Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 50

FORMERLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 52

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 DELAWARE CODE, RELATING TO TRADING IN HUMAN REMAINS AND ASSOCIATED FUNERARY OBJECTS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE: (Two-thirds of all members elected to each House thereof concurring therein)

Section 1. Amend Title 11, Delaware Code by adding thereto a new Section 1333 to read as follows:

"Section 1333. Trading in Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects

(a) As used in this section:

(1) 'Associated Funerary Objects' means an item of human manufacture or use that is intentionally placed with human remains at the time of interment in a burial site or later as a part of a death rite or ceremony of a culture, religion, or group. 'Associated Funerary Object' includes any gravestone, monument, tomb, or other structure in or directly associated with a burial site.

(b) A person is guilty of Trading in Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects when he knowingly sells, buys, or transports for sale or profit, or offers to buy, sell or transport for sale or profit, within this state, any unlawfully removed human remains or any associated funerary objects.

(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:

(1) Any person acting in the course of medical, archaeological, educational, or scientific study authorized by an accredited educational institution or governmental entity; or

(2) A licensed mortician or other professional who transports human remains in the course of carrying out the individual's professional duties and responsibilities.

(d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to interfere with the normal operation and maintenance of a public or private cemetery including correction of improper burial siting, and, with the consent of any person who would qualify as an heir of the deceased, moving the remains within a public or private cemetery,

(e) Trading in Human Remains and Associated Funerary Objects is a Class 13 Misdemeanor."

Approved June 12, 1995