STAND. COM. REP. NO. 399
Honolulu, Hawaii
H.D. 1
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Third State Legislature
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 868 entitled:
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to amend chapter 441, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), relating to Cemetery and Funeral trusts by:
(1) Requiring cemetery authorities to map all plots, crypts, and niches and identify the deceased interred there, file the map or plat with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), and annually update it;
(2) Prohibiting disinterment of plots, crypts, or niches without prior approval of the DCCA Director and notice to the purchaser; and
(3) Provide that the cemetery or funeral authority contract include a designated contact person.
DCCA submitted testimony in support of intent and provided proposed amendments. Mililani Group, Inc., Diamond Head Memorial Park, and Hawaiian Memorial Life Plan, Ltd., submitted testimony in opposition to this measure.
Your Committee finds that this bill would protect consumers by providing for better management of the property sold by a cemetery or funeral authority. However, those testifying in opposition purported that it was unfeasible to require cemetery authorities to keep a record of the location of each deceased person, especially in situations where the deceased are interred in communal family niches.
Further, your Committee finds that deceased persons and their families should have some expectation of privacy regarding interment, and that the release of information concerning a deceased's interment should be at the discretion of the deceased's family members.
Finally, your Committee finds that the measure adds unnecessary bureaucracy since disinterment of human remains already requires a Department of Health permit issued under section 338-25.5, HRS.
Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Removing the provisions regulating disinterment of plots, crypts, or niches;
(2) Requiring a "unique identifier" to be assigned to each plot, crypt, or niche that will enable the cemetery authority to respond to inquiries about the location of a deceased, in a timely manner;
(3) Making disclosure of the unique identifier for a plot, crypt, or niche to be sold, a part of cemetery and funeral authority contract disclosure requirements;
(4) Making the cemetery authority's books subject to examination by the director "as provided by law," instead of "as provided for corporations in section 414-472"; and
(5) Providing an effective date of July 1, 2099, to facilitate further discussion.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 868, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 868, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,
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KENNETH HIRAKI, Chair |
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