County Authority Unclaimed Body Final Disposition

Current law requires a county to bury an unclaimed dead body after following certain procedures. The bill authorizes the county to also cremate the body or use any lawful method of final disposition. The bill also harmonizes conflicts in existing law to the standards required by the final disposition statute.

Current law gives a coroner or other governmental official who has control over an unclaimed dead body between 24 and 48 hours to find any relatives or friends of the deceased. The bill extends this deadline to 5 days.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)