SB2249 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB098 09184 RPM 39322 b

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB2249

Introduced 2/15/2013, by Sen. Pamela J. Althoff

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 2305/7

from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 22.05

Amends the Department of Public Health Act. Provides that in the absence of a demonstrated public health hazard, the provision concerning the death of a person who had or is suspected of having an infectious or communicable disease shall be construed liberally to accommodate the rights of citizens and religious groups to bury their dead privately without the involvement of a licensed funeral director. Provides that the Department shall adopt rules for providing the decedent's next of kin or legally authorized representatives access to paperwork and permits necessary for the legal disposition of a decedent. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Department of Public Health Act is amended by changing Section 7 as follows:

(20 ILCS 2305/7) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 22.05)

Sec. 7. The Illinois Department of Public Health shall adopt rules requiring that upon death of a person who had or is suspected of having an infectious or communicable disease that could be transmitted through contact with the person's body or bodily fluids, the body shall be labeled "Infection Hazard", or with an equivalent term to inform persons having subsequent contact with the body, including any funeral director or embalmer, to take suitable precautions. Such rules shall require that the label shall be prominently displayed on and affixed to the outer wrapping or covering of the body if the body is wrapped or covered in any manner. Responsibility for such labeling shall lie with the attending physician who certifies death, or if the death occurs in a health care facility, with such staff member as may be designated by the administrator of the facility. The Department may adopt rules providing for the safe disposal of human remains. To the extent feasible without endangering the public's health, the Department shall respect and accommodate the religious beliefs of individuals in implementing this Section.

In the absence of a demonstrated public health hazard, this Section shall be construed liberally to accommodate the rights of citizens and religious groups to bury their dead privately without the involvement of a licensed funeral director. The Department shall adopt rules for providing the decedent's next of kin or legally authorized representatives access to paperwork and permits necessary for the legal disposition of a decedent. The paperwork shall include, but not be limited to, the permit for disposition of a dead human body and the certificate of death.

(Source: P.A. 93-829, eff. 7-28-04.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.