Senate Bill sb2238
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
By Senator Pruitt
27-1076A-02 See HB
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to funeral and cemetery
3 services; providing a short title; providing
4 for transfer of all records, personnel,
5 property, and unexpended balances of
6 appropriations, allocations, or other funds for
7 the administration of ch. 497, F.S., relating
8 to funeral and cemetery services, from the
9 Department of Banking and Finance to the
10 Department of Business and Professional
11 Regulation; ending the terms of current members
12 of the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers
13 and of the Board of Funeral and Cemetery
14 Services; providing for appointment and
15 staggering of terms of members of the new Board
16 of Funeral Directors and Cemeteries; preserving
17 the validity of judicial and administrative
18 proceedings pending at the time of such
19 transfer and the validity of licenses and
20 registrations in effect at the time of such
21 transfer; amending ss. 20.165, 455.2226,
22 470.002, 470.003, 497.005, 497.105, 497.117,
23 497.201, 497.253, F.S.; revising terminology
24 and references, to conform; providing for
25 payment of fees and costs of legal counsel to
26 be paid from the Professional Regulation Trust
27 Fund, to conform; amending s. 215.321, F.S.,
28 relating to the Regulatory Trust Fund, to
29 remove deposit therein of funds received
30 pursuant to ch. 497, F.S.; amending s. 470.017,
31 F.S.; increasing college credit course
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
27-1076A-02 See HB
1 requirements for registration as a direct
2 disposer; amending s. 470.018, F.S.; increasing
3 continuing education requirements for renewal
4 of registration as a direct disposer; amending
5 s. 470.0295, F.S.; eliminating an exception to
6 the requirement that a licensed funeral
7 director be present during the disinterment and
8 reinterment of human remains; amending s.
9 470.0355, F.S.; revising requirements for the
10 identification of human remains; providing
11 rulemaking authority; amending s. 497.103,
12 F.S.; requiring the board to establish by rule
13 reasonable times for access to cemeteries;
14 amending s. 497.305, F.S.; prohibiting cemetery
15 companies from restricting cemetery access to
16 authorized installers of monuments and markers
17 during the access times established by board
18 rule; amending s. 497.325, F.S.; clarifying
19 applicability of certain illegal tying
20 arrangements to all entities owning and
21 operating a cemetery; amending s. 497.333,
22 F.S.; requiring each written contract provided
23 to a customer to include a complete description
24 of any grave space to be used for the interment
25 of human remains; repealing s. 497.361(5),
26 F.S., relating to requirements for delivery and
27 deadlines for installation of monuments;
28 amending s. 497.419, F.S.; providing that
29 failure to install a monument within a
30 specified period after interment constitutes
31 breach of contract; authorizing extension of
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
27-1076A-02 See HB
1 such period by written agreement; amending ss.
2 497.233, 497.429, F.S.; conforming
3 cross-references; creating s. 497.442, F.S.;
4 prohibiting the preneed sale of undeveloped
5 cemetery property prior to the filing of a site
6 plan for board approval; requiring site plans
7 for undeveloped cemetery property to be
8 completed by a professional surveyor and
9 mapper; providing penalties; repealing s.
10 497.101, F.S., relating to the Board of Funeral
11 and Cemetery Services, to conform; repealing s.
12 497.107, F.S., relating to the headquarters of
13 the board, to conform; repealing s. 497.109,
14 F.S., relating to organization and meetings of
15 the board, to conform; providing effective
16 dates.
17
18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20 Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Funeral and
21 Cemetery Services Industry Regulatory Unification Act."
22 Section 2. All of the records, personnel, property,
23 and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, or
24 other funds for the administration of chapter 497, Florida
25 Statutes, shall be transferred by a type two transfer as
26 defined in section 20.06(2), Florida Statutes, from the
27 Department of Banking and Finance to the Department of
28 Business and Professional Regulation.
29 Section 3. The transfer of regulatory authority over
30 chapter 497, Florida Statutes, provided by this act shall not
31 affect the validity of any judicial or administrative
3
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
27-1076A-02 See HB
1 proceeding pending as of September 30, 2002, and the
2 Department of Business and Professional Regulation shall be
3 substituted for the Department of Banking and Finance as a
4 party in interest.
5 Section 4. Notwithstanding the transfer of regulatory
6 authority over chapter 497, Florida Statutes, provided by this
7 act, all licenses and registrations issued pursuant to chapter
8 497, Florida Statutes, which are valid on September 30, 2001,
9 shall remain in effect subject to the provisions of chapter
10 497, Florida Statutes.
11 Section 5. (1) The terms of all current members of
12 the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers and of the Board
13 of Funeral and Cemetery Services shall expire on October 1,
14 2002. Members shall be appointed to the new Board of Funeral
15 Directors and Cemeteries pursuant to section 470.003, Florida
16 Statutes, to terms beginning on October 1, 2002, and staggered
17 as follows, notwithstanding section 470.003(3), Florida
18 Statutes:
19 (a) Three members shall be appointed for terms of 2
20 years each, one of whom must be a funeral director member, one
21 of whom must be a cemetery owner or operator member, and one
22 of whom must be a consumer member.
23 (b) Three members shall be appointed for terms of 3
24 years each, one of whom must be a funeral director member, one
25 of whom must be a cemetery owner or operator member, and one
26 of whom must be a consumer member.
27 (c) Three members shall be appointed for terms of 4
28 years each, one of whom must be a funeral director member, one
29 of whom must be a cemetery owner or operator member, and one
30 of whom must be the monument dealer member.
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
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1 As the terms of these members expire, the Governor shall
2 appoint their successors for terms of 4 years in accordance
3 with section 470.003(3), Florida Statutes.
4 (2) This section shall take effect upon this act
5 becoming a law.
6 Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
7 20.165, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
8 20.165 Department of Business and Professional
9 Regulation.--There is created a Department of Business and
10 Professional Regulation.
11 (4)(a) The following boards are established within the
12 Division of Professions:
13 1. Board of Architecture and Interior Design, created
14 under part I of chapter 481.
15 2. Florida Board of Auctioneers, created under part VI
16 of chapter 468.
17 3. Barbers' Board, created under chapter 476.
18 4. Florida Building Code Administrators and Inspectors
19 Board, created under part XII of chapter 468.
20 5. Construction Industry Licensing Board, created
21 under part I of chapter 489.
22 6. Board of Cosmetology, created under chapter 477.
23 7. Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board, created
24 under part II of chapter 489.
25 8. Board of Employee Leasing Companies, created under
26 part XI of chapter 468.
27 9. Board of Funeral Directors and Cemeteries
28 Embalmers, created under chapter 470.
29 10. Board of Landscape Architecture, created under
30 part II of chapter 481.
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
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1 11. Board of Pilot Commissioners, created under
2 chapter 310.
3 12. Board of Professional Engineers, created under
4 chapter 471.
5 13. Board of Professional Geologists, created under
6 chapter 492.
7 14. Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers,
8 created under chapter 472.
9 15. Board of Veterinary Medicine, created under
10 chapter 474.
11 Section 7. Section 215.321, Florida Statutes, is
12 amended to read:
13 215.321 Regulatory Trust Fund.--All funds received
14 pursuant to ss. 494.001-494.0077, chapter 497, chapter 516,
15 chapter 520, or part I of chapter 559 shall be deposited into
16 the Regulatory Trust Fund.
17 Section 8. Subsection (1) of section 455.2226, Florida
18 Statutes, is amended to read:
19 455.2226 Funeral directors and embalmers; instruction
20 on human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency
21 syndrome.--
22 (1) The Board of Funeral Directors and Cemeteries
23 Embalmers shall require each person licensed or certified
24 under chapter 470 to complete a continuing educational course,
25 approved by the board, on human immunodeficiency virus and
26 acquired immune deficiency syndrome as part of biennial
27 relicensure or recertification. The course shall consist of
28 education on the modes of transmission, infection control
29 procedures, clinical management, and prevention of human
30 immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency
31 syndrome. Such course shall include information on current
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
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1 Florida law on acquired immune deficiency syndrome and its
2 impact on testing, confidentiality of test results, and
3 treatment of patients.
4 Section 9. Subsection (2) of section 470.002, Florida
5 Statutes, is amended to read:
6 470.002 Definitions.--As used in this chapter:
7 (2) "Board" means the Board of Funeral Directors and
8 Cemeteries Embalmers.
9 Section 10. Section 470.003, Florida Statutes, is
10 amended to read:
11 470.003 Board of Funeral Directors and Cemeteries
12 Embalmers; membership; appointment; terms; headquarters.--
13 (1) The Board of Funeral Directors and Cemeteries
14 Embalmers is created within the Department of Business and
15 Professional Regulation and shall consist of nine seven
16 members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.
17 (2) Three Five members of the board must be funeral
18 directors licensed under this chapter, no more than two of
19 whom may be associated with a cemetery company through
20 ownership interests or through employment with a company which
21 has an ownership interest in a cemetery. Three members must
22 be owners or operators of a cemetery licensed under chapter
23 497. The remaining Two members must be residents of the state
24 who have never been licensed as funeral directors or embalmers
25 and who are in no way connected with a cemetery, the death
26 care industry, or the practice of embalming, funeral
27 directing, or direct disposition. One member must be a
28 monument dealer affiliated with a monument establishment
29 registered under chapter 497. At least one consumer member of
30 the board must be 60 years of age or older. No licensee on
31 the board may be associated by employment or ownership with a
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
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1 funeral establishment or cemetery which is owned partly or
2 wholly by a person, business, corporation, or other entity
3 which is associated with another licensee on the board.
4 (3) The Governor shall appoint members for terms of 4
5 years, and such members shall serve until their successors are
6 appointed.
7 (4) The board may be contacted through the
8 headquarters of the department in the City of Tallahassee.
9 (5)(4) All provisions of chapter 455 and s. 20.165
10 relating to activities of regulatory boards shall apply.
11 Section 11. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
12 470.017, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
13 470.017 Registration as a direct disposer.--
14 (2) Any person who desires to be registered as a
15 direct disposer shall file an application with the department
16 on a form furnished by the department. The department shall
17 register each applicant who has remitted a registration fee
18 set by the department, not to exceed $200; has completed the
19 application form and remitted a nonrefundable application fee
20 set by the department, not to exceed $50; and meets the
21 following requirements:
22 (d) Has received a passing grade in the following a
23 college credit courses, as provided by rule of the board:
24 course in Florida mortuary law, ethics,
25 microbiology-infectious diseases, thanatology, and accounting.
26 Section 12. Subsection (2) of section 470.018, Florida
27 Statutes, is amended to read:
28 470.018 Renewal of registration of direct disposer.--
29 (2) The department shall adopt rules establishing a
30 procedure for the biennial renewal of registrations. The
31 board shall prescribe by rule continuing education
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
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1 requirements of up to 6 3 classroom hours and may by rule
2 establish criteria for accepting alternative nonclassroom
3 continuing education on an hour-for-hour basis, in addition to
4 a board-approved course on communicable diseases that includes
5 the course on human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune
6 deficiency syndrome required by s. 455.2226, for the renewal
7 of a registration.
8 Section 13. Subsection (1) of section 470.0295,
9 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
10 470.0295 Disinterment; transportation; authorization
11 and notification.--
12 (1) The disinterment and reinterment of human remains
13 shall require the physical presence of a licensed funeral
14 director, unless the reinterment is to be made in the same
15 cemetery.
16 Section 14. Section 470.0355, Florida Statutes, is
17 amended to read:
18 470.0355 Identification of human remains.--
19 (1) The licensee or registrant in charge of the final
20 disposition of dead human remains shall, prior to final
21 disposition of such dead human remains, affix on the ankle or
22 wrist of the deceased, and affix on or otherwise attach to or
23 in the casket and outer burial container or any alternative
24 container or cremation container, proper identification of the
25 dead human remains. The identification or tag shall be
26 encased in or consist of durable and long-lasting material
27 containing the name, date of birth, and date of death, and
28 social security number of the deceased, if available. If the
29 dead human remains are cremated, proper identification shall
30 be placed in the container or urn containing the remains.
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1 (2) Any licensee or registrant responsible for removal
2 of dead human remains to any establishment, facility, or
3 location shall ensure that the remains are identified by a tag
4 or other means of identification that is affixed to the ankle
5 or wrist of the deceased at the time the remains are removed
6 from the place of death or other location. The tag or other
7 identification shall not be removed from the human remains,
8 except to relocate the tag or other identification from the
9 ankle to the wrist or from the wrist to the ankle. The tag or
10 other identification must accompany the remains until final
11 disposition. When cremation is the final disposition, the tag
12 or other identification may be removed just prior to cremation
13 and in that event shall be maintained within the permanent
14 file.
15 (3) Any licensee or registrant may rely on the
16 representation of a legally authorized person to establish the
17 identity of dead human remains.
18 (4) The board shall adopt rules pursuant to ss.
19 120.536(1) and 120.54 necessary to implement the requirements
20 and operating procedures for the identification of human
21 remains set forth in this section.
22 Section 15. Subsections (4) and (16) of section
23 497.005, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
24 497.005 Definitions.--As used in this chapter:
25 (4) "Board" means the Board of Funeral Directors and
26 Cemeteries created under s. 470.003 Cemetery Services.
27 (16) "Department" means the Department of Business and
28 Professional Regulation Banking and Finance.
29 Section 16. Subsection (3) of section 497.103, Florida
30 Statutes, is amended to read:
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
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1 497.103 Rulemaking authority of board and
2 department.--
3 (3) The board shall adopt and enforce rules governing
4 the operation of cemeteries in this state and arrange for the
5 preparation, publication, and dissemination to the public of
6 these rules and other information and material relevant to the
7 operation of cemeteries. Such rules shall include
8 establishing reasonable times for access to all cemeteries,
9 including the time of day and days of the week for access to
10 install monuments and markers.
11 Section 17. Section 497.105, Florida Statutes, is
12 amended to read:
13 497.105 Department of Banking and Finance; Powers and
14 duties of department.--The department of Banking and Finance
15 shall:
16 (1) Adopt rules establishing procedures for the
17 renewal of licenses, registrations, and certificates of
18 authority.
19 (2) Appoint the executive director of the board of
20 Funeral and Cemetery Services, subject to the approval of the
21 board.
22 (3) With the advice of the board, submit a biennial
23 budget to the Legislature at a time and in the manner provided
24 by law.
25 (4) Develop a training program for persons newly
26 appointed to membership on the board. The program shall
27 familiarize such persons with the substantive and procedural
28 laws and rules which relate to the regulation under this
29 chapter and with the structure of the department.
30
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1 (5) Adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54
2 to implement the provisions of this chapter conferring duties
3 upon it.
4 (6) Establish by rule procedures by which the
5 department shall use the expert or technical advice of the
6 board, for the purposes of investigation, inspection, audit,
7 evaluation of applications, other duties of the department, or
8 any other areas the department may deem appropriate.
9 (7) Require all proceedings of the board or panels
10 thereof within the department and all formal or informal
11 proceedings conducted by the department, an administrative law
12 judge, or a hearing officer with respect to licensing,
13 registration, certification, or discipline to be
14 electronically recorded in a manner sufficient to ensure the
15 accurate transcription of all matters so recorded.
16 (8) Select only those investigators approved by the
17 board. Such investigators shall report to and work in
18 coordination with the executive director of the board and are
19 responsible for all inspections and investigations other than
20 financial examinations.
21 Section 18. Section 497.117, Florida Statutes, is
22 amended to read:
23 497.117 Legal and investigative services.--
24 (1) The Department of Legal Affairs shall provide
25 legal services to the board within the Department of Banking
26 and Finance, but the primary responsibility of the Department
27 of Legal Affairs shall be to represent the interests of the
28 citizens of the state by vigorously counseling the board with
29 respect to its obligations under the laws of the state.
30 Subject to the prior approval of the Attorney General, the
31 board may retain independent legal counsel to provide legal
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
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1 advice to the board on a specific matter. Fees and costs of
2 such counsel shall be paid from the Professional Regulation
3 Regulatory Trust Fund of the department of Banking and
4 Finance.
5 (2) The Department of Business and Professional
6 Regulation Banking and Finance may employ or utilize the legal
7 services of outside counsel and the investigative services of
8 outside personnel. However, no attorney employed or utilized
9 by the department shall prosecute a matter or provide legal
10 services to the board with respect to the same matter.
11 Section 19. Subsection (3) of section 497.201, Florida
12 Statutes, is amended to read:
13 497.201 Cemetery companies; license; application;
14 fee.--
15 (3) If the board finds that the applicant meets the
16 criteria established in subsection (2), the department shall
17 notify the applicant that a license will be issued when:
18 (a) The establishment of a care and maintenance trust
19 fund containing not less than $50,000 has been certified by a
20 trust company operating pursuant to chapter 660, a state or
21 national bank holding trust powers, or a savings and loan
22 association holding trust powers as provided in s. 497.423.
23 (b) The applicant has filed with the department
24 development plans which are sufficient to ensure the
25 department that the cemetery will provide adequate service to
26 the community and which have been approved by the appropriate
27 local governmental agency regulating zoning in the area of the
28 proposed cemetery.
29 (c) The applicant holds an unencumbered fee simple
30 title to at least 30 contiguous acres of land.
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1 (d) The applicant has designated as general manager a
2 person who has integrity, 3 years of cemetery management
3 experience as defined by board rule, and the ability to
4 operate a cemetery.
5 (e) The applicant has fully developed not less than 2
6 acres for use as burial space, such development to include a
7 paved road from a public roadway to the developed section.
8 (f) The applicant has recorded, in the public records
9 of the county in which the land is located, a notice which
10 contains the following language:
11
12 NOTICE
13
14 The property described herein shall not be sold, conveyed,
15 leased, mortgaged, or encumbered without the prior written
16 approval of the Department of Business and Professional
17 Regulation Banking and Finance, as provided in the Florida
18 Funeral and Cemetery Services Act.
19
20 Such notice shall be clearly printed in boldfaced type of not
21 less than 10 points and may be included on the face of the
22 deed of conveyance to the licensee or may be contained in a
23 separate recorded instrument which contains a description of
24 the property.
25 Section 20. Paragraph (x) of subsection (1) of section
26 497.233, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
27 497.233 Disciplinary proceedings.--
28 (1) The following acts constitute grounds for which
29 the disciplinary actions in subsection (2) may be taken:
30 (x) Sale of an irrevocable preneed contract to a
31 person who is not an applicant for or recipient of
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1 Supplemental Security Income, Aid to Families with Dependent
2 Children, or Medicaid pursuant to s. 497.419(8)(7).
3 Section 21. Subsection (3) of section 497.253, Florida
4 Statutes, is amended to read:
5 497.253 Minimum acreage; sale or disposition of
6 cemetery lands.--
7 (3)(a) If the property to be sold, conveyed, or
8 disposed of under subsection (2) has been or is being used for
9 the permanent interment of human remains, the applicant for
10 approval of such sale, conveyance, or disposition shall cause
11 to be published, at least once a week for 4 consecutive weeks,
12 a notice meeting the standards of publication set forth in s.
13 125.66(4)(b)2. The notice shall describe the property in
14 question and the proposed noncemetery use and shall advise
15 substantially affected persons that they may file a written
16 request for a hearing pursuant to chapter 120, within 14 days
17 after the date of last publication of the notice, with the
18 department if they object to granting the applicant's request
19 to sell, convey, or dispose of the subject property for
20 noncemetery uses.
21 (b) If the property in question has never been used
22 for the permanent interment of human remains, no notice or
23 hearing is required.
24 (c) If the property in question has been used for the
25 permanent interment of human remains, the department shall
26 approve the application, in writing, if it finds that it would
27 not be contrary to the public interest. In determining whether
28 to approve the application, the department shall consider any
29 evidence presented concerning the following:
30 1. The historical significance of the subject
31 property, if any.
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1 2. The archaeological significance of the subject
2 property, if any.
3 3. The public purpose, if any, to be served by the
4 proposed use of the subject property.
5 4. The impact of the proposed change in use of the
6 subject property upon the reasonable expectations of the
7 families of the deceased regarding whether the cemetery
8 property was to remain as a cemetery in perpetuity.
9 5. Whether any living relatives of the deceased
10 actively oppose the relocation of their deceased's remains and
11 the conversion of the subject property to noncemetery uses.
12 6. The elapsed time since the last interment in the
13 subject property.
14 7. Any other factor enumerated in this chapter that
15 the department considers relevant to the public interest.
16 (d) Any deed, mortgage, or other conveyance by a
17 cemetery company or other owner pursuant to paragraphs
18 subsections (a) and (c) above must contain a disclosure in the
19 following or substantially similar form:
20
21 NOTICE: The property described herein was formerly used and
22 dedicated as a cemetery. Conveyance of this property and its
23 use for noncemetery purposes was authorized by the Florida
24 Department of Business and Professional Regulation Banking and
25 Finance by Order No. ...., dated .....
26
27 (e) The department shall adopt such rules as are
28 necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
29 Section 22. Subsection (3) of section 497.305, Florida
30 Statutes, is amended to read:
31 497.305 Cemetery companies; authorized functions.--
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1 (3) A cemetery company may adopt bylaws establishing
2 minimum standards for burial merchandise or the installation
3 thereof. However, a cemetery company may not restrict access
4 to any cemetery by any person needing access to install a
5 monument or marker on behalf of a registered monument
6 establishment, provided such access is within the reasonable
7 times for access established by the board by rule.
8 Section 23. Subsection (2) of section 497.325, Florida
9 Statutes, is amended to read:
10 497.325 Illegal tying arrangements.--
11 (2)(a) Noncemetery licensed persons and firms shall
12 have the right to sell monuments and to perform or provide on
13 cemetery property foundation, preparation, and installation
14 services for monuments. However, a cemetery company or any
15 other entity owning and operating a cemetery may establish
16 reasonable rules regarding the style and size of a monument or
17 its foundation, provided such rules are applicable to all
18 monuments from whatever source obtained and are enforced
19 uniformly as to all monuments. Such rules shall be
20 conspicuously posted and readily accessible to inspection and
21 copy by interested persons.
22 (b) No person who is authorized to sell grave space
23 and no cemetery company or other entity owning and operating a
24 cemetery may:
25 1. Require the payment of a setting or service charge,
26 by whatever name known, from third party installers for the
27 placement of a monument;
28 2. Refuse to provide care or maintenance for any
29 portion of a gravesite on which a monument has been placed; or
30 3. Waive liability with respect to damage caused by
31 cemetery employees or agents to a monument after installation,
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1
2 where the monument or installation service is not purchased
3 from the person authorized to sell grave space or the cemetery
4 company or other legal entity providing grave space or from or
5 through any other person or corporation designated by the
6 person authorized to sell grave space or the cemetery company
7 or other legal entity providing grave space. No cemetery
8 company or other entity owning and operating a cemetery may be
9 held liable for the improper installation of a monument where
10 the monument is not installed by the cemetery company or its
11 agents or by such other entity or its agents.
12 Section 24. Subsection (6) of section 497.333, Florida
13 Statutes, is amended to read:
14 497.333 Disclosure of information to public.--A
15 licensee offering to provide burial rights, merchandise, or
16 services to the public shall:
17 (6) Provide to the customer, upon the purchase of any
18 burial right, merchandise, or service, a written contract, the
19 form of which has been approved by the board.
20 (a) The written contract shall be completed as to all
21 essential provisions prior to the signing of the contract by
22 the customer.
23 (b) The written contract shall provide an itemization
24 of the amounts charged for all services, merchandise, and
25 fees, which itemization shall be clearly and conspicuously
26 segregated from everything else on the written contract.
27 (c) A description of the merchandise covered by the
28 contract to include, when applicable, model, manufacturer, and
29 other relevant specifications.
30 (d) A complete description of any grave space to be
31 used for the interment of human remains.
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1 Section 25. Subsection (5) of section 497.361, Florida
2 Statutes, is repealed:
3 497.361 Registration of monument establishments.--
4 (5) Monuments shall be delivered as established by
5 this chapter and installed no later than 120 days after the
6 date of sale. The establishment may request two 30-day
7 extensions. Extensions may be granted by the executive
8 director.
9 Section 26. Present subsections (6) through (10) of
10 section 497.419, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as
11 subsections (7) through (11), respectively, and a new
12 subsection (6) is added to that section to read:
13 497.419 Cancellation of, or default on, preneed
14 contracts.--
15 (6) Failure to install a monument within 180 days
16 after interment shall be considered a breach of contract
17 unless the certificateholder has a written agreement to extend
18 the installation date. The purchaser shall be entitled to a
19 refund of all money paid for the merchandise. Such refund
20 shall be made within 30 days after receipt by the
21 certificateholder of the contract purchaser's written request
22 for a refund. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude the
23 purchase and installation of a new monument from any other
24 registered monument dealer.
25 Section 27. Subsection (9) of section 497.429, Florida
26 Statutes, is amended to read:
27 497.429 Alternative preneed contracts.--
28 (9) The contract may provide that the
29 certificateholder may cancel the contract, but only in the
30 event that the purchaser is more than 90 days in default of
31 the terms of the contract; and, unless subject to the
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
27-1076A-02 See HB
1 provisions of s. 497.419(7)(6), must provide that the
2 purchaser, or her or his representative, has the right, at any
3 time prior to the performance of the contract, to cancel the
4 preneed contract and revest title to all the funds paid on the
5 preneed contract, except for applicable liquidated damages,
6 and the certificateholder's rights in the net income of the
7 trust.
8 Section 28. Section 497.442, Florida Statutes, is
9 created to read:
10 497.442 Preneed sale of undeveloped cemetery
11 property.--The preneed sale of undeveloped cemetery property
12 prior to the filing of a site plan for board approval is
13 prohibited. Each site plan for undeveloped cemetery property
14 submitted to the board for approval must be completed by a
15 professional surveyor and mapper licensed under chapter 472.
16 Section 29. Sections 497.101, 497.107, and 497.109,
17 Florida Statutes, are repealed.
18 Section 30. Except as otherwise provided in this act,
19 this act shall take effect October 1, 2002.
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Florida Senate - 2002 SB 2238
27-1076A-02 See HB
1 *****************************************
2 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
3
Transfers the administration of ch. 497, F.S., relating
4 to funeral and cemetery services, from the Department of
Banking and Finance to the Department of Business and
5 Professional Regulation, effective October 1, 2002. Ends
the terms of current members of the Board of Funeral
6 Directors and Embalmers and of the Board of Funeral and
Cemetery Services on October 1, 2002, and provides for
7 appointment and staggering of terms of members of the new
Board of Funeral Directors and Cemeteries. Provides that
8 fees and costs of legal counsel shall be paid from the
Professional Regulation Trust Fund rather than the
9 Regulatory Trust Fund, and eliminates deposit into the
Regulatory Trust Fund of funds received pursuant to ch.
10 497, F.S.
11
Increases college credit course requirements for
12 registration as a direct disposer and continuing
education requirements for renewal of such registration.
13 Eliminates an exception to the requirement that a
licensed funeral director be present during the
14 disinterment and reinterment of human remains. Revises
requirements for the identification of human remains.
15 Requires the board to establish by rule reasonable times
for access to cemeteries, and prohibits cemetery
16 companies from restricting cemetery access to authorized
installers of monuments and markers during such times.
17 Clarifies applicability of certain illegal tying
arrangements not only to cemetery companies, but also to
18 other entities owning and operating a cemetery. Requires
each written contract provided to a customer to include a
19 complete description of any grave space to be used for
the interment of human remains. Repeals a provision
20 relating to requirements for delivery and deadlines for
installation of monuments. Provides that failure to
21 install a monument within a specified period after
interment constitutes breach of contract, and authorizes
22 extension of such period by written agreement. Prohibits
the preneed sale of undeveloped cemetery property prior
23 to the filing of a site plan for board approval, and
requires site plans for undeveloped cemetery property to
24 be completed by a professional surveyor and mapper.
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(See bill for details.)
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.