AB 351 Summary

• Establishes licensing and regulation of reduction facilities by the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, effective January 1, 2027, with requirements similar to existing crematorium and hydrolysis facility regulations.

• Defines "reduction" as a natural decomposition process that transforms human remains into soil using organic materials, and "reduced human remains" as the resulting soil material.

• Requires the State Department of Public Health to approve reduction chambers before use and sets per-reduction fees capped at $8.50, with all fees deposited in the Cemetery and Funeral Fund to cover administrative costs.

• Authorizes disposition of reduced human remains through integration into soil in conservation areas or topsoil, with written permission from the person controlling disposition, and requires local registrars to issue permits for reduced human remains disposition.

• Makes it a misdemeanor to operate a reduction facility without a valid license or to integrate reduced human remains into soil without proper authorization or in violation of commingling restrictions.