Bill > HB591

This bill authorizes the use of natural organic reduction (also known as human composting) as a legal form of human body disposition in Ohio. The bill amends numerous sections of the Ohio Revised Code to include "reduction" alongside existing disposition methods like burial and cremation, effectively legalizing human composting as an alternative method for handling human remains. Key provisions include defining "reduction" as a technical process that converts human remains into soil through natural decomposition by adding organic materials, establishing licensing and operational requirements for reduction facilities, creating authorization procedures for reduction similar to those for cremation, and integrating reduction into various existing statutes related to death care, funeral services, and disposition of remains. The bill adds requirements for reduction facilities, such as how remains must be handled, tracked, and processed, and establishes standards for authorizing and performing reductions. The bill also updates numerous references in existing law to include reduction alongside burial and cremation, ensuring that legal frameworks for death care, funeral services, veterans' benefits, and other related areas now explicitly recognize and regulate natural organic reduction as a disposition method. This comprehensive approach effectively legalizes and standardizes human composting in Ohio by treating it as a formal, regulated alternative to traditional burial and cremation.

Government Affairs

https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb591