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The Kansas Legislature has advanced House Bill 2331, a measure that creates clear procedures for how district coroners can handle the cremated remains of people who are not claimed by family members or next of kin. The bill, sponsored by the Federal and State Affairs Committee, passed the House unanimously and is now being considered in the Senate.

Under current law, coroners must deliver a deceased person’s body to family members or, if none are available, see that it is cremated or buried. HB 2331 would expand those rules to allow coroners to relinquish custody of cremated remains if no one claims them after three years and after public notice is published in the county. It also outlines how those remains must be respectfully buried or, in the case of veterans, transferred to the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs Office or a national cemetery. The bill provides legal protections for coroners acting in good faith under the new procedures.