HB 2254 increases the monetary cap on irrevocable prearranged funeral agreements,
contracts, or plans, on and after July 1, 2021, to $10,000, which will increase in an amount equal to the average percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index each year. The bill also amends the documentation a licensed crematory operator or crematory operator in charge is required to receive, prior to the cremation of any dead human body, to only a completed and executed coroner’s permit to cremate, if required under the Uniform Vital Statistics Act (Act).
Irrevocable Prearranged Funeral Agreements
Former law allowed such funeral agreements, contracts, or plans to be irrevocable as to
the retail price of a casket, urn, and outside burial container, and as to the first $7,000 of funds paid and set aside at the direction of the purchaser.
The bill, in addition to increasing the monetary cap to $10,000, states on July 1, 2022,
and each July 1 thereafter, such amount will increase in an amount equal to the average
percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers in the Midwest region, as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Coroner’s Permit and Documentation
The bill amends the Act to require a coroner’s permit to be executed only if the death or
cause of death occurred in Kansas or in a state where such a permit to cremate is required. The Act also is amended to allow an electronic as well as a telefacsimile signed copy of a coroner’s permit to cremate as legal authorization to cremate. Further, the bill amends the Act by repealing the statute requiring Kansas funeral directors to provide the Secretary of Health and Environment with a monthly report of the bodies prepared for burial.