N.M. Admin. Code § 7.3.2.17

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024

Section 7.3.2.17 - REMAINS

A. Citations and Regulations:

(1)24-11-6 NMSA 1978 A: Upon receipt of a report from a deputy medical investigator under this subsection, the state or district medical investigator may execute a death certificate and a certificate authorizing release of the body for burial.

(2)24-11-7 NMSA 1978: If the deceased is unidentified, the state, district or deputy medical investigator may order the body fingerprinted and photographed.

(3)24-12-1 NMSA 1978:

(a) State, county or municipal officials having charge or control of bodies to be buried at public expense shall use due diligence to notify the relatives of the deceased.

(b) If no claimant is found who will assume the cost of burial, the official having charge or control of the body shall notify the medical investigator stating, when possible, the name, age, sex and cause of death of any person required to be buried at public expense.

(c) The body shall be embalmed according to regulations of the state agency having jurisdiction. After the exercise of due diligence required in Subsection A [now Subparagraph (a) of Paragraph (3) of Subsection A of 7.3.2.17 NMAC] of this section, and the report to the medical investigator required in Subsection B [now Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (3) of Subsection A of 7.3.2.17 NMAC] of this section, the medical investigator shall be furnished detailed data demonstrating such due diligence and the fact that no claimant has been found. When the medical investigator has determined that due diligence has been exercised and that reasonable opportunity has been afforded relatives to claim the body and that the body has not been claimed, he shall issue his certificate determining that the remains are unclaimed. In no case shall an unclaimed body be disposed of in less than two weeks from the date of the discovery of the body.

(4)24-12-2 NMSA 1978:

(a) Upon the issuance of his certificate that the remains are unclaimed, the medical investigator shall retain the body for use only for medical education or shall certify that the body is unnecessary or unsuited for medical education and release it to the state, county or municipal officials having charge or control of the body for burial.

(b) If the body is retained for use in medical education, the facility or person receiving the body for such use shall pay the costs of preservation and transportation of the body and shall keep a permanent record of bodies received.

(c) If a deceased person was an inmate of a public institution, the institution shall transmit, upon request of the medical investigator, a brief medical history of the unclaimed dead person for purposes of identification and permanent record. The records shall be open to inspection by any state or county official or district attorney.

(5)24-12-3 NMSA 1978:

(a) Any person who conducts a postmortem examination on an unclaimed body without express permission of the medical investigator is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year or by the imposition of a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both such imprisonment and fine.

(b) Any person who unlawfully disposes of, uses or sells an unclaimed body is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for a term of not less than one year nor more than five years or by the imposition of a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both such imprisonment and fine.

(6)24-13-1 NMSA 1978: It shall be the duty of the board of county commissioners of each county in this state to cause to be decently interred, the body of any dead person having no visible estate out of which to defray the cost of his burial, and when no relative or friend of such decedent will undertake to bury him.

(7)24-13-2 NMSA 1978: No deceased person shall be considered to be an indigent if there are any sums, no matter how small, with which to defray the cost of such burial.

(8)24-13-3 NMSA 1978: The expenses for the burial or cremation of an indigent person shall be paid by the county out of the general fund in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100) for the burial of any adult or minor over the age of six years and seventy-five dollars ($75) for the burial of any minor up to the age of six years.

(9)24-13-4 NMSA 1978: The board of county commissioners, after proper investigation, shall cause any deceased indigent to be decently interred or cremated. The cost of opening and closing a grave shall not exceed thirty-five dollars ($35), which sum shall be in addition to the sums enumerated in Section 24-13-3 NMSA 1978.

(10)24-14-22 NMSA 1978:

(a) Each spontaneous fetal death, where the fetus has a weight of five hundred grams or more, which occurs in this state shall be reported to the state registrar.

(b) When a dead fetus is delivered in an institution, the person in charge of the institution or his designated representative shall prepare and file the report.

(c) When the spontaneous fetal death occurs on a moving conveyance and the fetus is first removed from the conveyance in this state, or when a dead fetus is found in this state and the place of fetal death is unknown, the fetal death shall be reported in this state. The place where the fetus was first removed from the conveyance or the dead fetus was found shall be considered the place of fetal death.

(d) When a spontaneous fetal death required to be reported by this section occurs without medical attendance at or immediately after the delivery or when inquiry is required by law, the state medical investigator shall investigate the cause of fetal death and shall prepare and file the report.

(e) The names of the parents shall be entered on the spontaneous fetal death report in accordance with the provisions of Section 24-14-13 NMSA 1978.

(f) Except as otherwise provided in this section, all spontaneous fetal death reports shall be completed and filed with the state registrar within ten days following the spontaneous fetal death.

(11)24-14-23 NMSA 1978:

(a) For deaths or spontaneous fetal deaths which have occurred in this state, no burial-transit permit shall be required for final disposition of the remains if such disposition occurs in this state and is performed by a funeral service practitioner or if disposition takes place in an institution with authorization from the next of kin.

(b) A burial-transit permit shall be issued by the state registrar or a local registrar for those bodies which are to be transported out of the state for final disposition or when final disposition is being made by a person other than a funeral service practitioner.

(c) A burial-transit permit issued under the law of another state or foreign country which accompanies a dead body or fetus brought into this state shall be authority for final disposition of the body or fetus in this state.

(d) A permit for disinterment or reinterment shall be required prior to disinterment of a dead body or fetus except as authorized by regulation or otherwise provided by law. The permit shall be issued by the state registrar or state medical investigator to a licensed funeral service practitioner.

(e) A permit for cremation of a dead body shall be required prior to the cremation. The permit shall be issued by the state medical investigator to a licensed funeral service practitioner.

(12)24-14-24 NMSA 1978:

(a) The department may, by regulation and upon conditions as it may prescribe to assure compliance with the purposes of the Vital Statistics Act [24-14-1 to 2414-17, 24-14-20 to 24-14-31 NMSA 1978], provide for the extension of the periods prescribed in Sections 24-1420, 24-14-22 and 24-14-23 NMSA 1978 for the filing of death certificates, spontaneous fetal death reports, medical certification of cause of death and for the obtaining of burial-transit permits in cases where compliance with the applicable prescribed period would result in undue hardship.

(b) Regulations of the department may provide for the issuance of a burial-transit permit prior to the filing of a certificate upon conditions designed to assure compliance with the purposes of the Vital Statistics Act in cases where compliance with the requirement that the certificate be filed prior to the issuance of the permit would result in undue hardship.

(13) Regulation - state board of thanatopractice of the state of New Mexico regulations, adopted 2/2/79 and revised 1984, No. 22.

(a) Subject to the provisions of Subsection G of Section 61-29A-23, NMSA 1978, all human and fetal remains shall be embalmed in accordance with the Thanatopractice License Law, where;

(i) required by an applicable regulation of the office of the medical investigator or of the secretary of the health and environment department or by an order of the state or a district medical investigator;

(ii) the remains are not stored under refrigeration at a temperature not exceeding 5 degrees C (40 degrees F) when Subsection A of Section 61-29A-21, NMSA 1978, is applicable; or

(iii) Subsection F of Section 61-29A-23, NMSA 1978, is applicable.

(b) When embalming is not required under the preceeding paragraph A [now Subparagraph (a) of Paragraph (13) of Subsection A of 7.3.2.17 NMAC], then no human or fetal remains shall be embalmed without the oral or written authorization by the:

(i) surviving spouse or next of kin; or

(ii) legal agent or personal representative; or

(iii) person assuming responsibility for final disposition.

(c) Where embalming is not required under paragraph A [now Subparagraph (a) of Paragraph (13) of Subsection A of 7.3.2.17 NMAC] and prior to obtaining authorization under paragraph B [now Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (13) of Subsection A of 7.3.2.17 NMAC], remains may be washed and other health procedures, such as closing the orifices, preparatory to actual embalming, may be performed.

B. Policy:

(1) In all cases where the OMI has assumed jurisdiction, the remains will be released for burial or other means of disposal only after the investigation of the death is concluded.

(2) All permits for cremation on any death occurring within the State are issued by the OMI.

(3) In cases where the remains are unidentified, all means of recording features of the remains shall be used prior to release of the remains.

(4) In cases where the remains are identified but unclaimed, the body shall be released no sooner than two weeks after death with the assurance that due diligence has been put forth to find a claimant for the body. This release is granted by the office of the medical investigator.

(5) In cases where the remains are identified but ruled indigent, the cost of the burial shall be assumed by the county authority in which the death occurred. Personal property of an unidentified person will be turned over to the county assuming responsibility for burial. In all cases where the OMI has assumed jurisdiction, there shall be no charge for transportation and storage imposed on any common carrier or funeral director.

(6) The office of the medical investigator and the state registrar may issue disinterment permits. This permit will be issued to a licensed funeral director who will be in charge of the disinterment procedure. A request for a disinterment permit can be made by a district attorney or any private individual with a legitimate purpose. In any case where the disinterment is requested for purposes requiring legal documentation of the procedure, the OMI shall be present and shall assure the chain of custody upon removal and transportation to the office of the medical investigator for any subsequent examination.

(7) In the event that unidentified skeletal remains are discovered, the office of the medical investigator shall respond and conduct an investigation to determine if there is medicolegal significance to the remains.

(8) In any case where the cause of death is deemed dangerous to the public health, the office of the medical investigator may require that the body be embalmed or be encased in an airtight container.

N.M. Admin. Code § 7.3.2.17

Recompiled 10/31/01