S3484 2R

An Act concerning unclaimed cremains of veterans and amending P.L.1983, c.385, ²P.L.2003, c.221,² P.L.2009, c.14, and N.J.S.38A:3-6.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 2 of P.L.1983, c.385 (C.26:7-18.2) is amended to read as follows:

2. a. Except as provided by subsection b. of this section, a person may dispose of the cremains of a dead human body which have not been claimed by a relative or friend of the deceased within one year from the date of cremation upon certification, to the commissioner's satisfaction, that a diligent effort has been made to identify, locate and notify a relative or friend of the deceased within that one-year period. A diligent effort shall include a certified letter, return receipt requested, mailed to the person who authorized the cremation.

²[A funeral director, licensed pursuant to P.L.1952, c.340 (C.45:7-32 et seq.), who, after ¹[due diligence] a diligent effort¹ to find a relative or friend of the deceased, is knowingly in possession of the unclaimed cremains of a veteran, as defined by section 1 of P.L.1989, c.162 (C.38A:3-6.3), shall notify the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, by written or electronic communication, of the location and identity of such cremains one year after the date of cremation.]²

As used in this section, "cremains" means that substance which remains after the cremation of a dead human body.

b. ²(1)² A funeral director [, licensed pursuant to P.L.1952, c.340 (C.45:7-32 et seq.),] ², licensed pursuant to P.L.1952, c.340 (C.45:7-32 et seq.),² shall grant a qualified veterans' organization the right to receive the cremains of a veteran, or the cremains of an eligible spouse or eligible dependent of a veteran, which have not been claimed by a relative or friend of the deceased within one year after cremation upon certification, to the commissioner's satisfaction, that a diligent effort, as defined in subsection a. of this section, has been made to identify, locate and notify a relative or friend of the deceased within that one-year period.

A qualified veterans' organization which takes possession of cremains pursuant to this section shall dispose of the cremains by scattering them at sea or by interring them on land in a dignified manner at the State-operated, Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, a State-operated veterans' memorial cemetery, a national veterans' memorial cemetery, or a local veterans' memorial cemetery, if the individual is eligible for interment at those facilities.

As used in this section, "qualified veterans' organization" means a veterans' organization that qualifies as a section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) tax exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Code, or a federally chartered Veterans' Service Organization.

²(2) Each funeral director shall promptly respond to a request from the Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs, made pursuant to subsection (ff) of N.J.S.38A:3-6, for information as to whether the cremains of a veteran have been claimed.²

c. A funeral home or mortuary, or an agent of the funeral home or mortuary, or a funeral director, or qualified veterans' organization, shall not be liable for damages in any civil action arising out of the disposal of cremains pursuant to this section unless the damages are the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.37, s.1)

²2. Section 16 of P.L.2003, c.221 (C.26:8-24.1) is amended to read as follows:

16. a. The State registrar shall establish and maintain the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System or NJ-EDRS.

(1) The system shall be fully implemented no later than 18 months after the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, and shall be the required means of death registration and certification for any death or fetal death occurring in this State, subject to any exception that may be approved by the State registrar in the case of a specific death or fetal death. All participants in the death registration process, including, but not limited to, the State registrar, local registrars, deputy registrars, alternate deputy registrars, subregistrars, the Chief State Medical Examiner, Deputy Chief State Medical Examiner, county or intercounty medical examiners, assistant county or intercounty medical examiners, funeral directors, attending physicians and resident physicians, licensed health care facilities, and other public or private institutions providing medical care, treatment or confinement to persons, shall be required to utilize the NJ-EDRS to provide the information that is required of them by statute or regulation.

(2) The State registrar may provide for a phased implementation of the system, beginning seven months after the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, by requiring certain users, who are designated by the State registrar on a geographic or other basis for this purpose, to commence utilization of the system.

(3) Beginning no later than six months after the date of enactment of P.L.2003, c.221, the State registrar shall authorize and provide material support, in the form of system access, curriculum guidelines and user registration capability and authority, to the principal trade associations or professional organizations representing persons affected by implementation of the NJ-EDRS, for the purposes of providing training and education with regard to the NJ-EDRS. The State registrar may conduct such education and training, or authorize other entities to do so on his behalf; however, these activities shall not be construed as restricting the training and education activities of any affected trade association or professional organization, including the location, manner, fees, or other means of conducting those activities on the part of the association or organization.

b. The NJ-EDRS shall, at a minimum, provide for:

(1) the direct transmission of burial permit documentation to the originating funeral home in an electronic form capable of output to a local printer;

(2) an overnight mail system for the delivery of NJ-EDRS-generated death certificates by the State registrar and local registrars, the cost of which shall be chargeable to the funeral director of record;

(3) an automated notification system to alert other responsible parties to pending cases, including notification to or from alternate local registrars;

(4) a systematic electronic payment method by which all fees are taken from accounts for which funeral homes are financially responsible and distributed, as appropriate, to the State registrar or local registrars as payment for the issuance of permits, the recording of records, the making of certified copies of death certificates, or for other charges that may be incurred;

(5) a legally binding system of digital authentication in lieu of signatures for the responsible parties and a means of assuring database security that permits users to enter the system from multiple sites and includes contemporaneous and remote data security methods to protect the system from catastrophic loss or intrusions, as well as a method of data encryption for transmission;

(6) the capacity for authorized users to retrieve data comprising the death certification record;

(7) the capacity to electronically amend and correct death records;

(8) electronic notification, upon completion of the death record and issuance of a burial permit, of the decedent's name, Social Security number, and last known address and the informant to: the federal Social Security Administration, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and such other governmental agencies as the State registrar determines will substantially contribute to safeguarding public benefit programs and diminish the criminal use of a decedent's name and other identifying information; and the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, in the case of a decedent participating in one of its funeral expense payment programs, in such a manner as to enable it to fulfill its fiduciary obligations for the payment of the decedent's final funeral and burial expenses;

(9) sufficient data documentation to meet contemporary and emerging standards and expectations of vital record archiving; [and]

(10) continuous 24-hour-a-day technical support for all authorized users of the system; and

(11) in the case of a veteran whose remains are cremated, electronic notification to the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs, upon completion of the death record and issuance of the cremation permit, which electronic notification shall include the decedent’s: name; last known address; dates of service, including active duty, reservist, and national guard dates of service, as appropriate; date of death; and date on which the cremation permit was issued.

c. A provider of information that is required to complete a death certificate, or who is subject to the provisions of law governing the NJ-EDRS, shall not be deemed to be acting as a local registrar, deputy registrar, alternate deputy registrar, or subregistrar solely by virtue of permitting other providers of information to gain access to the NJ-EDRS by using those other providers' identifying information.²

(cf: P.L.2018, c.62, s.31)

²[2.] 3.² Section 2 of P.L.2009, c.14 (C.38A:3-2b4) is amended to read as follows:

2. a. ²(1)² A funeral director, licensed pursuant to P.L.1952, c.340 (C.45:7-32 et seq.), shall grant a qualified veterans' organization, as defined in subsection b. of section 2 of P.L.1983, c.385 (C.26:7-18.2), the right to receive the cremains of a veteran, or the cremains of an eligible spouse or eligible dependent of a veteran, which have not been claimed by a relative or friend of the deceased within one year after cremation upon certification, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Health, that a diligent effort, as defined in subsection a. of section 2 of P.L.1983, c.385 (C.26:7-18.2), has been made to identify, locate and notify a relative or friend of the deceased within that one-year period, as provided under section 2 of P.L.1983, c.385 (C.26:7-18.2).

²[A funeral director, licensed pursuant to P.L.1952, c.340 (C.45:7-32 et seq.), who, after due diligence to find a relative or friend of the deceased, is knowingly in possession of the unclaimed cremains of a veteran, as defined by section 1 of P.L.1989, c.162 (C.38A:3-6.3), shall notify the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, by written or electronic communication, of the location and identity of such cremains one year after the date of cremation.]²

A qualified veterans' organization which takes possession of cremains pursuant to this section shall dispose of the cremains by scattering them at sea or by interring them on land in a dignified manner at the State-operated, Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, a State-operated veterans' memorial cemetery, a national veterans' memorial cemetery, or a local veterans memorial cemetery, if the individual is eligible for interment at those facilities.

b. A funeral home or mortuary, or an agent of the funeral home or mortuary, or a funeral director, or qualified veterans' organization, shall not be liable for damages in any civil action arising out of the disposal of cremains pursuant to this section unless the damages are the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.37, s.4)

²[3.] 4.² N.J.S.38A:3-6 is amended to read as follows:

38A:3-6. Under the direction of the Governor, the Adjutant General shall:

(a) Exercise control over the affairs of the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs and in connection therewith make and issue such regulations governing the work of the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs and the conduct of its employees as may, in ²[his] the Adjutant General’s² judgment, be necessary or desirable.

(b) Be the request officer of the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs within the meaning of such term as defined in section 1 of P.L.1944, c.112 (C.52:27B-1).

(d) Command the organized militia of the State, with responsibility for recruiting, mobilization, administration, training, discipline, equipping, supply and general efficiency thereof. ²[He] The Adjutant General² may issue such regulations and delegate such command functions as ²[he] the Adjutant General² shall deem necessary. The regulations so issued shall, insofar as possible, conform to the federal laws and regulations concerning the same.

(e) Maintain the archives and be the custodian of the records and papers required, by laws or regulations, to be filed with the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs.

(f) Supervise, administer and coordinate those activities of the selective service system for which the Governor is responsible.

(g) Acquire by gift, grant, purchase, exchange, eminent domain, or in any other lawful manner, in the name of and for the use of the State of New Jersey, all those parcels of land as shall be necessary for armories and other militia facilities, and supervise the design, construction, alteration, maintenance and repair of said property.

(h) Establish and maintain such headquarters as may be required for the militia.

(i) Exercise the powers vested in ²[him] the Adjutant General² and perform such other duties and functions as required of ²[him] the Adjutant General² by the Governor and by federal and State laws and regulations.

(j) Exercise all of the functions, powers ²,² and duties heretofore vested in the Director of the Division on Veterans' Programs and Special Services.

(k) Appoint and remove officers and other personnel employed within the department, subject to the provisions of N.J.S.38A:3-8 and Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes and other applicable statutes, except as herein otherwise specifically provided.

(l) Have authority to organize and maintain an administrative division and to assign to employment therein secretarial, clerical ²,² and other assistants in the department or the Adjutant General's Office for the purpose of providing centralized support to all segments of the department, including budgeting, personnel ²,² administration and oversight of equal opportunity programs.

(m) Perform, exercise ²,² and discharge the functions, powers ²,² and duties of the department through such divisions as may be established by this act or otherwise by law.

(n) Organize the work of the department in divisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this act and in bureaus and other organizational units as the Adjutant General may determine to be necessary for efficient and effective operation.

(o) Adopt, issue ²,² and promulgate, in the name of the department, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), such rules and regulations as may be authorized by law.

(p) Institute, or cause to be instituted, legal proceedings or processes as necessary to properly enforce and give effect to any of the Adjutant General's powers or duties.

(q) Make an annual report to the Governor and to the Legislature of the department's operations, and render other reports as the Governor shall from time to time request or as may be required by law.

(r) Coordinate the activities of the department, and the several divisions and other agencies therein, in a manner designed to eliminate overlapping and duplicative functions.

(s) Integrate within the department, so far as practicable, all staff services of the department and of several divisions and other agencies therein.

(t) Request access to all relevant files and records of other State agencies, which may be made available to the Adjutant General by the head of a State agency, and request, subject to the permission of the head of the State agency, any officer or employee therein to provide information as necessary to assist in the performance of the functions of the department.

(u) Supervise and operate the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home-Menlo Park, the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home-Vineland, the New Jersey Veterans' Memorial Home-Paramus ²,² and the ²[New Jersey] Brigadier General William C. Doyle² Veterans' Memorial Cemetery ²[-Arneytown]² .

(v) Supervise and operate the liaison office and the field offices which serve the federal Veterans' Affairs Medical Centers.

(w) Make application for federal grants and programs, other than education grants or funds.

(x) Administer the federally-funded training and rehabilitation programs, except for the administration of federally-funded education and training programs set forth in 38 U.S.C. s.36 et seq.

(y) Provide current information to the general public on State and federal veterans' programs and benefits; create a comprehensive public webpage for women veterans that includes, but is not limited to, the following information: veterans' legal rights, benefits, medical and insurance issues, education, the transition from active service to civilian life, and other resources available to veterans.

(z) Develop and administer the New Jersey Homeless Veterans Grant Program established pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2013, c.239 (C.38A:3-6.2b).

(aa) Encourage and facilitate the registration of each service member residing in New Jersey with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or its successor agency. Registration shall take place, as appropriate, when the service member returns from deployment on federal active duty or is discharged or as soon as possible thereafter. The term "service member" shall mean members of the New Jersey National Guard and members of the United States Armed Forces, or a Reserve component thereof, when the information on each member is made available to the department.

(bb) Develop and coordinate a volunteer-based program comprised of former ²[servicemembers] service members² to assist and mentor veterans who become involved with the criminal justice system, while criminal proceedings are pending and afterward, in accessing assistance to resolve the underlying problems that led or contributed to the veteran's involvement with the criminal justice system including, but not limited to, offering support and guidance, securing housing, employment linkages, job training, education, transportation, disability compensation claims, discharge status, health care ²,² and other linkages available at the local, State ²,² and federal level that can ease the challenge of reentry into civilian life. In addition, the Adjutant General shall develop a registry of volunteer mentors and make the registry available pursuant to P.L.2017, c.42 (C.2C:43-23 et al.).

(cc) Prepare and disseminate a directory of Veterans Diversion Resource Program entities currently available within New Jersey pursuant to P.L.2017, c.42 (C.2C:43-23 et al.).

(dd) Create a comprehensive public webpage for Gold Star family members that includes, but is not limited to, the following information: State benefits; State and county liaisons; a list of service members from New Jersey killed in action; links to other Gold Star family organizations; and such other information and resources as the Adjutant General deems necessary and beneficial to a Gold Star family member. A "Gold Star family member" means the spouse, domestic partner, partner in a civil union, parent, brother, sister, child, legal guardian, or other legal custodian, whether of the whole or half blood, or by adoption.

(ee) Identify each New Jersey resident who enrolls in the United States Military Academy, United States Naval Academy, United States Coast Guard Academy, United States Merchant Marine Academy, or United States Air Force Academy, and issue a New Jersey State flag to that individual.

(ff) ²[Develop and maintain an Internet-based central reporting system to provide the location and identity of unclaimed cremains of veterans¹[,]¹ as provided to the department by funeral directors¹[,]¹ licensed pursuant to P.L.1952, c.340 (C.45:7-32 et seq.)] Use the electronic notification provided pursuant to paragraph (11) of subsection b. of section 16 of P.L.2003, c.221 (C.26:8-24.1) to identify funeral homes at which the remains of a veteran were cremated and, on the first day of the thirteenth month after the date the cremation permit was issued, contact the funeral home to request information as to whether the veteran’s cremains have been claimed. In the event a funeral home advises that the cremains of a veteran have not been claimed, the Adjutant General may assist the funeral home in contacting a qualified veterans’ organization, as defined in subsection b. of section 2 of P.L.1983, c.385 (C.26:7-18.2), to coordinate the release of the remains to the qualified veterans’ organization consistent with the requirements of subsection b. of section 2 of P.L.1983, c.385 (C.26:7-18.2) and section 2 of P.L.2009, c.14 (C.38A:3-2b4)² .

(cf: P.L.2019, c.283, s.1)

²[¹4.] 5. (New section)² In the event that the ²[Internet-based central reporting system required pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), has not been created within one year after the effective date of this act, P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Adjutant General] the New Jersey Electronic Death Registration System (NJ-EDRS) has not been adapted to provide the electronic notifications required under paragraph (11) of subsection b. of section 16 of P.L.2003, c.221 (C.26:8-24.1) on the first day of the seventh month next following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of Health² shall appear before the Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, the Assembly Oversight, Reform, and Federal Relations Committee, or the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee, at the direction of the President of the Senate ²[and] or the² Speaker of the General Assembly, ²as applicable,² to explain why the ²[Internet-based central reporting system] NJ-EDRS² has not been ²[implemented] adapted to provide the notifications² and the steps the department is taking to ²[ensure implementation] adapt the NJ-EDRS to provide the notifications. In the event that the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs has not, as of the first day of the seventeenth month next following the date of enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), commenced using notifications from the NJ-EDRS provided pursuant to paragraph (11) of subsection b. of section 16 of P.L.2003, c.221 (C.26:8-24.1) to identify funeral homes at which the remains of a veteran were cremated and contact those funeral homes to request information as to whether veteran cremains have been claimed, the Adjutant General shall appear before the Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, the Assembly Oversight, Reform, and Federal Relations Committee, or the Senate Legislative Oversight Committee, at the direction of the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the General Assembly, as applicable, to explain why the Adjutant General has not commenced with the implementation of this act and the steps the department is taking to ensure implementation² .¹

²6. (New section) The Commissioner of Health and the Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs shall each adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as shall be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.²

¹[4.] ²[5.¹] 7.² This act shall take effect immediately ², but shall remain inoperative until the first day of the seventh month next following enactment. The Commissioner of Health and the Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs may each take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary to implement the provisions of this act² .