RELATING TO MANDATORY PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE AND CONSENT IN CONTRACTS TO PROVIDE CREMATION SERVICES.

Healthcare

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: SHIMIZU (Introduced by request of another party)
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not specify what happens if a purchaser does not respond to the notice.

Rules for Cremation Contracts

This bill requires mortuaries, cemeteries, and pre-need funeral authorities to provide written notice if precious metals are found after cremation and obtain consent before selling or recycling them.

What This Bill Does

Requires mortuaries, cemeteries, and pre-need funeral authorities to give a written notice if precious metals are recovered during the cremation process.
Requires mortuaries, cemeteries, and pre-need funeral authorities to get written permission from the person who made the contract before selling or recycling any precious metals found after cremation.

Who It Names or Affects

Mortuaries
Cemeteries
Pre-need funeral authorities
People who make contracts for cremation services

Terms To Know

Precious metals: Includes gold, silver, and other valuable metals from jewelry or medical devices.
Purchaser: The person who makes the contract for cremation services or their legal representative.

Limits and Unknowns

It is unclear how this will affect existing contracts before October 1, 2025.
The effective date of July 1, 3000, seems incorrect and likely needs correction.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment requires mortuaries and pre-need funeral authorities to provide written notice if precious metals are recovered during the cremation process, giving the purchaser thirty days to claim them.

Mortuaries and pre-need funeral authorities must include a provision in contracts for cremation services that requires written notice if precious metals are recovered after the cremation process.
The amendment specifies that purchasers have thirty days to claim any recovered precious metals from the cremation process, after which the mortuary or authority can sell or recycle them.

The effective date of July 1, 3000, seems incorrect and likely contains an error.
Details on penalties for non-compliance are not specified in this amendment text.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-02-11 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on JHA with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Souza voting no (1) and Representative(s) Cochran, Ward excused (2).
2025-02-11 H
Reported from CPC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 417) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.
2025-02-04 H
The committee on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Matayoshi, Chun, Ilagan, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Marten, Tam, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Kong, Lowen.
2025-01-31 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by CPC on Tuesday, 02-04-25 2:00PM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to CPC, JHA, referral sheet 2
2025-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-17 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO MANDATORY PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE AND CONSENT IN CONTRACTS TO PROVIDE CREMATION SERVICES.
Mortuaries; Pre-Need Funeral Authorities; Contracts; Cremation; Precious Metals; Notice
For contracts entered into on or after 10/1/2025, requires mortuaries and pre-need funeral authorities that contract to provide cremation services to provide written notice if precious metals are recovered after cremation and a disclosure that the person has thirty days to claim the precious metals after receipt of the notice. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB565

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

565

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to MANDATORY PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE AND CONSENT IN contracts to provide cremation
services
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1
.
�
Section 441-22.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:

����
"
�441-22.5
�
Mortuary, cemetery, or
pre-need funeral authority; disclosure requirements[
.
]
; notice and
consent.
�
(a)
�
No cemetery property, interment services,
funeral services, and related commodities shall be sold unless the mortuary,
cemetery, or pre-need funeral authority first satisfies the requirements stated
in section 441-22.6.

����
(b)
�

Every cemetery or pre-need funeral authority shall be required to
provide to the purchaser of cemetery property, pre-need interment, or pre-need
funeral services and related commodities a written contract which shall contain
the following disclosures:

����
(1)
�
The names and addresses of the cemetery
or pre-need funeral authority, purchaser, and contract beneficiary, if the
beneficiary is someone other than the purchaser;

����
(2)
�
A clear and concise itemized statement of the
property, including, for cemetery property, the location of the plot, crypt, or
niche by its unique identifier, and any services and related commodities to be
supplied or not supplied and by whom, particularly if the authority is not to
be the provider under the terms of the contract;

����
(3)
�
The purchase price of each item of property,
services, and related commodities to be supplied, the total purchase price, and
how the total purchase price is payable, including any credit terms, if
applicable; provided that, pursuant to section 441-22.7, disclosure shall also
be made that further additional charges or fees for perpetual care subsequent
to the execution of the contract are prohibited for any purpose and on any
occasion, except for reasonable fees related to the administrative costs of transferring
ownership rights, including the cost of research, document and file
preparation, photocopying, notary fees, records transfer and storage, and any
other costs directly related to the transfer of ownership rights;

����
(4)
�
Related costs covered under the contract;

����
(5)
�
The basis on which funds are to be deposited
in trust, including:

���������
(A)
�
The name and address of the trustee;
provided that the disclosure shall not preclude the cemetery or pre-need
funeral authority from changing the trustee named;

���������
(B)
�
The percentage of the contract price for
trustable items to be placed in trust; provided that the percentage shall be no
less than seventy per cent;

���������
(C)
�
The percentage of the contract price for
trustable items that the cemetery or pre-need funeral authority will retain and
not deposit into the trust; provided that the percentage shall not be more than
thirty per cent; and

���������
(D)
�
Where a portion of the contract price relates
to property, services, or related commodities that are not trustable items, a
clear description of what those non-trustable items are;

����
(6)
�
The refund, cancellation, and default
provisions of the contract, including an explanation of the requirements of
section 441-22.8, and a statement in twelve-point bold type in substantially
the following form:

���������
"YOU
HAVE REFUND, CANCELLATION AND DEFAULT RIGHTS UNDER STATE LAW AND UNDER THE
CONTRACT.
�
PLEASE READ THE CONTRACT
CAREFULLY FOR AN EXPLANATION OF THESE RIGHTS";

����
(7)
�
The date and place of execution of the
contract;

����
(8)
�
The cemetery or pre-need funeral authority's
or its duly authorized agent's signature on the contract and the identification
of this person by name and title;

����
(9)
�
A statement that the written contract, when
signed, shall constitute the entire agreement between the parties relative to
its subject matter and that all obligations of both parties shall be fixed and
enforceable by the other parties of the contract; and

���
(10)
�
A statement that the contract may not waive
any rights of the consumer or duties of the cemetery or pre-need funeral
authority under the law.

����
(c)
�

No mortuary, cemetery, or pre-need funeral authority shall charge a
price for the cemetery property, interment, or funeral services, whether it be
at-need or pre-need, which is greater than the price on the itemized price list
or contract [
which
]
that
the purchaser had signed, unless the
purchaser or the purchaser's authorized representative requests an additional
item, the authority discloses the price for the additional item, and the
purchaser or its authorized representative approves the price for the
additional item.
�
The mortuary, cemetery,
or pre-need funeral authority may charge the higher price for the additional
item but shall collect in payment only that sum [
which
]
that
is
the difference between the higher price and the price listed on the itemized
price list or contract [
which
]
that
the purchaser had previously
signed.

����
(d)
�
Beginning October 1, 2025, any
mortuary, cemetery, or pre-need funeral authority that enters into a contract
to provide a purchaser funeral services that includes cremation, shall include
in the contract:

����
(1)
�
A
provision that requires written notice to the purchaser if precious metals are
recovered at the conclusion of the cremation process; and

����
(2)
�
A
statement that written consent shall be obtained by the purchaser before the
sale or recycling of any recovered precious metals.

����
(e)
�
As used in this section:

����
"Cremation"
has the same meaning as defined in section 531B-2.
�

����
"Precious
metals"
includes any precious metals from jewelry, medical
devices, or dental implants.

����
"Purchaser"
includes the contract beneficiary
or the authorized
agent who is legally entitled to control the disposition of the human remains
.
"

����
SECTION 2.
�

No later than January 1, 2026, any mortuary, cemetery, or pre-need
funeral authority that has entered into a contract prior to October 1, 2025, to
provide a purchaser funeral services that includes cremation shall provide to
the purchaser an addendum that includes the terms required under sections
441-22.5(d)(1) and (2), Hawaii Revised Statutes.

����
SECTION
3
.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION
4
.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Cemetery
and Funeral Trusts; Mortuary Services Contracts; Human Remains; Cremation;
Precious Metals; Notice; Consent

Description:

Beginning
10/1/2025, requires mortuaries, cemeteries, and pre-need funeral authorities that
contract to provide cremation services to provide written notice if precious
metals are recovered after cremation and to obtain written consent before the
sale or recycling of any recovered precious metals.
�
Requires mortuaries, cemeteries, and pre-need
funeral authorities that have contracted to provide cremation services to give
certain notice of updated terms by 1/1/2026.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.