11)    A representative of the Center for Infant and Child Loss;        (12)    The Director of the Behavioral Health Administration of the Department or the Director’s designee;        (13)    Two pediatricians with experience in diagnosing and treating injuries and child abuse and neglect, appointed by the Governor from a list submitted by the State Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; and        (14)    Eleven members of the general public with interest or expertise in child safety and welfare, appointed by the Governor, including child advocates, CASA volunteers, health and mental health professionals, and attorneys who represent children.    (b)    The members described under subsection (a)(1) through (12) of this section may designate representatives from their departments or offices to represent them on the State Team.    (c)    The State Team may employ a staff in accordance with the State budget. Each member of the Team under subsection (a)(1) through (12) of this section shall provide sufficient staff support to complete the State Team’s responsibilities.    (d)    Members of the State Team shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance with the Standard State Travel Regulations and as provided in the State budget.    (e)    The State Team shall select a chairperson from among its members.    (f)    The State Team shall meet not less than once every 3 months.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-705 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 7 - Child Fatality Review Teams|Section 5-705 - Local Child Fatality Review Teams -- Established

    (a)    (1)    Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, there shall be a multidisciplinary and multiagency child fatality review team in each county.        (2)    Instead of a local team in each county, two or more counties may agree to establish a single multicounty local team.        (3)    A multicounty local team shall execute a memorandum of understanding on membership, staffing, and operation.    (b)    The local team membership shall be drawn from the following individuals, organizations, agencies, and areas of expertise, when available:        (1)    The county health officer;        (2)    The director of the local department of social services;        (3)    The State’s Attorney;        (4)    The superintendent of schools;        (5)    A State, county, or municipal law enforcement officer;        (6)    The director of the county substance abuse treatment program;        (7)    The chief attorney who represents the local department of social services in child welfare proceedings;        (8)    The Early Childhood Development Division in the State Department of Education;        (9)    The director of the county mental health agency or core service agency;        (10)    A pediatrician with experience in diagnosing and treating injuries and child abuse and neglect, appointed by the county health officer;        (11)    A psychiatrist or psychologist with experience in child abuse and neglect or child injury, appointed by the director of the county mental health agency, core service agency, or local behavioral health authority;        (12)    A member of the general public with interest or expertise in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect, appointed by the county health officer; and        (13)    Any other individual necessary to the work of the local team, recommended by the local team and appointed by the county health officer.    (c)    The members described under subsection (b)(1) through (9) of this section may designate representatives from their departments or offices to represent them on the local team.    (d)    From among its members, each local team shall elect a chairperson by majority vote.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-706 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 7 - Child Fatality Review Teams|Section 5-706 - Local Child Fatality Review Teams -- Purpose; Duties

    (a)    The purpose of the local team is to prevent child deaths by:        (1)    Promoting cooperation and coordination among agencies involved in investigations of child deaths or in providing services to surviving family members;        (2)    Developing an understanding of the causes and incidence of child deaths in the county;        (3)    Developing plans for and recommending changes within the agencies the members represent to prevent child deaths; and        (4)    Advising the State Team on changes to law, policy, or practice to prevent child deaths.    (b)    To achieve its purpose, the local team shall:        (1)    In consultation with the State Team, establish and implement a protocol for the local team;        (2)    Set as its goal the investigation of child deaths in accordance with national standards;        (3)    Meet at least quarterly to review the status of child fatality cases, recommend actions to improve coordination of services and investigations among member agencies, and recommend actions within the member agencies to prevent child deaths;        (4)    Collect and maintain data as required by the State Team;        (5)    Provide requested reports to the State Team, including discussion of individual cases, steps taken to improve coordination of services and investigations, steps taken to implement changes recommended by the local team within member agencies, and recommendations on needed changes to State and local law, policy, and practice to prevent child deaths; and        (6)    In consultation with the State Team:            (i)    Define “near fatality”; and            (ii)    Develop procedures and protocols that local teams and the State Team may use to review cases of near fatality.    (c)    In addition to the duties specified in subsection (b) of this section, a local team may investigate the information and records of a child convicted of a crime or adjudicated as having committed a delinquent act that caused a death or near fatality described in § 5–707 of this subtitle.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-707 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 7 - Child Fatality Review Teams|Section 5-707 - Local Child Fatality Review Teams -- Investigations

    Upon request of the chair of the local team and as necessary to carry out the local team’s purpose and duties, the local team shall be immediately provided:        (1)    Access to information and records, including information on prenatal care, maintained by a health care provider regarding:            (i)    A child whose death is being reviewed by the local team; or            (ii)    A child convicted of a crime or adjudicated as having committed a delinquent act that caused a death or near fatality; and        (2)    Access to all information and records maintained by any State or local government agency, including birth certificates, law enforcement investigative information, medical examiner investigative information, parole and probation information and records, and information and records of a social services agency that provided services to:            (i)    A child whose death is being reviewed by the local team;            (ii)    A child convicted of a crime or adjudicated as having committed a delinquent act that caused a death or near fatality; or            (iii)    The family of a child described in item (i) or (ii) of this paragraph.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-708 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 7 - Child Fatality Review Teams|Section 5-708 - Meetings

    (a)    Meetings of the State Team and of local teams shall be closed to the public and not subject to Title 3 of the General Provisions Article when the State Team or local teams are discussing individual cases of child deaths.    (b)    Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, meetings of the State Team and of local teams shall be open to the public and subject to Title 3 of the General Provisions Article when the State Team or local team is not discussing individual cases of child deaths.    (c)    (1)    During a public meeting, information may not be disclosed that identifies:            (i)    A deceased child;            (ii)    A family member, guardian, or caretaker of a deceased child;            (iii)    An alleged or suspected perpetrator of abuse or neglect upon a child; or            (iv)    A child convicted of a crime or adjudicated as having committed a delinquent act that caused a death or near fatality.        (2)    During a public meeting, information may not be disclosed regarding the involvement of any agency with:            (i)    A deceased child;            (ii)    A family member, guardian, or caretaker of a deceased child;            (iii)    An alleged or suspected perpetrator of abuse or neglect upon a child; or            (iv)    A child convicted of a crime or adjudicated as having committed a delinquent act that caused a death or near fatality.    (d)    This section does not prohibit the State Team or a local team from requesting the attendance at a team meeting of a person who has information relevant to the team’s exercise of its purpose and duties.    (e)    Violation of this section is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or both.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-709 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 7 - Child Fatality Review Teams|Section 5-709 - Disclosure of Records and Information

    (a)    All information and records acquired by the State Team or by a local team, in the exercise of its purpose and duties under this subtitle, are confidential, exempt from disclosure under Title 4 of the General Provisions Article, and may only be disclosed as necessary to carry out the team’s duties and purposes.    (b)    Statistical compilations of data that do not contain any information that would permit the identification of any person to be ascertained are public records.    (c)    Reports of the State Team and of a local team that do not contain any information that would permit the identification of any person to be ascertained are public information.    (d)    Except as necessary to carry out a team’s purpose and duties, members of a team and persons attending a team meeting may not disclose what transpired at a meeting that is not public under § 5-708 of this subtitle or any information the disclosure of which is prohibited by this section.    (e)    Members of a team, persons attending a team meeting, and persons who present information to a team may not be questioned in any civil or criminal proceeding regarding information presented in or opinions formed as a result of a meeting. This subsection does not prohibit a person from testifying to information obtained independently of the team or that is public information.    (f)    (1)    Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, information, documents, and records of the State Team or of a local team are not subject to subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding.        (2)    Information, documents, and records otherwise available from other sources are not immune from subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence through those sources solely because they were presented during proceedings of the team or are maintained by a team.    (g)    Violation of this section is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or both.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-801 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 8 - Mortality and Quality Review Committee|Section 5-801 - Definitions

    In this subtitle, “Committee” means the Mortality Review Committee.
MD. Health - General Code Ann. §  5-802 (2021)
2021 Maryland Statutes|Health - General|Title 5 - Death|Subtitle 8 - Mortality and Quality Review Committee|Section 5-802 - Established; Purpose

    (a)    There is a Mortality Review Committee established within the Department.    (b)    The purpose of the Committee is to prevent avoidable deaths and to improve the quality of care provided to persons with developmental disabilities.