Kentucky lawmakers have passed a bill that changes how unclaimed bodies are handled, adding a requirement that coroners consult with religious organizations willing to provide burial before deciding on cremation.
The measure, SB 27, passed both chambers and was delivered to Gov. Andy Beshear on April 1.
The legislation amends state law to allow a coroner to bury or cremate an unclaimed body after attempting for at least 30 days to locate next of kin. It directs that before a local government bearing the expense chooses burial or cremation, officials must consult the coroner and, if the decedent is known to be a member of a religious community that has notified the coroner in writing of its willingness to cover burial costs, that community.
An earlier version of the bill specifically named Chabad of the Bluegrass, the organization’s chapter in Lexington, Ky., as the group to be contacted if a decedent was known to be of Jewish descent. Sponsors and supporters revised the language to encompass any qualifying religious group after feedback from stakeholders, including Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, director of Chabad of the Bluegrass and chairman of the Kentucky Jewish Council.
Litvin told JNS that he worked with bill sponsor Greg Elkins, a Republican state senator, to “broaden the language on religious groups,” and that he has already begun outreach to county coroners.
“If you have someone who is reliant on the state and is Jewish, we will cover burial, we will arrange everything. We’ll provide a rabbi, we’ll pay for the burial plot, for the service, for the transport and everything else,” he said.
Litvin, who also serves as a chaplain for the Kentucky General Assembly, told JNS that the broader wording makes the legislation more functional and adaptable. Advocacy groups in Vermont and New Jersey are working to replicate the legislation, he said.
He also noted that JNS coverage of the original legislation “did a tremendous amount of good” by drawing attention to the bill and surfacing concerns about the bill’s narrowly tailored language.
“I opened the Senate on Erev Pesach with a prayer,” Litvin told JNS. “And that day they passed the legislation.”
