House Bill 2244

The Senate agreed with the House on Monday- and raised the cost of dying. House Bill 2244 passed on may 11,2009 and will increase the fee to record a death from $7.00 to $20.00 This is money paid by morticians to the state, and is separate from the fee people pay to get a copy of a death certificate.
The money raised under the new bill will go to the state board that regulates the death care industry. The rest would go into a fund to help dispose of the bodies of the poor.
Since the Bill is a tax and not a fee it required a three-fifths vote instead of a majority.
All 18 Democrats voted for the bill, joined by two Republicans.
The vote in the House had been closer, at 32 to 26.
The bill moves to Gov. Ted Kulongoski for his approval.
It will take effect July 1 2009.