PRINTER'S NO. 3339
No. 2299 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY FLECK, BEYER, BAKER, BELFANTI, BENNINGHOFF,
BOBACK, BOYD, BRENNAN, CAUSER, CLYMER, DALLY, FRANKEL,
GIBBONS, GODSHALL, GRELL, HENNESSEY, KAUFFMAN, KORTZ, LEACH,
MAHONEY, McILVAINE SMITH, METCALFE, MURT, O'NEILL, PASHINSKI,
PEIFER, PICKETT, QUINN, RAPP, ROAE, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO,
SCHRODER, SIPTROTH, S. H. SMITH, STERN, R. STEVENSON,
SWANGER, TRUE, VULAKOVICH, WATSON, GOODMAN, HORNAMAN AND
ROHRER, MARCH 10, 2008
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 10, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 20 (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries) of the
2 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for commercial
3 display of human remains; and imposing civil penalties.
4 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
5 (1) 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 86 (relating to anatomical gifts)
6 calls for anatomical gifts to be made for medical or dental
7 education, research, advancement of medical or dental
8 science, therapy or transplantation.
9 (2) Every State, county, city or municipal official
10 responsible for the remains of unclaimed dead bodies is
11 required to use due diligence to notify the relatives of the
12 decedent.
13 (3) The public display of human remains must be
14 regulated to protect individual bodily integrity, as well as
15 the social and cultural values of the Commonwealth.
1 (4) It is the intent of the General Assembly to require
2 persons who participate in the public display of human
3 remains for commercial purposes to provide evidence of
4 informed consent from the decedent or relatives of all humans
5 whose remains are put on display and to provide for the
6 continued use of human remains in the educational, medical
7 and scientific communities to promote human health and
8 safety.
9 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
10 hereby enacts as follows:
11 Section 1. Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
12 Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
13 CHAPTER 89
14 COMMERCIAL DISPLAY OF HUMAN REMAINS
15 Sec.
16 8901. Definitions.
17 8902. Display requirement, exceptions and penalty.
18 8903. Permit program.
19 8904. Applicability.
20 § 8901. Definitions.
21 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
22 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
23 context clearly indicates otherwise:
24 "Commercial purposes." Either of the following:
25 (1) A display for which the public is charged a fee or
26 other consideration as a condition of viewing.
27 (2) A display for which an exhibitor accepts payment or
28 other consideration.
29 "Exhibitor." A person or entity who shows or puts on, or
30 contracts to show or put on, a temporary public display of human
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1 remains.
2 "Museum facility." A public or private nonprofit institution
3 that is accredited by the American Association of Museums or is
4 part of an accredited college or university and that is
5 organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational or
6 aesthetic purposes and that owns or uses tangible objects, cares
7 for those objects and exhibits them to the general public on a
8 regular basis.
9 § 8902. Display requirement, exceptions and penalty.
10 (a) Display requirement.--Except as provided in subsection
11 (b), a person shall not display human remains to the public for
12 commercial purposes without first obtaining a permit issued by
13 the county where the human remains will be displayed, as
14 described in section 8903 (relating to permit program).
15 (b) Exceptions.--This section shall not apply to a display
16 of human remains that is any of the following:
17 (1) More than 100 years old.
18 (2) Consisting solely of human teeth or hair.
19 (3) Part of the ordinary display or viewing of the
20 deceased at a funeral establishment or part of a similar
21 funeral or memorial service.
22 (4) An object of religious veneration.
23 (5) In the possession of a museum facility. However, if
24 the museum facility paid or offered other consideration to an
25 exhibitor to display the remains and the remains are not
26 exempt from this chapter pursuant to paragraph (1), (2), (3)
27 or (4), the exhibitor shall be required to obtain a permit
28 pursuant to section 8903.
29 (c) Penalty.--Any person who violates this section shall be
30 subject to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each
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1 violation.
2 § 8903. Permit program.
3 If a county elects to establish a permit program under this
4 chapter, a county may issue a permit to any person for the
5 purpose described in section 8902 (relating to display
6 requirement, exceptions and penalty) only upon a determination
7 by the county public health official, or the public health
8 official's designee, that the person has provided valid written
9 authorization to display human remains for consideration from
10 any of the following individuals:
11 (1) The decedent, including, but not limited to,
12 authorization given by will.
13 (2) Any person authorized to make an anatomical gift
14 under section 8611 (relating to persons who may execute
15 anatomical gift.).
16 § 8904. Applicability.
17 Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to apply to the
18 utilization of human remains in a manner that meets the purposes
19 set forth in Chapter 86 (relating to anatomical gifts).
20 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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