Title 20, Public Health and Welfare

(a) A donor may make an anatomical gift:(1) by authorizing a statement or symbol indicating that the donor has made an anatomical gift to be imprinted on the donor's driver's license or identification card;(2) in a will;(3) during a terminal illness or injury of the donor, by any…

(a) Subject to § 20-17-1208, a donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under § 20-17-1204 may amend or revoke an anatomical gift by:(1) a record signed by:(A) the donor;(B) the other person; or(C) subject to subsection (b), another individual acting at the dir…

(a) An individual may refuse to make an anatomical gift of the individual's body or part by:(1) a record signed by:(A) the individual; or(B) subject to subsection (b), another individual acting at the direction of the individual if the individual is physically unable to sign;(2) …

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (g) and subject to subsection (f), in the absence of an express, contrary indication by the donor, a person other than the donor is barred from making, amending, or revoking an anatomical gift of a donor's body or part if the donor m…

(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c) and unless barred by § 20-17-1207 or § 20-17-1208, an anatomical gift of a decedent's body or part for purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education may be made by any member of the following classes of persons who is reasonabl…

(a) A person authorized to make an anatomical gift under § 20-17-1209 may make an anatomical gift by a document of gift signed by the person making the gift or by that person's oral communication that is electronically recorded or is contemporaneously reduced to a record and sign…

(a) An anatomical gift may be made to the following persons named in the document of gift:(1) a hospital; accredited medical school, dental school, college, or university; organ procurement organization; or other appropriate person, for research or education;(2) subject to subsec…

(a) The following persons shall make a reasonable search of an individual who the person reasonably believes is dead or near death for a document of gift or other information identifying the individual as a donor or as an individual who made a refusal:(1) a law enforcement office…

(a) A document of gift need not be delivered during the donor's lifetime to be effective. (b) Upon or after an individual's death, a person in possession of a document of gift or a refusal to make an anatomical gift with respect to the individual shall allow examination and copyi…

(a) When a hospital refers an individual at or near death to a procurement organization, the organization shall make a reasonable search of the records of the Office of Driver Services and any donor registry that it knows exists for the geographical area in which the individual r…

Each hospital in this state shall enter into agreements or affiliations with procurement organizations for coordination of procurement and use of anatomical gifts.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), a person that for valuable consideration, knowingly purchases or sells a part for transplantation or therapy if removal of a part from an individual is intended to occur after the individual's death commits an unclassified felon…

A person that, in order to obtain a financial gain, intentionally falsifies, forges, conceals, defaces, or obliterates a document of gift, an amendment or revocation of a document of gift, or a refusal commits an unclassified felony and upon conviction is subject to a fine not ex…

(a) A person that acts in accordance with this subchapter or with the applicable anatomical gift law of another state, or attempts in good faith to do so, is not liable for the act in a civil action, criminal prosecution, or administrative proceeding. (b) Neither the person makin…

(a) A document of gift is valid if executed in accordance with:(1) this subchapter;(2) the laws of the state or country where it was executed; or(3) the laws of the state or country where the person making the anatomical gift was domiciled, has a place of residence, or was a nati…

(a) In this section:(1) “Advance healthcare directive” means a power of attorney for health care or a record signed by a prospective donor containing the prospective donor's direction concerning a healthcare decision for the prospective donor.(2) “Declaration” means a record sign…

(a) A coroner and the state medical examiner shall cooperate with procurement organizations to maximize the opportunity to recover anatomical gifts for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education. (b) If a coroner or the state medical examiner receives notice …

(a) Upon request of a procurement organization, a coroner or the state medical examiner shall release to the procurement organization the name, contact information, and available medical and social history of a decedent whose body is under the jurisdiction of the coroner or the s…

This act modifies, limits, and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq., but does not modify, limit or supersede Section 101(a) of that act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001, or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices describe…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter to the contrary, a donor's prior anatomical gift may be modified, amended, or revoked before the donor's death by an agent acting pursuant to the donor's durable power of attorney for health care, unless the durable power…

(a) (1) On or before January 31 of every year, an organ procurement organization that procures or recovers organs or tissues in this state shall submit a written report to the Legislative Council for the organ procurement organization's most recent fiscal year.(2) The report desc…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Insolvent Cemetery Grant Fund Act.”

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Perpetual care cemeteries provide historical and cultural benefits to the citizens of the State of Arkansas; and(2) A grant program should be established to assist a perpetual care cemetery that is insolvent or in financial distress for its…

An Insolvent Cemetery Grant Fund is established within the general operating fund of the State Board of Embalmers, Funeral Directors, Cemeteries, and Burial Services for the care and improvement of a perpetual care cemetery that is insolvent or in financial distress as determined…

(1) The State Board of Embalmers, Funeral Directors, Cemeteries, and Burial Services shall:(1) Review and grant or deny all or part of a grant application submitted under this subchapter; and(2) Establish by rule:(A) Criteria for grant applications and awards;(B) Oversight of all…

(a) (1) As used in this section, “eligible organization” means an organization that agrees to provide for the care and improvement of a perpetual care cemetery that is insolvent or in financial distress as determined by the State Board of Embalmers, Funeral Directors, Cemeteries,…

An eligible organization shall apply for grant payments under this subchapter according to the rules established by the State Board of Embalmers, Funeral Directors, Cemeteries, and Burial Services.

(a) The Insurance Commissioner shall make grant payments under this subchapter from:(1) Funds appropriated by the General Assembly for that purpose; or(2) Excess funds transferred under § 20-17-1025 to the Insolvent Cemetery Grant Fund from the Insolvent Cemetery Loan Fund. (1) F…

A grant award under this subchapter shall be used by an eligible organization exclusively for the care and improvement of the driveways, buildings, and grounds of a perpetual care cemetery that is insolvent or in financial distress.

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Missing in America Project Act”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Authorizing agent” means the person who assumes original and lawful possession of a body under § 20-17-102 or § 20-17-701 et seq.;(2) “DD Form 93” means a United States Department of Defense Record of Emergency Data or its successor form;(3) (A…

(a) (1) The authorizing agent shall conduct a diligent search with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to determine whether the decedent was a veteran if:(A) The decedent is eighteen (18) years of age or older; and(B) The remain…

(a) An authorizing agent may authorize the cremation of an unclaimed deceased veteran's body. (b) A funeral establishment that accepts the unclaimed remains of a veteran:(1) Shall place the cremated remains in a container marked with the proper identification of the decedent;(2) …

(1) A funeral establishment that is also the authorizing agent that determines the final disposition of the remains of a decedent and directs that the body of the decedent be cremated:(1) Shall place the cremated remains in a container marked with the proper identification of the…

(a) (1) If the authorizing agent or funeral establishment determines that the unclaimed remains are those of a veteran, the remains may be relinquished to the control of:(A) A veterans service organization; or(B) The Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Department …

A person, funeral establishment, veterans service organization, or Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shall not be civilly liable for possessing, delivering, cremating, storing, disposing, or handling in any lawful manner the remain…

(a) If a deceased veteran has an estate, the estate shall be responsible for reimbursing a funeral establishment or authorized agent for all reasonable expenses incurred in relation to the disposition of the remains of the deceased veteran. (b) The Department of Veterans Affairs …

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Attending physician” means the physician who has primary responsibility for the treatment and care of the patient;(2) (A) “Declaration” means a writing executed in accordance with the requirements of § 20-17-202(a).(B) “Declaration” is an advan…

(a) (1) An individual of sound mind and eighteen (18) or more years of age may execute at any time a declaration governing the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. The declaration must be signed by the declarant, or another at the declarant's direction, and wit…

A declaration becomes operative when: (i) it is communicated to the attending physician; and, (ii) the declarant is determined by the attending physician and another physician in consultation either to be in a terminal condition and no longer able to make decisions regarding admi…

(a) (1) A declaration may be revoked at any time and in any manner by the declarant without regard to the declarant's mental or physical condition. A revocation is effective upon communication to the attending physician or other healthcare provider by the declarant or a witness t…

Upon determining that the declarant is in a terminal condition or permanently unconscious, the attending physician who knows of a declaration shall record the determination and the terms of the declaration in the declarant's medical record.

(a) A qualified patient may make decisions regarding life-sustaining treatment as long as the patient is able to do so. (b) This subchapter does not affect the responsibility of the attending physician or other healthcare provider to provide treatment, including nutrition or hydr…

(a) A declaration under this subchapter is a written advance directive under the Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act, § 20-6-101 et seq. (b) The provisions of the Arkansas Healthcare Decisions Act, § 20-6-101 et seq., concerning compliance by a healthcare provider or healthcare ins…

(a) In the absence of knowledge of the revocation of a declaration, a person is not subject to civil or criminal liability or discipline for unprofessional conduct for carrying out the declaration pursuant to the requirements of this subchapter. (b) A physician or other healthcar…

(a) A physician or other healthcare provider who willfully fails to transfer in accordance with § 20-17-207 is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. (b) A physician who willfully fails to record the determination of terminal condition or permanent unconsciousness in accordance with § …