Honorable Lois W. Kolkhorst, Chair, Senate Committee on Health & Human Services
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB2721 by Parker (Relating to the licensing and regulation of persons who provide services in relation to the deceased; creating a criminal offense and increasing the punishment for an existing criminal offense; expanding the application of a fee.), As Introduced
The bill would create the state jail felony offense of violating the required maintenance of a secure electronic database that contains certain information regarding consent documentation and unique identifiers in addition to the records already required to be maintained by the Commission. The bill would furthermore increase the criminal penalty for the offense of refusing, neglecting, or omitting to perform the required duties related to the donation and distribution of bodies and anatomical specimens to a Class B misdemeanor.
Creating a new criminal offense and increasing the penalty for an existing offense may result in an increase in demands upon state and local correctional resources due to a possible increase in the number of individuals placed under supervision in the community or sentenced to a term of confinement.
In fiscal year 2024, there were no arrests, no referrals, no placement onto adult community supervision, no individuals admitted into an adult state correctional institution, and no individuals admitted into a juvenile state correctional institution for offenses relating to the death and disposition of the body.
It is assumed that any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.