CHAPTER 368k
CREMATORIES

      Sec. 19a-320. (Formerly Sec. 19-165). Erection and maintenance of crematories. Certificates of inspection. Fees. (a) Any resident of this state, or any corporation formed under the law of this state, may erect, maintain and conduct a crematory in this state and provide the necessary appliances and facilities for the disposal by incineration of the bodies of the dead, in accordance with the provisions of this section. The location of such crematory shall be within the confines of an established cemetery containing not less than twenty acres, which cemetery shall have been in existence and operation for at least five years immediately preceding the time of the erection of such crematory, or shall be within the confines of a plot of land approved for the location of a crematory by the selectmen of any town, the mayor and council or board of aldermen of any city and the warden and burgesses of any borough; provided, in any town, city or borough having a zoning commission, such commission shall have the authority to grant such approval. On and after October 1, 1998, no crematory which is not operating on October 1, 1998, shall be located within five hundred feet of any residential structure or land used for residential purposes not owned by the owner of the crematory. This section shall not apply to any resident of this state or any corporation formed under the law of this state that was issued an air quality permit by the Department of Environmental Protection prior to October 1, 1998.

      (b) Application for such approval shall be made in writing to the local authority specified in subsection (a) of this section and a hearing shall be held within the town, city or borough in which such location is situated within sixty-five days from the date of receipt of such application. Notice of such hearing shall be given to such applicant by mail, postage paid, to the address given on the application, and to the Commissioner of Public Health, and by publication twice in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the town, city or borough at intervals of not less than two days, the first being not more than fifteen days nor less than ten days, and the second being not less than two days before such hearing. The local authority shall approve or deny such application within sixty-five days after such hearing, provided an extension of time not to exceed a further period of sixty-five days may be had with the consent of the applicant. The grounds for its action shall be stated in the records of the authority. Each applicant shall pay a fee of ten dollars, together with the costs of the publication of such notice and the reasonable expense of such hearing, to the treasurer of such town, city or borough.

      (c) (1) No such crematory shall be erected until the plans therefor have been filed with and approved by the Department of Public Health; and no such crematory shall be used until it has been inspected and received a certificate of inspection by said department and a fee of one thousand dollars is paid to the Department of Public Health for its inspection and approval.

      (2) Each holder of an inspection certificate shall, annually, on or before July first, submit in writing to the Department of Public Health an application for renewal of such certificate together with a fee of two hundred fifty dollars. If the department issues to such applicant such an inspection certificate, the same shall be valid until July first next following, unless revoked or suspended.

      (3) Upon receipt of an application for a renewal of such certificate, the Department of Public Health shall make an inspection of each crematory.

      (4) A crematory shall be open at all times for inspection by the Department of Public Health. The department may make inspections whenever it deems advisable.

      (5) If, upon inspection by the Department of Public Health, it is found that such crematory is in such condition as to be detrimental to public health, the department shall give to the applicant or operator of the crematory notice and opportunity for hearing as provided in regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Public Health, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. The commissioner may, after such hearing, revoke, suspend or refuse to issue or renew any such certificate upon cause found at hearing. Any person aggrieved by the finding of or action taken by the Department of Public Health may appeal therefrom in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183.

      (6) Any of the inspections provided for in this section may be made by a person designated by the Department of Public Health or by a representative of the Commissioner of Public Health.

      (1949 Rev., S. 4723; 1971, P.A. 862, S. 11; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 10, 117; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 98-216, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-4, S. 28, 58; P.A. 02-67, S. 1; P.A. 07-217, S. 79.)

      History: 1971 act divided section into subsecs. and added provisions detailing application, hearing and approval procedures, deleting previous general provision stating that hearing after published notice is necessary for approval; P.A. 77-614 replaced commissioner and department of health with commissioner and department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; Sec. 19-165 transferred to Sec. 19a-320 in 1983; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 amended Subsec. (c) to establish a fee of $1,000 for inspection and approval; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 98-216 amended Subdiv. (a) by adding provision prohibiting location of a crematory within 500 feet of a residential structure or land used for residential purposes not owned by the owner of the crematory; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-4 amended Subsec. (a) by adding exception for residents and corporations issued an air quality permit by the Department of Environmental Protection prior to October 1, 1998, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 02-67 amended Subsec. (c) by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and substituting "received a certificate of inspection" for "approved", and by adding Subdivs. (2) to (6), inclusive, re annual renewal of the inspection certificate and providing for a $250 fee, re inspection of crematory by department, re requirement that crematory be open at all times for inspection by department, re finding by department that crematory is detrimental to public health and providing for notice and hearing, and re inspection by a person designated by department or a representative of commissioner; P.A. 07-217 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July 12, 2007.

      Sec. 19a-322. (Formerly Sec. 19-167). Records and certificates. The managers of each crematory shall keep books of record, which shall be open at reasonable times for inspection, in which shall be entered the name, age, sex and residence of each person whose body is cremated, together with the authority for such cremation and the disposition of the ashes. The owner or superintendent shall complete the cremation permit required by section 19a-323, retain a copy for record and immediately forward the original permit to the registrar of the town in which the death occurred. The registrar shall keep the cremation permit on file and record it with other vital statistics. When any body is removed from this state for the purpose of cremation, the person having the legal custody and control of such body shall cause a certificate to be procured from the person in charge of the crematory in which such body is incinerated, stating the facts called for in this section, and cause such certificate to be filed for record with the registrar of the town in which the death occurred. Each crematory shall retain on its premises, for not less than three years after final disposition of cremated remains, books of record, copies of cremation permits, cremation authorization documentation and documentation of receipt of cremated remains.

      (1949 Rev., S. 4725; P.A. 04-255, S. 19; P.A. 07-252, S. 11.)

      History: Sec. 19-167 transferred to Sec. 19a-322 in 1983; P.A. 04-255 required owner or superintendent to complete cremation permit and forward it to registrar, required registrar to keep such permit on file and changed place of filing cremation certificate from registrar issuing permit to registrar of town in which death occurred; P.A. 07-252 established a three-year record retention requirement for crematories.

      Sec. 19a-323. (Formerly Sec. 19-168). Cremation authorized. Cremation certificate or permit for final disposition required. Fee payable in certain cases. (a) The body of any deceased person may be disposed of by incineration or cremation in this state or may be removed from the state for such purpose.

      (b) If death occurred in this state, the death certificate required by law shall be filed with the registrar of vital statistics for the town in which such person died, if known, or, if not known, for the town in which the body was found. The Chief Medical Examiner, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, associate medical examiner, or an authorized assistant medical examiner shall complete the cremation certificate, stating that such medical examiner has made inquiry into the cause and manner of death and is of the opinion that no further examination or judicial inquiry is necessary. The cremation certificate shall be submitted to the registrar of vital statistics of the town in which such person died, if known, or, if not known, of the town in which the body was found, or with the registrar of vital statistics of the town in which the funeral director having charge of the body is located. Upon receipt of the cremation certificate, the registrar shall authorize the cremation certificate, keep it on permanent record, and issue a cremation permit, except that if the cremation certificate is submitted to the registrar of the town where the funeral director is located, such certificate shall be forwarded to the registrar of the town where the person died to be kept on permanent record. The estate of the deceased person, if any, shall pay the sum of forty dollars for the issuance of the cremation certificate or an amount equivalent to the compensation then being paid by the state to authorized assistant medical examiners, if greater. No cremation certificate shall be required for a permit to cremate the remains of bodies pursuant to section 19a-270a. When the cremation certificate is submitted to a town other than that where the person died, the registrar of vital statistics for such other town shall ascertain from the original removal, transit and burial permit that the certificates required by the state statutes have been received and recorded, that the body has been prepared in accordance with the Public Health Code and that the entry regarding the place of disposal is correct. Whenever the registrar finds that the place of disposal is incorrect, the registrar shall issue a corrected removal, transit and burial permit and, after inscribing and recording the original permit in the manner prescribed for sextons' reports under section 7-72, shall then immediately give written notice to the registrar for the town where the death occurred of the change in place of disposal stating the name and place of the crematory and the date of cremation. Such written notice shall be sufficient authorization to correct these items on the original certificate of death. The fee for a cremation permit shall be three dollars and for the written notice one dollar. The Department of Public Health shall provide forms for cremation permits, which shall not be the same as for regular burial permits and shall include space to record information about the intended manner of disposition of the cremated remains, and such blanks and books as may be required by the registrars.

      (c) If the body of a deceased person is brought into this state for cremation and is accompanied by a permit for final disposition issued by a legally constituted authority of the state from which the body was brought, indicating cremation for the body, such permit shall be sufficient authority to cremate the body and no additional cremation certificate or permit shall be required.

      (d) No body shall be cremated until at least forty-eight hours after death, unless such death was the result of communicable disease, and no body shall be received by any crematory unless accompanied by the permit provided for in this section.

      (1949 Rev., S. 4726; 1953, S. 2363d; 1959, P.A. 423; 1961, P.A. 227; 1963, P.A. 470; February, 1965, P.A. 48, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 699, S. 27; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 79-47, S. 6; P.A. 83-565, S. 1, 2; P.A. 90-158, S. 1; P.A. 91-89; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 04-255, S. 20; P.A. 05-81, S. 3; P.A. 07-104, S. 7; 07-252, S. 80.)

      History: 1959 act deleted requirements that cremation certificate be under oath, that certificate be from director of health when death resulted from natural causes and for certificate from coroner and added provision re sum payable to medical examiner; 1961 act specified registrar of vital statistics and medical examiner be those for town in which person died or where funeral director having charge of the body is located, added provision for filing of and fee for cremation certificate, requiring registrar of other town to ascertain that the certificates have been received and recorded and the body prepared prior to issuing permit and that forms be provided by state health department rather than vital statistics bureau; 1963 act added reference to bodies cremated pursuant to Sec. 19-141 and changed technical language; 1965 act added provision that registrar of other town ascertain that place of disposal entry is correct, provision for issuance of corrected removal permit and for manner of inscribing and recording original permit, and deleted requirement that notice of registrar of other town be on a form supplied by state health department; 1969 act clarified provisions by streamlining language and adding reference to towns where bodies found but where deceased person did not necessarily die and deleted proviso re cremation upon authority of permit issued by another state; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-47 clarified language, replaced "certificate of death" with "death certificate" and "deputy medical examiner" with "deputy chief medical examiner" and added associate medical examiners as issuers of cremation certificates; Sec. 19-168 transferred to Sec. 19a-323 in 1983; P.A. 83-565 provided with respect to examination of the body and issuance of a cremation certificate, as required in cases of cremation, that estate of deceased, in lieu of previous fee of $10, pay a fee of $40 or an amount equivalent to that paid to assistant medical examiners for such examination and certificate, if greater, except that no fee shall be required for the examination and certificate in cases of violent death, sudden death not caused by recognizable disease, death under suspicious circumstances or death related to disease resulting from employment or accident while employed or which may constitute a threat to public health; P.A. 90-158 removed language concerning external examination of the body by a medical examiner; P.A. 91-89 raised fee for cremation permit from $0.50 to $3.00; P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 04-255 specified that the Chief Medical Examiner, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, associate medical examiner or authorized assistant medical examiner shall complete the cremation certificate, required registrar to keep cremation certificate and issue cremation permit, and made conforming changes; P.A. 05-81 replaced "issued in" with "submitted to" re town other than where person died, made a technical change and required Department of Public Health to provide space on cremation permits to record information about the intended manner of disposition of the cremated remains, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 07-104 added provisions requiring permit for final disposition indicating cremation issued by legally constituted authorities of state from which a body is brought prior to cremating such body in this state, added Subdiv. designators (1) and (2) and renamed burial transit removal permit as removal, transit and burial permit, effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 07-252 designated provisions re disposition by incineration or cremation as Subsec. (a), designated provisions re death certificates and cremation certificates as Subsec. (b), transferred provisions re out-of-state permits for final disposition into new Subsec. (c) and transferred provisions re 48-hour waiting period and receipt of bodies by crematories into new Subsec. (d), effective July 1, 2007.