H-4053.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2429

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      53rd Legislature     1994 Regular Session

By House Committee on Human Services (originally sponsored by Representatives Karahalios, Johanson and Wineberry)

Read first time 02/04/94.

Concerning funeral expenses for indigent persons.

    AN ACT Relating to funerals; and amending RCW 74.08.120.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 74.08.120 and 1992 c 108 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

    The term "funeral" shall mean the mortuary services needed for the proper preparation, preservation, and care of the remains of a deceased person with needed facilities and appropriate memorial services.  "Transportation" shall mean transport of a body from place of death to mortuary and transportation to place of disposition, within the service area defined by the department.  "Disposition" includes necessary costs of a burial and cemetery plot or cremation and disposition site, and all services related to interment and the minimal memorial marking of a grave.

    The department ((is hereby authorized to assume)) shall, by December 31, 1994, review and make recommendations to determine the feasibility of assuming responsibility for payment for the funeral, transportation, and disposition of deceased persons dying without assets sufficient to pay for the minimum standard services herein provided((:  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That)). In the review, the department shall consult with the Washington state funeral directors association, the state board of funeral directors and embalmers, the Washington internment association, the state cemetery board, the Washington cremation association, and the Washington association of county officials, as well as other interested parties.  However, the secretary may furnish funeral assistance for deceased recipients if they leave assets to either a surviving spouse ((and/or)) or to minor children, or both, and if the assets are resources permitted to be owned by or available to an eligible applicant or recipient under RCW 74.04.005, and the department shall thereby have a lien against said assets as provided in RCW 43.20B.120.  If the deceased person is survived by a spouse or is a minor child survived by his parent or parents, the department may take into consideration the assets of such surviving spouse, parent, or parents in determining whether or not the department will assume responsibility for the funeral, or disposition costs.

    The department shall not pay more than cost for a minimum standard service rendered by each vendor.  Payments to the funeral director and to the cemetery or crematorium will be made by separate vouchers.  The standard of such services and the uniform amounts to be paid shall be determined by the department after giving due consideration to such advice and counsel as it shall obtain from the trade associations of the various vendors and related state departments, agencies, and commissions.  Payment made for any funeral, transportation, or burial service by relatives, friends, or any other third party above a donation level established by the department shall be subtracted from the payment made by the department.

                            --- END ---