Legislation

Kansas Legislative Services
Legislative link to Bill Status, Journals, Rosters, etc.

K.A.R. 63-1-3 regarding Registration and Apprenticeship, sections (i) & ( j) of this regulation address time served in the armed forces relating to embalming and funeral directing apprenticeships

Amendments to KAR 63-2-26  and KAR 63-4-1  become law on Friday, February 8, 2008 and address the written examination for assistant funeral directors.   Applicants for licensure as an assistant funeral director must now have graduated from an accredited high school or have obtained the equivalent of a high school education as determined by the Department of Education and pass a written examination.

Amended Regulations  Amendments to KAR 63-1-1 and KAR 63-5-1 were published in the Kansas Register and became law on Friday, February 16, 2007.

The 2008 Kansas Legislature

  House Substitute for Senate BIll 226   The Kansas Funeral Privacy Act.  Passed the House, 123-0.  Passed the Senate, 40-0.  4/3/2008:  Approved by the Governor.  Effective upon publication in the Kansas Register.

  Senate BIll 450  Involves the investment of permanent maintenance funds by cemetery corporations.  This bill was requested by the Kansas Secretary of State's Office.  2/13/2008:  The bill passed the Senate, 39-1, and the House, 123-0.  4/4/2008:  Approved by the Governor.  Effective after publication in the statute book.    

  Senate Bill 682  Relating to final disposition of a decedent's remains.  Amending KSA 65-1734.  The bill was introduced March 14, 2008 by the Senate Ways and Means Committee and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.  No action was taken.

  Senate Bill 687   An act relating to veterans;  concerning the burial of unclaimed remains of any veteran;  amending KSA 65-1732 and repealing the existing section.  By the Committee of Federal and State Affairs.  Introduced in the Senate on March 18, 2008 and referred to the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee.  No action taken.

  Senate Substitute for House Bill 2341   Involves fetal disposition.  The original bill passed the House in 2007.  In 2008 the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee introduced a substitute bill and recommended that it be passed.  No additional action was taken.

  Substitute for House Bill 2618  Involves administrative procedure.  A hearing was conducted on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 in the House Judiciary Committee.  A substitute bill, containing major amendments passed the House, 120-2.   The bill would take away the authority of state agencies being able to conduct adjudicative hearings and would transfer that responsibility to the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH.)  A hearing was conducted on March 13, 2008 by the Senate Judiciary Committee.  The bill was amended in the Senate Committee and again on the floor of the Senate before it was referred back to the Senate Judiciary Committee on 3/28/2008.  If passed as amended, state agencies, including the KSBMA, would have to use the Office of Administrative Hearings for adjudicative hearings--instead of being able to handle by the agency, as is currently allowed.  This would result in additional unbudgeted expenses for costs of expert witness, hourly rates charged by OAH and would eliminate the expertise of board members when prosecuting cases.  No additional action was taken.

  House Bill 2656 Authorizes certain cemetery corporations to convey real estate not platted into cemetery lots free from trust restrictions.  The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee where a hearing was conducted and the bill was passed out of committee.  2/13/2008:  The bill passed the House, 122-0 and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee where a hearing was conducted on Thursday, March 6, 2008.  The committee passed the bill out favorably and recommended it be placed on the Senate Consent Calendar.  It passed the Senate 40-0 on March 13, 2008.  On March 17, 2008 the House enrolled the bill and presented it to the Governor.  March 26, 2008:  The bill was approved by the Governor and will be effective upon publication in the Statute Book.

  House Bill 2684  An act concerning crimes, criminal procedure and punishment;  relating to criminal desecration.  The bill was referred to  the House Judiciary Committee where a hearing was conducted  on Wednesday, February 6, 2008.  No additional action was taken.

  House Bill 2768   The bill would amend KSA 2007 Supp. 65-1753 to include allowing a dead human body to be transported from the place of death to a federally certified organ procurement organization serving the State of Kansas in addition to other locations already included in the statute.  A hearing was conducted by the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, February 11, 2008.  The committee amended the bill and it passed the House 122-0.  A hearing was conducted on Thursday, March 6, 2008 by the Senate Judiciary Committee.  No addional action was taken.

   House Bill 2935  The bill involves the dissolution of cemetery corporations.  It was referred to the House Elections and Governmental Organization Committee where a hearing was conducted on March 6, 2008.  On March 14, 2008, the committee recommended that the bill be passed as amended by the committee.   On 3/19/2008 the bill passed the House as amended, 125-0.  3/20/2008:  It was referred to the Senate Elections and Local Government Committee.  No additional action was taken.

ADDED 5-7-08  The House and Senate continue to work on issues pertaining to Omnibus appropriations as they work towards adjournment of the 2007-2008 Legislative Session.

For more information, please refer to the KSBMA's Legislative Information Page or to the Kansas Legislature's Web site.

   Senate Bill 72   This bill was requested by the Mortuary Arts Board and was introduced by the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee on Thursday, January 11, 2007.  A hearing was conducted on Tuesday, January 16, 2007, and the bill was passed out favorably.  It passed the Senate 40-0.  The bill was amended (minor amendment) and passed out of the House Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday, March 1, 2007.  It was passed by the House, 118-3, then concurred by the Senate, 40-0.  Governor Sebelius signed the bill on Thursday, March 29, 2007.  The bill became law upon publication in the statute book/July 1, 2007. The portion of the Governor's Press Release of March 29, 2007 that addresses SB 72 is as follows:

Technical corrections for funeral directors

SB 72 makes technical corrections to the existing statutes under which funeral directors are regulated and licensed by the Board of Mortuary Arts. The bill also expands and clarifies the definition of “funeral director,” and the grounds for disciplinary action against a licensee.

Ensuring accountability among assistant funeral directors

SB 179 requires assistant funeral directors to pass an examination by the Board of Mortuary Arts before being licensed. Additionally, those seeking a license must have graduated from an accredited high school or have obtained the equivalent of a high school education after the effective date of the bill.  All applications received on and after February 8, 2008 will require passing a written examination and payment of an initial prorated license fee prior to licensure.

Enacting the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act

HB 2010 enacts the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (RUAGA), replacing the Kansas Uniform Anatomical Gift Act of 1968.  Key elements within the new act include provisions to comply with federal law, new definitions to clarify and expand the opportunities for anatomical gifts and the inclusion of anatomical gifts on donor registries. Additionally, the act makes transplantation and therapy a higher priority than research and education and allows a document of gift to specify a person to whom a part passes. A document of gift can also be amended or revoked under this bill. This bill provides immunity for “good faith” efforts to comply with the bill. It also creates the crimes of purchasing or selling body parts, intentionally falsifying, forging, concealing, defacing or obliterating a document of gift or an amendment or revocation of a document of gift, and refusal of a gift in order to obtain financial gain.

This is the Legislature's 2007 Omnibus Appropriations Bill.  It contains funding for the Funeral Assistance Program which includes an additional $290,000 ($156,000 in increased rates and $134,000 to increase the number of funerals covered) for fiscal year 2008 (July 1, 2007--June 30, 2008.)  This would make total funding of $810,000 available for FY 2008.  Adjustments made by the Legislature can be found in the Conference Committee Report.  Page ten (10) of the report, item number eight (8) involves the Funeral Assistance Report.  These figures indicate that the current Funeral Assistance Benefit of $550 will be increased to $680.  KAR 30-4-98, which is the current Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) regulation governing the Funeral Assistance Program, was amended on January 1, 2008.

Statutes and Regulations (244kb pdf) 

A copy of the current KSBMA rulebook that also contains some selected laws governed by other state agencies.  This edition of the rulebook was last updated on July 1, 2006.  This book will be updated in 2008 once statutes from the 2007 legislative session have been updated.

NOTE:  Some of the above files are pdf documents.  If you do not already have Adobe Acrobat Reader already installed on your computer, please visit their site to download it.