SECTION 18.  § 73-11-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted and amended as follows:

73-11-69.  (1)  No person shall operate a crematory facility in this state unless the person is licensed by the State Board of Funeral Service. An application for a crematory facility license shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount not to exceed the fee fixed by the board for a funeral establishment license. 

(2)  The operator of a crematory facility shall issue a certificate of cremation to the family of each person cremated in the facility. In addition, the operator of the crematory facility shall maintain a log of all cremations performed in the facility, and this log shall match the certificates of cremation that have been issued by the facility. 

(3)  No operator of a crematory facility shall knowingly represent that an urn or temporary container contains the recovered cremated remains of specific decedent or of body parts removed from a specific decedent when it does not.  This subsection does not prohibit the making of such a representation because of the presence in the recovered cremated remains of de minimis amounts of the cremated remains of another decedent or of body parts. 

(4)  The board shall inspect each licensed crematory facility during each licensure period, and at such other times as necessary, to verify that the crematory facility is in compliance with the requirements of this section. Any person who operates a crematory facility in this state without a license, or any person who otherwise violates any provision of this section, is guilty of a felony. Upon conviction for a violation of this section, in addition to any penalty that may be imposed by the court, the board may revoke the person's crematory facility license. 

(5)  The board may promulgate such rules and regulations as deemed necessary for the proper licensure and regulation of crematory facilities in this state. 

(6)  Any crematory or funeral establishment may dispose of any remains unclaimed by the family after twelve (12) months after cremation by scattering or burial upon a final notification to the next of kin by certified mail to their last known address.