Announcement Detail


October 8 | 2021 Legislative Watch Survey

 

The Colorado Funeral Directors Association will be monitoring proposed legislation for the 2021 Colorado General Assembly.

CFDA's Legislative & Advocacy Committee will be taking a closer look at the 2020 "Natural Reduction of Human Remains" bill that would allow for an alternative disposition method to reduce human remains to basic elements.

Comments and concerns raised during the 2020 session:

  • The funeral service profession supports CONSUMER CHOICE for alternative methods of final disposition, especially those that present a more environmentally conscious approach to death care.
  • It is imperative that any business that purports to provide any method of FINAL DISPOSITION be required to comply with any and all laws that pertain to funeral establishments and crematories.
  • The State of Washington last year legalized human composting, yet there are no facilities in operation to demonstrate how the process works, identify flaws, nor address regulatory concerns.
  • CFDA expressed concerns about the processes and steps that occur from time of death to final disposition – handling of the body, establishing viability of a candidate, removal of implanted devices, and exposure to infectious disease.
  • Concerns about contamination and transmission of disease – lack of evidence to support that Natural Reduction methods can safely denature prions, spore-forming organisms, and other hazardous substances from dead human bodies.
  • Concerns that soil byproducts from a dead human body will unknowingly be used to propagate plants and gardens that feed our communities.
  • Concerns that soil byproducts from a dead human body will contaminate soil and ground water and will be distributed to residential and public areas.
  • Concerns about the potential for introducing more “bad actors” into the funeral service profession since the State of Colorado does not license the PEOPLE who work within the funeral service profession. Lack of enforcement make Natural Reduction an opportunity for less-than-reputable businesses to enter the market.
  • There are NO regular inspections of funeral establishments and crematories – which lead in part to the horrendous scenario in western Colorado where an unregulated funeral director was dismembering and selling of human body parts.

We encourage Funeral Service Stakeholders to engage in the conversation about "natural reduction" and offer suggestions to be considered for legislation during the 2021 General Assembly

Click here to complete our 2021 Legislative Watch Survey.