(a)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or association to operate an organic human reduction facility without first obtaining a separate license for such purpose from the board in accordance with this article. The organic human reduction facility shall be at a specific address or location and shall meet the following requirements and have the following minimum equipment, facilities, and personnel:

(A) A room with seating for a minimum of 30 people in which funeral services may be conducted;

(B) A display room containing an adequate supply of containers in which organically reduced remains are placed;

(C) Rolling stock consisting of at least one operable motor hearse either owned or leased by said firm with current Georgia registration;

(D) At least one operable organic human reduction container;

(E) At least one operable processing station for grinding of organically reduced remains;

(F) At least one church truck; and

(G) Not be located within 1,000 feet of a residential subdivision platted and recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of a county in which such residential subdivision is located.

(2)(A) The provisions of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (F) of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not apply to organic human reduction facilities which provide organic human reduction services only to other funeral establishments.

(B) The provision of paragraph (G) of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall only apply to the issuance or renewal of any license on or after July 1, 2025, for any stand-alone organic human reduction facility that was not in operation as of July 1, 2025. As used in this subparagraph, the term “stand-alone organic human reduction facility” means an organic human reduction facility that is not located on or adjacent to a tract or parcel of land which contains a funeral establishment.

(b) The board may adopt and enforce such rules and regulations as may be reasonable and necessary to provide for the sanitary disposal of dead human bodies by organic human reduction and prevent the spread of disease and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of this state. Such rules and regulations may include required inspections of any organic human reduction container by the manufacturer or other authorized repair company once every five years to ensure proper operations.

(c) Application for licensure of an organic human reduction facility shall be made upon a form approved by the board and shall be accompanied by an application fee. No license shall be issued unless the organic human reduction facility meets all the requirements set forth by this Code section and by the board.

(d) The board shall adopt rules requiring each organic human reduction facility to submit periodic reports to the board in a standard form which include the names of deceased persons whose bodies underwent organic human reduction at the facility and the types of organic human reduction containers used.

(e)(1) No more than one dead human body shall be placed in an organic human reduction container at one time unless written permission has been received from the person possessing legal responsibility for the final disposition of the dead human body.

(2) Upon completion of the organic human reduction process, the organically reduced remains shall be pulverized until no single fragment is recognizable as skeletal tissue. Such pulverized remains shall then be transferred to a container or multiple containers, if so requested by the legally authorized person, and delivered to the legally authorized person or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 43-18-80.

(f) Nothing in this article shall require a funeral establishment or crematory for which a valid license to operate is in effect on July 1, 2025, to have a separate license to operate as an organic human reduction facility until on and after the renewal date of such license to operate a funeral establishment or crematory which first occurs after July 1, 2025, but such funeral establishment or crematory, if performing organic human reduction, shall comply with all the minimum equipment and facilities requirements and all other statutes, rules, and regulations relating to organic human reduction and organic human reduction facilities.