BILL NUMBER: AB 597 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 29, 1995
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 1995
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 19, 1995
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 29, 1995
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 10, 1995
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 1995
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 30, 1995
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Speier
FEBRUARY 17, 1995
An act to repeal Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 9600) of
Division 3 of, and to repeal and add Chapter 12 (commencing with
Section 7600) of Division 3 of, the Business and Professions Code,
relating to interment, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 597, as amended, Speier. Preneed funeral arrangements
Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services .
Existing law, the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Law, provides
for the licensure and regulation of funeral directors and embalmers
by the State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers. The Cemetery
Act provides for the regulation of cemeteries by the Cemetery Board.
This bill would repeal those provisions and enact the Funeral and
Cemetery Services Act of 1995. The bill would revise, recast, and
consolidate the above provisions into the act and create the Board of
Funeral and Cemetery Services. The bill would make conforming
changes.
Since a violation of various provisions of the bill would be a
misdemeanor, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would appropriate $668,500 from the Funeral and Cemetery
Services Fund to the Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services for the
purposes of this act.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 7600) of Division 3
of the Business and Professions Code is repealed.
SEC. 2. Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 7600) is added to
Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 12. STATE BOARD OF FUNERAL AND CEMETERY SERVICES
Article 1. Citation and Application of Chapter
7600. This chapter constitutes the chapter on funeral and
cemetery services. It shall be known and may be cited as the
"Funeral and Cemetery Services Act of 1995."
7601. Effective January 1, 1996, this chapter governs the
licensure of persons formerly licensed by the Cemetery Board and the
Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers.
7602. The State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services shall
succeed to the powers and authorities previously vested with the
Cemetery Board and with the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers.
The State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services shall assume all
investigations, inquiries, disciplinary actions, or proceedings
pending before the Cemetery Board and the Board of Funeral Directors
and Embalmers at the time of merger.
7603. An application pending for examination or licensure under
the Cemetery Act or the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Law as of
January 1, 1996, shall be deemed filed with the State Board of
Funeral and Cemetery Services and considered for examination and
licensure in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
7604. On and after January 1, 1996, a license issued pursuant to
the Cemetery Act or the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Law shall be
deemed a license issued by the State Board of Funeral and Cemetery
Services.
7606. (a) Revenue collected under the Cemetery Act or the Funeral
Directors and Embalmers Law and held in their respective contingent
funds shall be transferred to the State Board of Funeral and Cemetery
Service Fund as established by this chapter.
(b) Money received by the State Board of Funeral and Cemetery
Services under the provisions of this chapter shall be accounted for
and reported by detailed statements furnished by the board to the
Controller at least once a month. This money shall be remitted to
the Treasurer, and, upon order of the Controller, shall be paid into
the State Treasury to the credit of the State Board of Funeral and
Cemetery Services Fund, which is hereby created.
(c) All money paid into the State Treasury and credited to the
State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services Fund shall be expended
in accordance with law for payment of the actual and necessary
expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this chapter.
7607. A provision of this chapter insofar as it is substantially
the same as an existing statutory provision relating to the same
subject matter shall be construed as a restatement and continuation
thereof, and not as a new enactment.
7608. An action or proceeding commenced before this chapter takes
effect, and a right accrued, is not affected by the provisions of
this chapter, but all procedures shall conform to the provisions of
this chapter so far as possible.
7609. A right given by a license or certificate under an act
repealed by this chapter is not affected by the enactment of this
chapter or by the repeal, but this right shall be exercised according
to the provisions of this chapter.
7610. A person, who, at the time this chapter goes into effect,
is entitled to a license under an act repealed by this chapter, is
entitled to a license under the provisions of this chapter so far as
the provisions of this chapter are substantially the same.
7611. A conviction for a crime under the Cemetery Act or the
Funeral Directors and Embalmers Law as of December 31, 1995, shall
constitute a conviction under this chapter.
7612. This chapter does not apply to, or in any way interfere
with, the duties of any officer of any public institution or of any
duly accredited medical college, nor does it apply to any hospital
licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250) of
Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, or anyone engaged only in
furnishing burial receptacles.
Article 2. Definitions
7615. (a) The definitions in this article govern the meaning of
terms used in this chapter unless otherwise provided expressly or by
necessary implication.
(b) The definitions in Division 7 (commencing with Section 7000)
and Division 8 (commencing with Section 8100) of the Health and
Safety Code are applicable to this chapter.
7616. "Act" means the Funeral and Cemetery Services Act of 1995.
7617. "Board" means the State Board of Funeral and Cemetery
Services.
7618. "Fund" means the State Board of Funeral and Cemetery
Services Fund.
7619. A "funeral director" means a person, partnership,
association, corporation, or other organization engaged in or
conducting, or holding himself, herself, or itself out as engaged in
any of the following:
(a) Preparing for the transportation or burial or disposal, or
directing and supervising for transportation or burial or final
disposition of human remains.
(b) Maintaining an establishment for the preparation for the
transportation or disposition or for the care of human remains.
(c) Using, in connection with his or her or its name or funeral
establishment, the words "funeral director," "undertaker,"
"mortician," or any other title implying that he or she or it is
engaged as a funeral director.
7620. "Funeral establishment" means a place of business conducted
in a building or separate portion of a building having a specific
street address or location and devoted exclusively to activities as
are incident, convenient, or related to the preparation and
arrangements, financial and otherwise, for the funeral,
transportation, burial, or other disposition of human remains and
including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(a) A suitable room for the storage of human remains.
(b) A suitable preparation room equipped with a sanitary flooring
and necessary drainage and ventilation and containing necessary
instruments and supplies for the preparation, sanitation, or
embalming of human remains for burial or transportation.
7621. "Embalmer" means a person who is duly qualified to
disinfect or preserve human remains by the injection or external
application of antiseptics, disinfectants, or preservative fluids; to
prepare human remains for transportation and to use derma surgery or
plastic art for restoring mutilated features; and who is duly
licensed as an embalmer under the laws of the State of California.
7622. "Apprentice embalmer" means a person engaged in the study
of the art of embalming under the instruction and supervision of a
regularly licensed embalmer who has had at least two years' practical
experience as a California licensed embalmer.
7623. "Preneed trust agreement" means a contract that allows the
purchase of funeral services in advance of need.
7624. (a) "Original cemetery broker's license" means a cemetery
license issued to a person who did not have a cemetery broker's
license on June 30 of the fiscal year previous to the fiscal year for
which the license is issued.
(b) "Renewal cemetery broker's license" means a cemetery license
issued to a person who had a cemetery broker's license unrevoked and
unsuspended on June 30 of the fiscal year previous to the fiscal year
for which the renewal cemetery license is issued.
7625. (a) "Original cemetery sales agent's license" means a
cemetery license issued to a person who did not have a cemetery sales
agent's or a broker's license either individually or as an officer
of a corporation, or as a member of a partnership, on June 30 of the
fiscal year previous to the fiscal year for which the sales agent's
license is issued.
(b) "Renewal cemetery sales agent's license" means a cemetery
license issued to a person who had a cemetery sales agent's or a
broker's license either individually or as an officer of a
corporation, or as a member of a partnership, on June 30 of the
fiscal year previous to the fiscal year for which the sales agent's
license is issued.
7626. The following definitions apply to cemetery establishments
and service providers:
(a) "Cemetery" means one, or a combination of more than one, of
the following, in a place used, or intended to be used, and dedicated
for, the following purposes:
(1) A burial park, for earth interments.
(2) A mausoleum, for crypt or vault interments.
(3) A columbarium, or a crematory and columbarium, for cinerary
interments.
(b) "Cemetery authority" means an entity, including a cemetery
corporation or partnership, corporation sole, or an individual, that
is licensed to own and control cemetery lands or property.
(c) "Cemetery broker" means a person who, other than for an
occasional sale, sells or offers for sale, buys, or offers to buy,
lists, leases or offers to lease, or solicits, or negotiates the
purchase or sale, lease or exchange of cemetery property or interment
services, or interest therein, for his or her own account or for
another.
(d) "Cemetery corporation," "cemetery association," or "cemetery
corporation or association" means a corporation that is or may be
authorized by its articles to conduct one or more of the businesses
of a cemetery, but does not include a corporation sole.
(e) "Cemetery licensee" means the following licensed individuals
and entities:
(1) A cemetery authority.
(2) A cemetery broker.
(3) A cemetery sales agent.
(4) A crematory.
(f) "Cemetery purpose" and "cemetery business" are used
interchangeably and mean those purposes requisite to, necessary for,
or incident to, establishing, maintaining, operating, improving, or
conducting a cemetery, interring human remains, and the care,
preservation, and embellishment of cemetery property, including, but
not limited to, an activity or business designed for the benefit,
service, convenience, education, or spiritual uplift of property
owners or persons visiting the cemetery.
(g) "Cemetery sales agent" means a natural person who, other than
for an occasional sale, is employed by a cemetery broker to sell, or
offer for sale, list or offer to list, or to buy, or to offer to buy,
or to lease, or offer to lease, or to solicit, or to negotiate the
purchase or sale or lease or exchange of cemetery property or
interment services, or an interest therein, for his or her own
account or for another.
(h) "Certificate of authority" means a license to operate a
cemetery.
(i) "Crematory licensee" means a corporation, partnership, or
natural person licensed pursuant to, and means a cemetery licensee
for purposes of disciplinary action under, Article 5 (commencing with
Section 7680).
(j) "Cremated remains disposer" means a person who, for his or her
own account or for another, disposes of, or offers to dispose of,
cremated human remains by scattering over or on land or sea.
(k) "Endowment care" or "endowed care" includes both general and
special care funds.
(l) "Funeral licensee" means a licensed funeral director or
licensed embalmer.
(m) "General care fund" has the same meaning as an "endowment care
fund."
(n) "Occasional sale" means a sale of cemetery property not
acquired or held for purposes of resale or speculation, provided the
sale is not one of a series of sales sufficient in number, scope, and
character to constitute engaging in the business of selling or
reselling or holding for speculation cemetery property.
(o) "Private cemetery" means a cemetery owned and operated by an
individual, partnership, or corporation.
(p) "Qualified manager" means the individual who supervises a
crematory and who has passed the examination given by the board.
(q) "Special care fund" includes moneys for services and
commodities other than the cemetery plot, such as the liners, vaults,
and the opening and closing of the grave.
7627. For the purposes of preneed funeral accounts, the following
definitions shall apply:
(a) "Trustee" means a banking institution or trust company legally
authorized and empowered by the State of California to act as
trustee in the handling of trust funds or not less than three persons
one of whom may be an employee of the funeral director.
(b) "Trustor" means a person who pays the money or deposits the
securities used for the preneed arrangements.
(c) "Beneficiary" means the person for whom the funeral services
are arranged.
(d) "Corpus of the trust" includes all moneys paid and securities
delivered pursuant to the provisions of the article.
Article 3. Administration of Chapter
7630. (a) There is created in the Department of Consumer Affairs
a State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services. The board shall be
composed of 11 members, consisting of seven public members, two
cemetery licensees, and two persons who are either funeral director
or embalmer licensees. One board member holding a cemetery license
may also hold a funeral or embalmer license. One board member holding
a funeral director's license may also hold a cemetery license.
(b) The Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Committee on Rules
shall each appoint one public member, and the Governor shall appoint
the remaining members.
(c) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2000, and as
of January 1, 2001, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
which becomes effective on or before January 1, 2001, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
The repeal of this section renders the board subject to the review
required by Division 1.2 (commencing with Section 473).
7631. (a) A member of the board may not be financially
interested, directly or indirectly, in an institution engaged in
embalming or funeral directing instruction or cemetery instruction.
(b) A member of the board, except a public member, who is to be
appointed to a board position designated for a funeral licensee,
shall be appointed from persons who are licensed as a funeral
director or as an embalmer and who have had a minimum of five
consecutive years of experience in funeral directing or embalming
immediately preceding their appointment. The five-year consecutive
period shall be exclusive of the time spent in the armed services.
The member shall hold office only as long as he or she continues in
this active, actual, and authoritative capacity.
(c) A member of the board, except a public member, who is to be
appointed to a board position designated for a cemetery licensee,
shall be appointed only from persons who have had, immediately
preceding their appointment, a minimum of five consecutive years of
experience in this state in the active administrative management of a
cemetery corporation or as a member of the board of directors
thereof for this period and shall at the time of his or her
appointment have the actual and full authority of a president,
general manager, or executive vice president. The five-year
consecutive period shall be exclusive of time spent in the armed
services. The member shall hold office only as long as he or she
continues in this active, actual, and authoritative capacity.
(d) The public members shall not be licentiates of the board.
(e) A public member may not during his or her term of office or
any time within five years immediately preceding his or her
appointment, engage in either of the following activities:
(1) A business or activity that a cemetery authority may engage in
under Section 7020 of the Health and Safety Code, whether or not the
business or activity is incidental to or independent from a cemetery
business, nor be a stockholder in a corporation, or act as legal
counsel for a person, firm, or corporation engaged in these
activities.
(2) A pursuit covered by Part 2 (commencing with Section 8125) or
Part 4 (commencing with Section 8890) of Division 8 of the Health and
Safety Code.
(f) The spouse, child, parent, and kindred, including his or her
spouse, of a public member shall be required to meet the requirements
of Section 450.
(g) A member of the board shall be the following:
(1) A citizen of the United States of America.
(2) A legal resident of the State of California.
7632. (a) A member of the board shall be appointed for a
four-year term that expires on June 1. A member shall hold office
until the appointment and qualification of his or her successor. A
person may not serve as a member of the board for more than two
consecutive terms. A vacancy that occurs during a term shall be
filled for the unexpired term.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), in order to provide for
staggered terms, the terms of the initial appointee of the Speaker of
the Assembly and the appointee of the Senate Committee on Rules
shall end on July 1, 2000, the term of one licensed cemetery
appointee, one licensed funeral appointee, and two public members
appointed by the Governor shall expire on July 1, 1999, and the term
of one licensed cemetery appointee, one licensed funeral appointee,
and three public members appointed by the Governor shall expire on
July 1, 1998.
7633. (a) A member of the board may be removed by his or her
appointing authority for incompetency, improper conduct, or continued
neglect of duty required by this chapter.
(b) The Director of Consumer Affairs may make a formal
recommendation to the appointing power that a board member be removed
for cause if the director provides prior written notice to the
appointing power and to the member stating the basis for the
recommendation.
7634. (a) The board shall hold meetings at least four times a
year, at least twice in northern California and at least twice in
southern California. The board may hold other meetings as may be
necessary.
(b) A majority of the appointed members of the board shall
constitute a quorum to conduct business.
(c) An affirmative vote of a majority of those present at a
meeting of the board is required to take an action or pass a motion.
(d) The members of the board shall annually elect a president,
vice president, and secretary. The annual election shall occur at
the second meeting after the deadline for new appointments has
passed. A board election may not occur prior to the annual deadline
for appointments except as necessary due to a vacancy in the office
of board president. The vice president shall assume the functions
and duties of the president in the event the president is unable to
perform those functions and duties.
(e) A member of the board shall receive a per diem and expenses as
provided in Section 103.
7635. (a) The board may, pursuant to the provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code),
adopt and enforce reasonably necessary rules and regulations that
relate to all of the following:
(1) The practice of embalming.
(2) The business of a funeral director.
(3) The management and administration of a cemetery.
(4) The sanitary conditions of places where the practice or
business is conducted with particular regard to plumbing, sewage,
ventilation, and equipment.
(5) Specifying conditions for approval of funeral establishments
for apprentices and for approval of embalming schools.
(6) The scope of examinations.
(7) Carrying out generally the various provisions of this chapter
for the protection of the peace, health, safety, welfare, and morals
of the public.
(b) Until the time that the board adopts regulations as provided
for in subdivision (a), it shall retain the authority to operate
under, and enforce, the regulations existing prior to January 1,
1996, as specified in Division 12 (commencing with Section 1200) and
Division 23 (commencing with Section 2300) of Title 16 of the
California Code of Regulations.
(c) A reference to the Cemetery Board and the Board of Funeral
Directors and Embalmers contained in Division 12 (commencing with
Section 1200) and Division 23 (commencing with Section 2300) of Title
16 of the California Code of Regulations shall, upon the effective
date of this chapter, be deemed references to the board.
(d) If a conflict exists between provisions of this chapter and
the regulations contained in Division 12 (commencing with Section
1200) and Division 23 (commencing with Section 2300) of Title 16 of
the California Code of Regulations, the provision of this chapter
shall take precedence over the regulation.
7636. (a) The board may appoint a person exempt from civil
service who shall be designated as an executive officer and who shall
exercise the powers and perform duties delegated by the board and
vested in him or her by this chapter.
(b) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2000, and as
of January 1, 2001, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
which becomes effective on or before January 1, 2001, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
7637. The director may intervene in any matter of the board or
may assume the powers and duties of the board where an investigation
discloses probable cause to believe that the conduct or activity of
the board or its executive officer constitutes a violation of
criminal law and where the director reasonably believes pursuant to
the investigation that the board or its executive officer is unable
to perform its regulatory duties and responsibilities as required by
law due to a conflict of interest, continued neglect of duty,
incompetence, or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct.
7638. A suit or action commenced in the superior court against
the board shall be filed and tried either in the County of
Sacramento, or in the county of the residence of the plaintiff or
petitioner, or in the county where the act occurred that is the basis
of the suit or action.
7639. (a) A license issued by the board pursuant to this chapter
shall be displayed conspicuously in the place of business or
employment of the licensee.
(b) The form and content of a license issued shall be determined
in accordance with Section 164.
7640. A license issued by the board may not grant authority to do
an act specified in this chapter to a person or establishment other
than the person to whom, or the establishment to which, the license
is issued.
7641. In the enforcement of this chapter and the laws subject to
its jurisdiction, the board has all the powers and is subject to all
the responsibilities vested in and imposed upon the head of a
department under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11150) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
7642. The board may adopt rules and regulations as may be
necessary to perform such duties and to safeguard the trust funds
subject to this chapter.
7643. No later than July 1, 1997, the board shall adopt
appropriate educational, experience, and examination requirements to
ensure that licensees who are permitted to receive, invest, and
account for preneed trust funds have demonstrated competence in that
area.
Article 4. Funeral Services
7645. The board through its executive officer may inspect the
premises in which the business of a funeral director or that of a
cemetery is conducted or where embalming is practiced.
7645.5. A funeral establishment may not be conducted or held
forth as being conducted or advertised as being conducted under a
name that might tend to mislead the public or that would be
sufficiently like the name of another funeral establishment so as to
constitute an unfair method of competition.
7646. (a) A funeral establishment that proposes to provide
apprenticeship training shall first receive annual approval for
apprenticeship training from the board.
(b) The application for approval for apprenticeship training shall
be made on a form provided by the board, and shall include the fee
fixed by this chapter.
(c) The application shall provide, among other information,
evidence of all of the following:
(1) That not less than 50 human remains per apprentice employed
have been prepared for burial, embalming, or other disposition in the
establishment during the 12 months immediately preceding the date of
such application.
(2) That the applicant has, and will continue to have, in
full-time employment for each two apprentices employed in his or her
establishment, a California embalmer who has had not less than two
years of practical experience as a California licensed embalmer
immediately preceding the date of the application.
(3) That the funeral establishment of the applicant meets the
requirements of law as to equipment, cleanliness, and sanitation as
determined by an inspection report filed with the board.
(d) Approval granted under this section shall be renewed annually
upon application by the funeral director, showing continued
compliance with the foregoing provisions of this section, filed with
the board not later than January 15 of each year, which application
will be acted upon by the board at its first meeting thereafter. An
application for renewal shall be accompanied by the fee fixed by this
chapter.
(e) A person who is a duly registered apprentice or a student at
an approved embalming school in California at the time of an
amendment to this chapter raising the requirements for an apprentice
embalmer or to be licensed as an embalmer, may not be required to
comply with the provisions of the amendment.
7646.5. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a
funeral establishment to conduct its business or financial
transactions at the same location as its preparation or storage of
human remains.
7647. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to render unlawful
the conduct of any ambulance service from the same premises as those
on which a funeral establishment is conducted, including the
maintenance in connection with the funeral establishment of garages
for the ambulances and living quarters for ambulance drivers.
7647.5. Except as otherwise provided in this code, a person may
not operate or maintain, or hold himself or herself out as operating
or maintaining, a funeral establishment unless he or she is a
licensed funeral director.
7648. A person, partnership, association, corporation, or other
organization may not open or maintain a place or establishment to
engage in or conduct, or hold himself, herself, or itself out as
engaging in or conducting, the business of a funeral director without
a license.
7648.5. The business of a funeral director shall be conducted
and engaged in only at a specified funeral establishment.
7649. (a) An application for a funeral director's license shall
comply with all of the following:
(1) It shall be made on a form provided by the board.
(2) It shall specify the address at which the applicant proposes
to engage in or conduct a place of business as a funeral director.
(3) It shall be verified by the applicant, or where the applicant
is an association, partnership, or corporation, by the president or
other officer.
(4) It shall be accompanied by the fee fixed by this chapter.
(b) At the time of application, an applicant for examination under
Section 7650 shall pay the funeral director's examination fee fixed
by this chapter.
7649.5. An applicant for a funeral director's license, who is a
natural person, or where the applicant is an association,
partnership, or corporation, the officer or partner who is to manage,
direct, or control the proposed business or profession, shall be at
least 18 years of age and shall not have committed acts or crimes
constituting grounds for denial of licensure under Section 480. The
applicant shall also furnish proof that the establishment in which he
or she intends to conduct business as a funeral director is or will
be constructed, equipped, and maintained as a funeral establishment,
as defined in this chapter.
7650. As a condition of licensure the applicant, when an
individual, or the president or other officer of an association,
partnership, corporation, or other organization, or the individual
who is to manage, direct, or control the proposed business or
profession, shall successfully pass an examination upon the following
subjects:
(a) The signs of death.
(b) The manner by which death may be determined.
(c) The laws governing the preparation, burial, and disposal of
human remains, and the shipment of bodies, the cause of death of
which was from infectious or contagious diseases.
(d) Local health and sanitary ordinances and regulations relating
to funeral directing and embalming.
7650.5. (a) Upon receipt of an application for a license, the
board shall cause an inspection to be made of the physical status or
plans and specifications of the proposed funeral establishment, and
shall investigate the other qualifications required of the applicant
under this chapter, and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses,
administer oaths, and take testimony.
(b) The board shall examine and pass upon the qualifications of
the applicant as to ability and experience before passing upon the
physical status or the plans and specifications of the proposed
funeral establishment.
(c) The board shall grant a license if it finds by onsite
inspection, that the proposed funeral establishment is or will be
constructed and equipped as required by this chapter and that the
applicant is qualified in all other respects as required by this
chapter.
7651. A funeral director licensed under the laws of the State of
California, or his or her agents or employees, may not enter into or
solicit any preneed contract, agreement, or plan, referred to as
"contract," that requires the payment of money or the delivery of
securities in payment for the future disposition of human remains or
for funeral services or for the furnishing of personal property or
funeral merchandise, except in accordance with this article.
7651.5. A preneed contract shall specify all of the following:
(a) Money paid directly or indirectly and securities delivered
under the agreement or under an agreement collateral thereto, shall
be held in trust for the purpose for which it was paid or delivered
until the contract is fulfilled according to its terms. However, a
payment made or security deposited pursuant to this article shall be
released upon the death of the person for whose benefit the trust was
established as provided in Section 7652.
(b) The income from the corpus may be utilized to pay for a
reasonable annual fee for administering the trust, including a
trustee fee, to be determined by the board, and to establish a
reserve of up to 10 percent of the corpus as a revocation fee in the
event of cancellation on the part of the beneficiary.
(c) The trust corpus may not be used for payment of a commission
nor may any of the trust corpus be used for other expenses of trust
administration.
7652. (a) A security purchased by the trustor for deposit in
trust and money received from the trustor for deposit in trust shall
be placed in trust with a trustee within 30 days of its receipt by
the funeral director, pursuant to a trust agreement.
(b) The trust agreement executed by the funeral director, the
trustor, and trustee shall provide that the trustee shall hold the
money or securities in trust for the purposes for which deposited and
that the trustee, upon the signature of a majority of the trustees,
shall deliver the corpus of the trust to the funeral director upon
the filing of a certified copy of the death certificate or other
satisfactory evidence of the death of the beneficiary, together with
satisfactory evidence that the funeral director has furnished the
merchandise and services.
(c) In the case of a trust agreement between a trustee as defined
in this chapter and a recipient of public assistance, under the
provisions of subdivision (a) of Section 11158 or paragraph (1) of
subdivision (e) of Section 12152 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, the trust agreement may further provide that it is irrevocable
provided the value limitations of those sections are not exceeded.
(d) In a case other than that subject to subdivision (c), the
trust agreement shall provide that at any time before the funeral
director has furnished the merchandise and services subject to the
contract, the trustor or the legally appointed representative may in
writing demand and receive the return of the corpus of the trust,
together with any income accrued in the trust, less the revocation
fee provided for in Section 7651.5.
(e) If the trustor becomes otherwise eligible, or in order to
become eligible, for public social services, as provided in Division
9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, he or she may agree, at his or her option, that the trust shall
be irrevocable in order to avail himself or herself of the
provisions of Section 11158 or Section 12152 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(f) The delivery of the corpus of the trust and the accumulated
income to the funeral director performing the services, to the
trustor or to the beneficiary pursuant to the terms of this article
and the trust agreement, shall relieve the trustee of any further
liabilities with regard to the funds or income therefrom.
7652.5. (a) Commingled preneed trust funds held by a funeral
director shall be subject to an annual audit by an independent
certified public accountant (CPA) with a copy of the audit to be
submitted to the board for review on or before May 1 of each year.
Failure to file reports of preneed trust funds by May 1 of each year
shall subject the funeral director to a board-imposed penalty not to
exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each day the required
reports are not filed.
(b) A finding of noncompliance with existing law regarding preneed
trust funds shall be identified by the auditor in a separate report
for review and action by the board.
(c) An audit and report of noncompliance shall be filed
simultaneously.
7652.6. All written reports of preneed funeral trust funds
required under this article shall include, but are not limited to, a
statement setting forth:
(1) Amounts collected pursuant to preneed arrangements, contracts
or plans, or any agreements collateral thereto.
(2) A schedule showing amounts deposited with the trustee and held
in trust.
(3) A schedule showing amounts of expenditures of income allowable
to individual accounts, itemized as to the nature of expenditures,
and authorization.
(4) Amount of actual expenditures of income, itemized as to the
nature of expenditures.
(5) A schedule showing the total amount of the trust funds
invested, itemized to include the location, description, yield, and
character of each investment of the preneed trust portfolio. The
statement shall show the cost and current market value of the trust
fund, including the amount of cash not invested.
(6) A schedule showing the transactions entered into between the
corporation or an officer, employee, or stockholder and the trustees
of the preneed funeral trust fund with respect to the trust funds.
The statement shall show the dates and amounts of the transactions,
and shall contain the resolution of the trustees which shall include
a statement of the reasons for those transactions.
7653. (a) A trustee may deposit the corpus of the trust in a
savings and loan association insured by the Federal Savings and Loan
Insurance Corporation.
(b) A trustee may deposit the corpus of the trust in a credit
union that is insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance
Fund.
7653.5. (a) A licensed funeral director who is also a licensed
cemetery authority may not deposit money or securities received in
connection with preneed funeral arrangements in a special endowment
care fund as provided in Article 4 (commencing with Section 8775) of
Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 8 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) A licensed funeral director may not permit the deposit of
money or securities received in connection with a special endowment
care fund into a preneed funeral trust fund.
(c) Nothing in this section shall require the liquidation or
conversion of any lawful investment existing on December 31, 1981.
7654. (a) A person willfully violating a provision of this
article shall be punishable either by imprisonment in a county jail
for a period not exceeding six months, or by fine not exceeding five
hundred dollars ($500), or by both such imprisonment and fine, or by
imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three
years.
(b) If the violator is a funeral licensee, he or she shall also be
subject to disciplinary action as provided in this article.
7654.5. A funeral director shall pay to the board the fee fixed
by this chapter for filing with the board a report on preneed trust
funds required by rules and regulations adopted by the board.
7655. Nothing in this article shall apply to cemetery property,
cemetery commodities, cemetery service, or merchandise that is
delivered upon payment.
7656. Nothing in this article shall apply to an arrangement,
contract, or plan for the issuance of securities authorized under a
permit of the Commissioner of Corporations.
7656.5. (a) When a hearing is held to determine whether a license
should be granted, the proceeding shall be conducted in accordance
with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division
3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the board shall have all of
the powers granted by these provisions.
(b) An application for a funeral director's license under this
article shall be granted or refused within 90 days from the date of
the filing of the application, or within 30 days after the close of
the hearing upon the application, if a hearing is held.
7657. (a) If an applicant for a funeral director's license
proposes to engage in or conduct more than one funeral establishment,
the applicant shall make a separate application and procure a
separate license as a funeral director for each separate location.
(b) Not more than one person, partnership, association,
corporation, or other organization engaged in business as a funeral
director shall transact business in one specific funeral
establishment.
7657.5. (a) A funeral director who desires to change his or her
place of business shall apply for authorization by the board, on a
form furnished by the board. The application shall include a fee
fixed by this chapter.
(b) The application shall be granted by the executive officer upon
the filing with the board of a favorable report, approved by the
executive officer, from a board member, except a public member, or
inspector concerning the physical status or plans and specifications
of the proposed funeral establishment to the effect that it conforms
to the requirements of this article. An application that is granted
shall be submitted for approval at the next meeting of the board
after the issuance thereof, and an application for change of place of
business may not become permanent until approved by the board.
7658. (a) A funeral director's license may be assigned upon
payment of the fee fixed by this chapter and, if the assignee does
not already possess a valid California license as a funeral director,
upon his or her meeting the qualifications for a funeral director as
prescribed by this chapter.
(b) Prior to a funeral director's license being assigned, an audit
shall be conducted of the funeral establishment's preneed trust
funds and any shortages in these funds shall be funded.
(c) An assignee has the right to renew the license.
7658.5. In case of the death of a licensed funeral director, who
leaves an established business as part or all of the assets of his or
her estate, the board may issue a special temporary license to his
or her legal representative, unless the legal representative has
committed acts or crimes constituting grounds for denial of licensure
under Section 480.
7659. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), it is unlawful
for a person to embalm a body, or engage in, or hold himself or
herself out as engaged in practice as an embalmer, unless he or she
is licensed by the board.
(b) This section does not apply to a student or instructor of
embalming at embalming colleges approved by the board.
7659.5. Except as provided in Section 10375 of the Health and
Safety Code, when the name of a licensed embalmer is to be subscribed
to a certificate, the purpose of which is verification that an act
referenced in the certificate has been performed, the licensed
embalmer who performed the act shall personally sign his or her name
to the certificate.
7660. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a licensed
embalmer, at the request of a licensed physician, may remove tissue
from human remains for transplant, or therapeutic or scientific
purposes specified in, and pursuant to, the provisions of the Uniform
Anatomical Gift Act, Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 7150) of
Part 1 of Division 7 of the Health and Safety Code, if the embalmer
has completed a course in tissue removal for transplant, or
therapeutic or scientific purposes approved by the Medical Board of
California.
7660.5. An application for an embalmer's license shall be made on
a form provided by the board, verified by the applicant, and
accompanied by the fee fixed by this chapter.
7661. (a) In order to qualify for a license as an embalmer, the
applicant shall comply with all of the following requirements:
(1) Be over 18 years of age.
(2) Not have committed acts or crimes constituting grounds for
denial of licensure under Section 480.
(3) Furnish proof showing completion of a high school diploma or
its equivalent.
(4) Have completed at least two years of apprenticeship pursuant
to the requirements in Article 4 (commencing with Section 7645).
While apprenticed, the applicant shall have assisted in embalming or
otherwise preparing for the disposition of not less than 100 human
remains.
(5) Have successfully completed a course of instruction of not
less than nine months, which embraces the subjects specified in
Section 7661.5, at an embalming school approved by the board.
(b) A person who has been licensed and who has practiced as an
embalmer for a minimum of three years within the seven years
preceding his or her application in another state or country and
whose license has never been disciplined in that state or country
shall not be required to comply with paragraph (3) or (4) of
subdivision (a).
7661.5. The board shall require the applicant to pass an
examination, which shall include all of the following subjects:
(a) Theory and practice of embalming.
(b) Anatomy, including histology, embryology, and dissection.
(c) Pathology and bacteriology.
(d) Hygiene, including sanitation and public health.
(e) Chemistry, including toxicology.
(f) Restorative art, including plastic surgery and demisurgery.
(g) Statutes and rules and regulations of the board, including
those provisions of the Health and Safety Code that pertain to the
funeral industry.
7662. An embalmer's license may not be assigned, and only the
licensee may engage in the practice of embalming under the license.
7662.5. From time to time, the board may examine the requirements
for the issuance of licenses to embalmers in other states and cause
a record to be kept of those states in which standards are maintained
for embalmers.
7663. (a) The apprenticeship required by this article shall be
served in a funeral establishment that has been previously approved
for apprenticeship training by the board.
(b) Daily supervision and instruction of a registered apprentice
embalmer shall be provided by a licensed embalmer who has at least
two years of practical experience as a California licensed embalmer.
(c) While serving the required term of apprenticeship, an
apprentice shall be a full-time employee of the funeral
establishment.
7663.5. An application for registration as an embalmer's
apprentice shall be made upon a form provided by the board, verified
by the applicant, and accompanied by the fee fixed by this chapter.
7664. (a) In order to qualify as an apprentice embalmer, an
applicant shall comply with all of the following requirements:
(1) Be over 18 years of age.
(2) Not have committed acts or crimes constituting grounds for
denial of licensure under Section 480.
(3) Furnish proof showing either of the following:
(A) Completion of a high school course.
(B) Evidence that he or she has been licensed and has practiced as
an embalmer for a minimum of three years within the seven years
preceding his or her application in another state or country and that
license has never been suspended or revoked for unethical conduct.
(b) Whenever it appears to the board that no reason exists for the
denial of an application and that the application is regular upon
its face, a certificate of apprenticeship may be issued to the
applicant.
7664.5. (a) A certificate of apprenticeship issued pursuant to
this article shall expire when the holder has been issued a license
as an embalmer, or five years from the date of registration,
whichever first occurs.
(b) This certificate may not be renewed, but an apprentice
embalmer who has not completed his or her term of apprenticeship at
the time his or her certificate expires may apply for reregistration
upon compliance with Section 7663.5.
(c) The board may, when the circumstances warrant, allow an
apprentice credit under a reregistration for the time actually served
under a previous registration, but a reregistration may not have the
effect of continuing the term of apprenticeship beyond the period
specified in Sections 7666 and 7666.5.
7665. (a) A registered apprentice embalmer shall file a report to
the board during the term of the apprenticeship upon the occurrence
of any of the following events:
(1) On or before January 15 of each year covering the period of
apprenticeship ending as of December 31 preceding.
(2) Upon change of supervising embalmer or employer, or both.
(3) Upon completion of apprenticeship.
(4) Upon application for leave of absence for a period in excess
of 15 days.
(5) Upon suspending apprenticeship to attend embalming college.
(6) Upon application for reregistration after suspension or
revocation of registration where a complete report of previous
registration has not been filed.
(b) The information contained in the report shall consist of a
concise summary of the work done by the apprentice during the period
covered by the report, shall be verified by the apprentice, and
certified as correct by his or her supervising embalmer and employer.
7665.5. (a) Upon the request of the board, a funeral director in
whose establishment an apprenticeship is being or has been served,
and an embalmer under whose instruction or supervision an
apprenticeship is being or has been served, shall promptly file with
the board a report or other information as may be requested relating
to the apprenticeship.
(b) Failure to comply with the request is a ground for revocation
by the board of the approval granted to the funeral director or
embalmer for the training of apprentices and is also a ground for
disciplinary action against the funeral director or embalmer.
7666. (a) The term of apprenticeship shall be two years.
(b) If an apprentice, after serving the two-year term, fails to
pass the examination for an embalmer's license, he or she may
continue the apprenticeship for a maximum of one additional term.
(c) An apprentice may, upon approval by the board, continue an
apprenticeship for a period not to exceed six months for any of the
following reasons:
(1) While awaiting the processing of applications submitted to the
board.
(2) While awaiting notification of grades of embalmers'
examinations given by the board.
(3) While awaiting the commencement of a class of an embalming
school or college when the apprentice intends to enroll in such
school or college.
(d) Applications for an extension of apprenticeship shall be filed
by the applicant with the Sacramento office of the board not less
than 15 days prior to the date the applicant requests the extension
to commence.
7666.5. (a) A term of apprenticeship may be served before, after,
or in conjunction with attendance at an embalming college, at the
option of the apprentice. A student attending an embalming college
may be registered as an apprentice while attending college, but
credit toward the apprenticeship shall accrue only as a result of
full-time employment at the funeral establishment.
(b) The term of apprenticeship must be completed, excluding time
spent in active military services, within five years from the date of
original registration, or from the date an apprentice successfully
passes the examination for an embalmer's license required in Section
7661.5, whichever first occurs. If the term of apprenticeship is not
completed within the five-year period, the board may require that
the applicant serve a maximum of one additional term of
apprenticeship, and pass the additional examination on the subjects
listed in Section 7661.5 as the board considers necessary.
7667. (a) The board may grant a leave of absence and an extension
of the leave during the term of apprenticeship.
(b) A leave of absence, including an extension, may not be
approved for a period longer than one year.
(c) Credit may not be given to an apprentice for the period during
which he or she is absent from duty on leave.
(d) An application for a leave of absence and for an extension of
the leave shall be made by the apprentice on a form provided by the
board.
(e) Upon termination of a leave of absence, the apprentice shall
notify the board of this fact within 10 days of his or her resumption
of apprenticeship. Notice shall be given by returning to the board,
the certificate of registration, accompanied by a statement as to
the resumption of apprenticeship. The statement shall be certified
as correct by the funeral director in whose establishment the
apprentice is to resume his or her duties, and by the embalmer under
whose supervision the apprenticeship will resume.
(f) Failure to report to the board within 10 days after the
expiration date of a leave of absence shall be cause for cancellation
of the registration of an apprentice.
7667.5. The board may suspend or revoke a certificate of
apprenticeship, after notice and upon complaint and hearing in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter, where the apprentice
is guilty of any of the following acts or omissions:
(a) Failure to devote full-time employment to the duties of his or
her apprenticeship.
(b) Failure to make a report required by law to the board.
(c) Absence from duty except as provided in this code.
(d) Being on duty as an apprentice while under the influence of
alcohol.
(e) Disobedience of proper orders or instructions of the funeral
director or supervising embalmer.
(f) Violation of a provision of this chapter or a rule or
regulation of the board.
(g) Soliciting business for a funeral director or for an embalmer
in violation of this chapter.
(h) Fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining a certificate of
registration as an apprentice.
(i) Conviction of a crime substantially related to the
qualifications, functions, and duties of an apprentice, in which case
the record of conviction, or a certified copy thereof, shall be
conclusive evidence of the conviction.
7668. (a) An apprentice who has had his or her certificate of
apprenticeship suspended or revoked may, within one year after the
conclusion of the suspension or revocation, apply for reregistration
upon compliance with the law in effect at the time of reregistration
and by paying the apprentice application fee fixed by this chapter.
(b) A reregistration may not have the effect of continuing an
apprenticeship beyond the period specified in Section 7666.
(c) The board may, when the circumstances warrant, allow an
apprentice credit under a reregistration for the time actually served
under a previous registration, except when the previous registration
was suspended or revoked for unprofessional conduct. If
unprofessional conduct was the basis for the suspension or
revocation, not more than 75 percent of the time previously served
shall be credited on the reregistration.
7668.5. The board, after a hearing, may deny the application of a
funeral director, embalmer, or apprentice embalmer on proof that the
applicant has committed acts or crimes constituting grounds for
denial of licensure under Section 480. The record of conviction, or
a certified copy thereof, shall be conclusive evidence of the
conviction.
7669. The board may suspend or revoke licenses, after proper
notice and hearing to the licensee, if the licensee has been found
guilty of an act or omission that constitutes grounds for
disciplinary action. The proceedings under this article shall be
conducted in
accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the board shall
have all the powers granted therein.
7669.5. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), an accusation
against a licensee shall be filed with the board within three years
after the performance of the act or omission alleged as the ground
for disciplinary action.
(b) An allegation of fraud or misrepresentation may not be deemed
to have accrued until discovery, by the board, of the facts
constituting the fraud or misrepresentation, and, in this case, the
accusation shall be filed within three years after the discovery.
7670. (a) Upon receipt of a complaint, the board shall ascertain
whether or not the accused licensee has been guilty of an act or
omission constituting a ground for disciplinary action and may make
or cause to be made an investigation as he or she deems necessary in
order to ascertain this fact.
(b) If, with or without investigation, the board determines that
the accused licensee is not guilty of an act or omission constituting
a ground for disciplinary action, he or she shall notify the
complainant and file the findings with the board. If, with or
without investigation, the board has reason to believe that the
accused licensee is guilty of an act or omission it shall forward the
findings to the Attorney General, including therein the
recommendations it deems desirable. Upon receipt of the findings and
recommendations, the Attorney General shall promptly take action
thereon as may be proper.
7670.5. The board may hold an informal hearing and an
investigation, with or without the knowledge or presence of the
accused licensee. The board may not do more than determine upon the
following courses at an informal hearing or after an investigation:
(a) To continue the case for further investigation.
(b) To suspend further action until a future time.
(c) To dismiss the complaint.
(d) To proceed with a formal hearing.
7671. An accused licensee whose default has been entered or who
has been found after formal hearing, to have committed an act or
omission constituting a ground for disciplinary action shall be
subject to one or more of the following penalties:
(a) Suspension of the disciplinary order.
(b) Public or private reproval.
(c) Probation.
(d) Suspension of the right to practice.
(e) Revocation of the right to practice.
(f) Any other penalties as the board deems fit.
7671.5. A plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a
plea of nolo contendere is deemed to be a conviction within the
meaning of this article. The board may order the license suspended
or revoked, or may decline to issue a license, when the time for
appeal has elapsed, or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed
on appeal or when an order granting probation is made suspending the
imposition of sentence, irrespective of a subsequent order under the
provisions of Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code allowing the person to
withdraw his or her plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not
guilty, or setting aside the verdict of guilty, or dismissing the
accusation, information, or indictment.
7672. When a funeral director or embalmer has had his, her, or
its license suspended, canceled, or revoked by the board, the board
may, upon written application by the licensee affected, upon not less
than 10 days' notice to all parties of record in the particular
case, and after hearing all evidence offered in support of and in
opposition to such application, in its discretion, and upon those
terms as may be deemed just, reinstate the applicant.
7672.5. The commission of any of the following by a person
licensed under this article shall constitute a ground for
disciplinary action:
(a) Misrepresentation or fraud in the conduct of the business or
the profession of a funeral director or embalmer.
(b) Negligence in performing an act related to the practice of
funeral directing or embalming.
(c) A false or misleading statement regarding a law or regulation
pertaining to the preparation for burial, transportation for burial,
or burial of the dead, made willfully by a licensee to obtain
business as a funeral director or embalmer.
(d) False or misleading advertising as a funeral director or
embalmer.
(e) Solicitation, other than general advertising, after a death or
while a death is impending, of funeral directing or embalming
business by the licensee, or by the agents, assistants, or employees
of the licensee, when such solicitation is authorized or ratified by
the licensee.
(f) Employment of persons known as "cappers," "steerers,"
"solicitors," or other persons to solicit, after a death or while a
death is impending, funeral directing or embalming business.
(g) Employment, directly or indirectly, of an apprentice, agent,
assistant, embalmer, employee, or other person, on a part-time or
full-time basis, or on commission, for the purpose of calling upon
individuals or institutions by whose influence human remains may be
turned over to a particular funeral director or embalmer.
(h) The buying, after a death or while a death is impending, of
funeral directing and embalming business by the licensee, his or her
agents, assistants, or employees, or the direct or indirect payment,
or offer of payment, of a commission by the licensee, his or her
agents, assistants, or employees for the purpose of this buying of
business.
(i) Aiding or abetting an unlicensed person to practice funeral
directing or embalming.
(j) Authorization by a funeral director of the embalming of human
remains by anyone other than a licensed embalmer, or by an apprentice
embalmer under the supervision of a licensed embalmer.
(k) Using profane, indecent, or obscene language in the course of
the preparation for burial, removal, or other disposition of, or
during the funeral service for, human remains, or within the
immediate hearing of the family or relatives of a deceased, which
remains have not yet been interred or otherwise disposed of.
(l) Solicitation or acceptance of a commission or bonus or rebate
in consideration of recommending or causing human remains to be
disposed of in a crematory, mausoleum, or cemetery.
(m) Solicitation or acceptance of a commission or bonus or rebate
in consideration of recommending or causing the purchase of flowers
from a particular florist or dealer in flowers, for use in connection
with a funeral service.
(n) Using a casket or part of a casket that has previously been
used as a receptacle for, or in connection with the burial or other
disposition of human remains. However, this section may not apply to
exterior casket hardware that is not sold to the purchaser, or where
same is reserved by contract.
(o) Fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining a license.
(p) Conviction of a crime substantially related to the
qualifications, functions, and duties of the license holder in
question.
7673. The commission of any of the following acts shall
constitute a misdemeanor:
(a) Violation of a provision of this chapter by a person,
partnership, association, corporation, or other form of organization
or his or her or its agents or representatives.
(b) Paying, offering to pay, or causing to be paid, directly or
indirectly, by a funeral director or embalmer, or his or her agents
or representatives, after a death or while a death is impending, of a
sum of money or other valuable consideration for the securing of
business.
(c) The paying, causing to be paid, or offering to pay to a
funeral director or embalmer, or to the agent, assistant, or employee
of either, a commission or bonus or rebate or other thing of value
in consideration of the funeral director or embalmer recommending or
causing human remains to be disposed of in a crematory, mausoleum, or
cemetery, by a person.
(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a person who pays or
causes to be paid or offers to pay to a funeral director or embalmer,
or to the agent, assistant, or employee of either, a commission or
bonus or rebate or other thing of value in consideration of the
funeral director or embalmer recommending or causing the purchase of
flowers from a particular florist or dealer in flowers, for use in
connection with a funeral service.
(2) This subdivision shall not apply to a funeral director who
owns or operates a flower shop as a part of his or her funeral
business, or to his or her agents or employees.
(e) Soliciting or accepting a sum of money or other valuable
consideration, directly or indirectly, by a person after a death or
while a death is impending, from a funeral director or embalmer, his
or her agent, or representative, in order that the funeral director
or embalmer might obtain business.
(f) Holding oneself out as or performing the services of a funeral
director, whether as an individual, as a partner in a partnership,
or as an officer or employee of a corporation, association, or other
organization without a license.
(g) Refusing to surrender promptly the custody of human remains,
upon the express order of the person lawfully entitled to its
custody, or holding human remains for the payment of consideration of
any kind as a condition for the proper and timely release of human
remains.
(h) Violation of provisions of this chapter governing funeral
services and practices or of the applicable rules and regulations
adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(i) Violation of a state law where no penalty is prescribed or
municipal or county ordinance or regulation affecting the handling,
custody, care, or transportation of human remains.
7673.5. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, a
license granted pursuant to this article that has expired may be
renewed at any time within five years after its expiration on filing
of application for renewal on a form prescribed by the board and
payment of the renewal fee in effect on the last regular renewal
date.
(b) If the license is not renewed within 30 days after its
expiration, the licensee shall also pay the delinquency fee
prescribed by this chapter as a condition of renewal.
(c) Renewal under this section shall be effective on the date that
the application is filed, on the date that the renewal fee is paid,
or on the date that the delinquency fee, if any, is paid, whichever
last occurs. If so renewed, the license shall continue in effect as
provided in this article.
(d) If a license is not renewed within one year following its
expiration, the board may require as a condition of renewal that the
holder of the license pass an examination on the appropriate subjects
provided by this chapter.
(e) If not renewed, a license issued under this chapter shall
expire on January 31 of each year. To renew an unexpired license,
the licensee shall, on or before the date that it would expire, apply
for a renewal on a form prescribed by the board, and pay the renewal
fee prescribed by this chapter. On or before the 10th day of
December of each year, the board shall mail to a licensed funeral
director and a licensed embalmer, addressed to him or her at his or
her last known address, a notice that a renewal fee is due and
payable.
7674. (a) Except as authorized in subdivision (b), an expired
license that is not renewed within three years after its expiration
may not be renewed, restored, reissued, or reinstated thereafter.
The holder of the expired license may obtain a new license only if he
or she pays all of the fees and meets all of the requirements, other
than requirements relating to education, set forth in this chapter
for obtaining an original license.
(b) The board may issue a new license without an examination if
the applicant establishes to the board's satisfaction that, with due
regard for the public interest, he or she is qualified to engage in
the activity in which he or she again seeks to be licensed. The
board may, by appropriate regulation, provide for the waiver or
refund of all or any part of the application fee in those cases in
which a license is issued without an examination under this section.
(c) The provisions of this section do not apply to certificates of
apprenticeship.
7674.5. A suspended license is subject to expiration and shall be
renewed as provided in this article, but the renewal does not
entitle the holder of the license, while it remains suspended and
until it is reinstated, to engage in the activity to which the
license relates, or in another activity or conduct in violation of
the order or judgment by which it was suspended.
7675. A revoked license is subject to expiration as provided in
this article, but it may not be renewed. If it is reinstated after
its expiration, the holder of the license, as a condition precedent
to its reinstatement, shall pay a reinstatement fee in an amount
equal to the renewal fee in effect on the last regular renewal date
before the date on which it is reinstated plus the delinquency fee,
if any, accrued at the time of its revocation.
7675.5. The amount of the fees prescribed by this chapter shall
be fixed according to the following schedule:
(a) The application fee for a funeral director's license shall be
not less than three hundred dollars ($300) and not more than four
hundred dollars ($400).
(b) The application fee for change of location of a funeral
director's license shall be not less than one hundred fifty dollars
($150) and not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(c) The application fee for permission to assign a funeral
director's license shall be not less than two hundred dollars ($200)
and not more than three hundred dollars ($300).
(d) The license renewal fee payable by a licensed funeral director
shall be not less than three hundred dollars ($300) and not more
than four hundred dollars ($400). The fee for a delinquent renewal
of a funeral director's license shall be 150 percent of the timely
renewal fee.
(e) The application fee for an embalmer's license and the
examination for the license shall be not less than one hundred
dollars ($100) and not more than one hundred fifty dollars ($150).
(f) The renewal fee payable by a licensed embalmer shall be not
less than seventy-five dollars ($75) and not more than one hundred
twenty-five dollars ($125). The fee for a delinquent renewal of an
embalmer's license shall be 150 percent of the timely renewal fee.
(g) The application fee for a certificate of registration as an
apprentice embalmer shall be not less than thirty dollars ($30) and
not more than sixty dollars ($60).
(h) The fee for an application by a funeral director for approval
to train apprentice embalmers and for renewal of that approval shall
be not less than fifty dollars ($50) and not more than one hundred
dollars ($100).
(i) The application fee for a funeral director's examination shall
be not less than seventy-five dollars ($75) and not more than one
hundred dollars ($100).
(j) The fee for a timely filing of an individual report or a
combined report on preneed trust funds shall be not less than one
hundred dollars ($100) and not more than two hundred dollars ($200).
The fee for a late filing of any report on preneed trust funds shall
be 150 percent of the applicable timely fee.
(k) The application fee for permission to change the name
appearing on a funeral director's license shall be not less than one
hundred dollars ($100) and not more than two hundred dollars ($200),
and for permission to change the name on any other license or
certificate, not less than twenty dollars ($20) and not more than
forty dollars ($40).
(l) The application fee for a duplicate funeral director's
license, a duplicate embalmer's license, or a duplicate certificate
of registration as an apprentice embalmer, shall be not less than
twenty dollars ($20) and not more than forty dollars ($40).
(m) The fee for filing a report of a change of corporate officers,
managers, or preneed trust fund trustees shall be not less than
twenty-five dollars ($25) and not more than fifty dollars ($50).
Article 5. Cemetery Services
7680. (a) The board shall enforce and administer Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 7000), Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
7050), Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 7100), Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 7200), and Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 7300) of Part 1 of Division 7 of, Part 1 (commencing with
Section 8100), Part 3 (commencing with Section 8250), and Part 5
(commencing with Section 9501), of Division 8 of, the Health and
Safety Code.
(b) Unless otherwise expressly provided, this article does not
apply to the following:
(1) A religious corporation, church, religious society or
denomination, a corporation sole administering temporalities of a
church or religious society or denomination, or a cemetery organized,
controlled, and operated by any of them.
(2) A public cemetery.
(3) A private or fraternal burial park not exceeding 10 acres in
area, established prior to September 19, 1939. These cemeteries
shall be subject to both of the following:
(A) The cemeteries shall be subject to the cemetery brokerage
provisions of this act.
(B) The cemetery shall be subject to all of the provisions of this
act if it collects a care, maintenance, or embellishment deposit or
sets up a trust for burial purposes pursuant to Section 8775 of the
Health and Safety Code, including funeral services such as mortuary,
cremation, or other commodities or services furnished at the time of
and in connection with such funeral or cremation.
(c) The board shall inspect the books, records, and premises of a
crematory licensed under this chapter and of a certificate of
authority holder operating a crematory. In making inspections, the
board shall have access, during regular office hours or the hours the
crematory is in operation, to all books and records, the crematory
building, the cremation chambers or furnaces, and the storage areas
for human remains before and after cremation. Prior notification of
the inspection may not be required to be given to the crematory
licensee or the certificate of authority holder. If a crematory
licensee or a certificate of authority holder fails to allow that
inspection or any part thereof, it shall be grounds for the
suspension or revocation of a license or other disciplinary action
against the licensee. In the case of a certificate of authority
holder, the suspension, revocation, or other disciplinary action may
be limited to the operation of the crematory. A proceeding under
this section shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of
this chapter relating to disciplinary proceedings.
(d) The board may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon the
verified complaint in writing of a person, investigate the actions of
a person or entity engaged in the business or acting in the capacity
of a cemetery licensee.
7680.5. (a) An application for a certificate of authority shall
be made in writing on the form prescribed by the board. The
applicant shall show that the cemetery authority owns or is actively
operating a cemetery in this state that is subject to the provisions
of this act or that the applicant is in a position to commence
operating a cemetery. The application shall be accompanied by the
fee provided for in this chapter.
(b) The board may require that proof as it deems advisable
concerning the compliance by the applicant to the laws, rules,
regulations, ordinances, and orders applicable to a cemetery
authority.
7681. (a) In reviewing an application for a certificate of
authority, the board may consider acts of incorporators, officers,
directors, and stockholders of the applicant, that constitute grounds
for the denial of a certificate of authority under Division 1.5
(commencing with Section 475).
(b) Upon receipt of an application for a certificate of authority,
the board may cause an investigation to be made of the physical
status, plans, specifications, and financing of the proposed
cemetery, and any other qualifications required of the applicant
under this act, and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses,
administer oaths, and take testimony.
(c) At the time of the filing of the application, the applicant
shall pay the sum fixed by the board at not in excess of four hundred
dollars ($400) to defray the expenses of investigation. In the
event the sum shall be insufficient to defray all of the expenses,
the applicant shall within five days after request therefor deposit
an additional sum sufficient to defray those expenses, provided that
the total sum shall not exceed nine hundred dollars ($900).
7681.5. (a) The board may, in accordance with appropriate rules
and regulations, authorize interments in cemeteries for which there
is no currently valid certificate of authority outstanding if the
board finds that rights to interment therein will otherwise be
impaired. However, nothing in this section authorizes sales of lots,
vaults, or niches by cemeteries for which there is no currently
valid certificate of authority. Interments permitted under this
section shall be conducted by persons authorized by the board in
accordance with its regulations, and Section 7711.5 is not applicable
to those interments.
(b) The board shall be entitled to inspect and copy cemetery
records necessary to the performance of interments under this
section, and a person having custody of those records shall permit
inspection and copying thereof for this purpose. The board may apply
to the superior court for the county in which the cemetery is
located for an order temporarily transferring custody of cemetery
records to it for purposes of this section.
7682. The board shall adopt, and may from time to time amend,
rules and regulations prescribing standards of knowledge and
experience and financial responsibility for applicants for
certificates of authority.
7682.5. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this code, a person
may not engage in the business of, act in the capacity of, advertise
or assume to act as, a cemetery broker or cemetery sales agent in
this state without first obtaining a license from the board.
(b) A person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of
a broker or a sales agent within this state may not bring or maintain
an action in the courts of this state for the collection of
compensation for the performance of an act specified in this article
without alleging and proving that he or she was a duly licensed
cemetery broker or cemetery sales agent at the time the alleged cause
of action arose.
7683. This article does not apply to the following cases or to
the following persons:
(a) A person acting with reference to an occasional sale of his or
her own property.
(b) A regular officer of a cemetery corporation holding a
certificate of authority acting with reference to the corporation's
property when he or she receives no special compensation therefor.
(c) A person making an occasional sale under a duly executed power
of attorney from others.
(d) The services rendered by an attorney at law in performing his
or her duties as such.
(e) A receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, a person acting under
orders of a court, or a trustee selling under a deed of trust.
(f) A real estate broker or real estate sales agent, acting as
such in connection with the sale, lease, or exchange of real
property, or interest therein, when the transfer of cemetery property
is purely incidental to the sale, lease, or exchange of real
property.
7684. An act, other than an occasional sale, of buying or
selling, leasing, or exchanging cemetery property or interment
services of or for another or on his or her own account, or offering
for another or for his or her own account to buy or sell, lease, or
exchange cemetery property or interment services, or negotiating the
purchase or sale, lease, or exchange of cemetery property or
interment services, or negotiating the purchase or sale, lease, or
exchange, or listing or soliciting, or negotiating a loan on or
leasing of cemetery property or interment services constitutes the
person making an offer, sale or purchase, exchange, or lease, or
negotiating the loan, or listing or soliciting, a cemetery broker or
cemetery sales agent.
7684.5. Application for licensure as a cemetery broker shall be
made in writing on the form prescribed by the board and filed at the
principal office of the board. The application shall be accompanied
by the original cemetery broker's license fee.
7685. Application for license as a cemetery sales agent shall be
made in writing on the form prescribed by the board and filed at the
principal office of the board. The application shall be signed by
the applicant, and shall be accompanied by the cemetery sales agent's
license fee.
7685.5. The board shall investigate the qualification of an
applicant. Except as otherwise prescribed in this article, the board
may issue the license upon a showing satisfactory to it that the
following facts exist:
(a) The applicant is properly qualified to perform the duties of a
cemetery broker or sales agent.
(b) Granting the license will not be against public interest.
(c) The applicant intends actively and in good faith to carry on
the business of a cemetery broker or a cemetery sales agent.
(d) In the case of a corporate applicant, the articles of
incorporation permit it to act as a cemetery broker.
(e) In the case of an association or partnership applying for a
license, its articles of association or agreement of partnership
authorize it to act as a cemetery broker.
(f) The license is not being secured for the purpose of permitting
the applicant to advertise as a cemetery broker or sales agent
without actually engaging in this business.
(g) The applicant has not committed acts or crimes constituting
grounds for denial of licensure under Section 480.
7686. (a) A cemetery broker who does not possess a certificate of
authority shall, in addition to the requirements of this chapter,
file with the board a satisfactory bond to the people of the State of
California, duly executed by a sufficient surety or sureties to be
approved by the board, in the amount of ten thousand dollars
($10,000).
(b) The bond shall be conditioned for the honest and faithful
performance by the broker and his or her sales agents and employees
of an undertaking as a licensed cemetery broker or sales agent or
employee of the broker at any time when licensed under this chapter,
and the strict compliance with the provisions of this chapter and of
Division 8 (commencing with
Section 8100) of the Health and Safety Code relating to
cemeteries, and the honest and faithful application of all funds
received.
(c) The bond shall be further conditioned upon the payment of all
damages suffered by a person damaged or defrauded by reason of the
violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or of Division 8
(commencing with Section 8100) of the Health and Safety Code relating
to cemeteries, or by reason of the violation of the obligation of
the broker as an agent, as these obligations are laid down by the
Civil Code, or by reason of a fraud connected with or growing out of
any transactions contemplated by this chapter or Division 8
(commencing with Section 8100) of the Health and Safety Code.
7686.5. (a) The board shall ascertain by written examination that
the applicant, or, in case of a partnership or corporation applicant
for a cemetery broker's license, that an officer, agent, or member
thereof through whom it proposes to act as a cemetery licensee, has
an appropriate knowledge of the English language, including reading,
writing, and spelling, and of elementary arithmetic, and a fair
understanding of all of the following:
(1) Cemetery associations, cemetery corporations, and duties of
directors.
(2) Plot ownership, deeds, certificates of ownership, contracts of
sale, liens, and leases.
(3) Establishing, dedicating, maintaining, managing, operating,
improving, and conducting a cemetery.
(4) The care, preservation, and embellishment of cemetery
property.
(5) The care and preservation of endowment care funds, trust
funds, and the investment thereof.
(b) An applicant shall also have a general and fair understanding
of the obligations between principal and agent, of the principles of
cemetery brokerage practice, and the business ethics pertaining
thereto, as well as of the provisions of this act relating to
cemetery brokerage.
7687. (a) The board may, in its discretion, waive the examination
of an applicant for a cemetery broker's license who held an
unrevoked or unsuspended cemetery license on June 30 of the preceding
fiscal year as an individual broker, an officer of a corporation, or
member of a partnership.
(b) The board may waive the examination of an applicant for a
cemetery sales agent's license who held an unrevoked or unsuspended
cemetery sales agent's license on June 30 of the preceding fiscal
year and who previously qualified by passing a written examination.
7687.5. (a) Upon receipt of the application and fee specified in
Section 7685, the board shall issue, without examination, to a person
who otherwise qualifies, a temporary sales agent's license.
(b) The temporary license shall be valid for a period of three
months from the date of issuance, notwithstanding the fact that the
fiscal year may terminate within the three months.
(c) An applicant may not be entitled to more than one temporary
license without examination.
7688. (a) The board may not grant an original cemetery broker's
license to a person who is not a resident of this state. A change of
residence to another state shall terminate the license.
(b) The board may not grant an original cemetery broker's license
to a person who has not held a cemetery sales agent's license for at
least two years prior to the date of his or her application for the
broker's license, and during the time was not actively engaged in the
business of a cemetery sales agent except that if an applicant for a
cemetery broker's license, having at least the equivalent of two
years of general cemetery experience, files a written petition with
the board setting forth his or her qualifications and experience and
if the board approves, he or she may be issued a cemetery broker's
license immediately upon passing the appropriate examinations and
satisfying the other requirements of this article.
7688.5. (a) When a cemetery brokerage license is issued to a
cemetery brokerage corporation, if it desires any of its officers,
other than the officer through whom it is already licensed, to act
under its license as a cemetery broker, it shall procure an
additional license for each officer.
(b) When a cemetery brokerage license is granted to a cemetery
brokerage partnership, if it desires any of its members, other than
the one through whom it is already licensed, to act as a cemetery
broker, it shall procure an additional license for each member.
(c) An officer of a corporation through whom it is licensed to act
as a cemetery broker, and a member of a partnership through whom it
is licensed to act as a cemetery broker, is, while so employed under
that license, a licensed cemetery broker, but licensed only to act as
such for and on behalf of the corporation or the partnership, as
officer or member, respectively.
7689. (a) The licenses of cemetery brokers and sales agents shall
be prominently displayed in the office of the broker.
(b) The cemetery sales agent's license shall remain in the
possession of the licensed cemetery broker employer until canceled or
until the sales agent leaves the employ of the broker.
(c) Immediately upon the sales agent's withdrawal from the employ
of the broker, the broker shall return the sales agent's license to
the board for cancellation.
(d) A license canceled but not suspended or revoked may be
reinstated by the board within the fiscal year upon receipt of an
application therefor and payment of the reinstatement fee.
7689.5. (a) A licensed cemetery broker shall have and maintain a
definite place of business in this state that serves as his or her
office for the transaction of business.
(b) A cemetery license may not authorize the licensee to do
business except from the location for which the cemetery license was
issued.
(c) A written notice shall be given the board of a change of
business location by a cemetery broker, whereupon the board shall
issue a new cemetery license for the unexpired period.
(d) The change or abandonment of a business location without
notification to the board shall result in automatic cancellation of
the license for that location.
7690. (a) If the applicant for a cemetery broker's license
maintains more than one place of business within the state, he or she
shall apply for and procure an additional license for each branch
office the broker maintains. An application for a branch office
license shall state the name of the person and the location of the
place of business for which the license is desired.
(b) The board may determine whether or not a broker is engaging in
a cemetery brokerage business at or from a particular location that
requires the issuance of a branch office license.
7690.5. A cemetery broker shall erect and maintain a sign on
which his or her name is clearly shown in a conspicuous place on the
premises to indicate that he or she is a licensed cemetery broker.
The size and place of the sign shall conform to regulations that may
be adopted by the board.
7691. An application on the form prescribed by the board for the
renewal of an unrevoked and unsuspended license filed before midnight
of June 30 of the year for which the unrevoked and unsuspended
license was issued, accompanied by the applicable renewal fee,
entitles the applicant to continue operating under his or her
existing license after its usual expiration date, if not previously
suspended or revoked, and until the date that he or she is notified
in writing that the application has been granted or denied.
7691.5. For a violation of any of the provisions of Sections
7689, 7689.5, and 7690.5, the board may temporarily suspend or
permanently revoke the license of the cemetery licensee in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter relating to a disciplinary
proceeding.
7692. (a) A cemetery broker, other than a cemetery corporation
holding a certificate of authority, and a cemetery sales agent shall
include in any advertising a statement that he or she is acting as a
cemetery broker or cemetery sales agent.
(b) For a violation of this section, the board may temporarily
suspend or permanently revoke the license of the cemetery licensee in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter relating to a
disciplinary proceeding.
7693. A crematory established, operated, or maintained, other
than by a licensed cemetery authority, may be operated by a
corporation, partnership, or natural person, provided that a valid
crematory license shall have been issued by the board.
7693.5. The board shall adopt, and may from time to time amend,
rules and regulations prescribing standards of knowledge and
experience and financial responsibility for applicants for a
crematory license.
7694. An application for a crematory license shall be made in
writing on the form prescribed by the board and filed at the
principal office of the board. The application shall be accompanied
by the fee provided for in this article and shall show that the
applicant owns or is actively operating a crematory in this state or
that the applicant is in a position to commence operating such a
crematory.
7694.5. (a) The board may require that proof as it deems
advisable concerning the compliance by an applicant with all the
laws, rules, regulations, ordinances, and orders applicable to the
applicant and shall not issue a crematory license until it has
satisfied itself that the public interest will be served by the
applicant.
(b) In reviewing an application for a crematory license, the board
may consider acts of the applicant, including acts of incorporators,
officers, directors, and stockholders of the applicant, that
constitute grounds for the denial of a crematory license under
Division 1.5 (commencing with Section 475).
7695. (a) Upon receipt of an application for a crematory license,
the board may cause an investigation to be made of the physical
status, plans, specifications, and financing of the proposed
crematory, the character of the applicant, including, if applicable,
its officers, directors, shareholders, or members, and any other
qualifications required of the applicant under this article, and for
this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and take
testimony.
(b) At the time of the filing of the application required by this
article, the applicant shall pay the sum fixed by the board at not in
excess of four hundred dollars ($400) to defray the expenses of
investigation. In the event the sum shall be insufficient to defray
all of the expenses, the applicant shall within five days after
request therefor deposit an additional sum sufficient to defray these
expenses, provided that the total sum shall not exceed the sum of
nine hundred dollars ($900).
7695.5. (a) The board or its designee shall inspect the books,
records, and premises of a crematory licensed under this chapter or a
certificate of authority holder operating a crematory. In making
those inspections, the board or its designee shall have access to all
books and records, the crematory building, the cremation chambers or
furnaces, and the storage areas for human remains before and after
cremation, during regular office hours or the hours the crematory is
in operation. Prior notification of the inspection is not required
to be given to the certificate of authority holder or the crematory
licensee.
(b) If a certificate of authority holder or a crematory licensee
fails to allow that inspection or any part thereof, it shall be
grounds for the suspension or revocation of a license or other
disciplinary action against the licensee. In the case of a
certificate of authority holder, the suspension, revocation, or other
disciplinary action may be limited to the operation of the
crematory.
(c) A proceeding under this section shall be conducted in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter relating to
disciplinary proceedings.
7696. (a) A crematory licensee under this article may not conduct
a cremation of any remains more than 72 hours after delivery of the
remains, unless the remains have been preserved in the interim by
refrigeration or embalming.
(b) A crematory licensee under this article may not conduct a
cremation unless the licensee has a contractual relationship with a
licensed cemetery authority for final disposition of cremated human
remains by burial, entombment, or inurnment of any and all remains
that are not lawfully disposed of or that are not called for or
accepted by the person or persons entitled to the custody and control
of the disposition thereof within 90 days of the date of death.
7696.5. A crematory licensee shall keep those records that may be
required by the board to assure compliance with all laws relating to
the disposition of cremated human remains and shall file annually
with the board, a report in the form prescribed by the board,
describing the operations of the licensee, including the number of
cremations made, the disposition thereof, and other information as
the board may, from time to time, require.
7697. (a) A crematory for which a crematory license is required
shall be operated under the supervision of a qualified manager in
accordance with rules adopted by the board.
(b) A qualified manager shall be required to successfully pass a
written examination evidencing an understanding of the applicable
provisions of this code and of the Health and Safety Code.
7697.5. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a person may
not dispose of or offer to dispose of cremated human remains unless
registered as a cremated remains disposer by the board.
(b) This article may not apply to (1) a person, partnership, or
corporation holding a certificate of authority as a cemetery,
crematory license, cemetery broker's license, cemetery sales agent's
license, or funeral director's license, or (2) a person having the
right to control the disposition of the cremated remains of a person
or that person's designee if the person does not dispose of or offer
to dispose of more than 10 cremated human remains within a calendar
year.
7698. Registration shall be on the form prescribed by the board
and shall include, but not be limited to, the full name of the
registrant, a business and residence address, description and
identification of aircraft or boats that may be used in dispensing
cremated human remains, and the area to be served. A registration
application shall be accompanied by the cremated remains disposer
fee.
7698.5. An aircraft used for the scattering of cremated human
remains shall be validly certified by the Federal Aviation
Administration. A boat or vessel used for the scattering of cremated
human remains shall be registered with the Department of Motor
Vehicles or documented by a federal agency, as appropriate. The
certification or registration shall be available for inspection by
the board or its designee.
7699. A cremated remains disposer who scatters cremated human
remains without specific written authorization and instructions from
the person having the right to control the disposition of the
remains, or who scatters remains in a manner not in accordance with
those instructions, shall be subject to disciplinary action.
7699.5. A cremated remains disposer shall provide the person
authorizing the scattering of the cremated human remains with a copy
of the completed permit for disposition of human remains pursuant to
Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 10375) of Division 9 of the Health
and Safety Code within 60 days of the date scattering was
authorized.
7700. A cremated remains disposer shall file an annual report on
a form prescribed by the board. The report shall include, but not be
limited to, the number of cases handled and the area of scattering.
The report shall cover the fiscal year ending on June 30 and shall
be filed with the board no later than September 30 of each year.
7700.5. A cremated remains disposer's registration shall expire
at midnight on September 30 of each year. A person desiring to renew
his or her registration shall file an application for renewal on a
form prescribed by the board accompanied by the required fee. The
board shall not renew the registration of a person who has not filed
the required annual report until he or she has filed a complete
annual report with the board.
7701. If a registrant fails to apply for renewal of his or her
cremated remains disposer registration prior to midnight of September
30 of the year for which the registration was issued, a renewal may
not be issued except upon payment of an amount equal to the renewal
fee plus 50 percent of the renewal fee, but not more than the renewal
fee plus twenty-five dollars ($25).
7701.5. A violation of this article shall also be grounds for
disciplinary action.
7702. Upon grounds provided in this act, the license of a
cemetery licensee and the certificate of authority of a cemetery
corporation may be revoked or suspended in accordance with the
provisions of this article.
7702.5. A cremated remains disposer shall be subject to and
disciplined by the board in accordance with this article.
7703. A crematory licensee shall be subject to and disciplined by
the board in accordance with this article.
7703.5. Unprofessional conduct by a licensee or registrant or by
an agent or employee of a licensee or registrant constitutes grounds
for disciplinary action. Unprofessional conduct includes, but is not
limited to, all of the following:
(a) Violating or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly, or
assisting in or abetting the violation of this chapter or a
regulation adopted thereunder, or a federal or state law or
regulation governing the disposition of human remains, operation of a
cemetery or a crematory, the sale of cemetery property, or the sale
of crematory services or commodities.
(b) Negligence in performing an act related to the operation of a
cemetery or crematory.
7704. The board may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke a
license at any time where the licensee, within the immediately
preceding three years, while a cemetery licensee performing or
attempting to perform any of the acts specified in this chapter, has
been guilty of any of the following:
(a) Making a substantial misrepresentation.
(b) Making a false statement of a character likely to influence or
persuade.
(c) Engaging in a continued and flagrant course of
misrepresentation or making of a false promise through a cemetery
agent or salesperson.
(d) Acting for more than one party in a transaction without
disclosure to or consent of all parties thereto.
(e) Commingling the money or other property of his or her
principal with his or her own.
(f) Engaging in the practice of claiming or demanding a fee,
compensation, or commission under an exclusive agreement authorizing
or employing a licensee to sell, buy, or exchange cemetery property
for compensation or commission where the agreement does not contain a
definite, specified date of final and complete termination.
(g) Engaging in the claiming or taking by a licensee of a secret
or undisclosed amount of compensation, commission, or profit or the
failure of a licensee to reveal to the employer of the licensee the
full amount of the licensee's compensation, commission, or profit
under an agreement authorizing or employing the licensee to sell,
buy, or exchange cemetery property for compensation or agreement
evidencing the meeting of the minds of the contracting parties,
regardless of the form of the agreement, whether evidenced by
documents in an escrow or by another or different procedure.
(h) Engaging in the use by a licensee of a provision allowing the
licensee an option to purchase in an agreement authorizing or
employing the licensee to sell, buy, or exchange cemetery property
for compensation or commission, except when the licensee prior to or
coincident with election to exercise the option to purchase reveals
in writing to the employer the full amount of the licensee's profit
and obtains the written consent of the employer approving the amount
of the profit.
(i) Engaging in prohibited misrepresentations and false statements
also include misrepresentations and false statements as to other
property than that which the cemetery licensee may be selling or
attempting to sell.
(j) Procuring a cemetery license, for himself or herself or for a
sales agent, by fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit.
(k) Any other conduct, whether of the same or a different
character than specified in this section, that constitutes fraud or
dishonest dealing.
7704.5. The board may suspend or revoke the license of a cemetery
licensee who, within three years immediately preceding has done any
of the following:
(a) Been convicted of a crime substantially related to the
qualifications, functions, and duties of such licensee. The record
of conviction, or a certified copy thereof, shall be conclusive
evidence of the conviction.
(b) Knowingly authorized, directed, connived at, or aided in the
publication, advertisement, distribution, or circulation of a
material false statement or representation concerning his or her
business or any cemetery property offered for sale.
(c) Willfully disregarded or violated any of the provisions of
this chapter relating to cemetery brokerage.
(d) Acted or conducted himself or herself in a manner that would
have warranted the denial of his or her application for a cemetery
license, or for a renewal thereof.
7705. A plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a
plea of nolo contendere is deemed to be a conviction within the
meaning of this article. The board may order the license suspended
or revoked, or may decline to issue a license, when the time for
appeal has lapsed, or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on
appeal or when an order granting probation is made suspending the
imposition of sentence, irrespective of a subsequent order under the
provisions of Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code allowing a person to
withdraw his or her pleas of guilty and to enter a plea of not
guilty, or setting aside the verdict of guilty, or dismissing the
accusation, information, or indictment.
7705.5. (a) When a sales agent is discharged by his or her
employer for a violation of a provision of this article prescribing a
ground for disciplinary action, a verified written statement of the
facts with reference thereto shall be filed immediately with the
board by the employer.
(b) If the employer fails to notify the board as required by this
section, the director may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke
the cemetery license of the employer in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter.
7706. The board may deny, suspend, or revoke the cemetery license
of a corporation as to an officer or agent acting under its cemetery
license, and the cemetery license of a partnership as to any member
acting under its cemetery license, without revoking the cemetery
license of the corporation or of the partnership.
7706.5. The proceedings under this article shall be conducted in
accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the board shall
have all the powers granted therein.
7707. (a) A cemetery broker may not employ or compensate,
directly or indirectly, a person for performing an act within the
scope of this chapter unless that person is a licensed cemetery
broker, or a cemetery sales agent licensed under the cemetery broker
employing or compensating him or her.
(b) A cemetery sales agent may not be employed by or accept
compensation from a person other than the cemetery broker under whom
he or she is, at that time, licensed.
(c) A sales agent may not pay compensation for performing an act
within the scope of this article to a licensee except through the
cemetery broker under whom he or she is at the time licensed.
(d) For a violation of a provision of this section, the board may
temporarily suspend or permanently revoke the license of the cemetery
licensee in accordance with the provisions of this act relating to
disciplinary proceedings.
7707.5. (a) It is a misdemeanor for a person, whether obligor,
escrowholder, or otherwise, to pay or deliver to another a
compensation for performing an act within the scope of this article
who is not known to be or who does not present evidence to the payer
of licensure as a cemetery broker at the time the compensation is
earned.
(b) If the violator of a provision of this section is a licensee,
the board may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke the license
of the cemetery licensee in accordance with the provisions of this
act relating to disciplinary proceedings.
7708. A person acting as a cemetery broker or cemetery sales
agent without a license, or who advertises so as to indicate
licensure as a cemetery broker without being so licensed, is guilty
of a misdemeanor. If the person is a corporation, it shall be
punished by a fine of not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).
7708.5. (a) A cemetery sales agent or cemetery broker who sells,
causes to be sold, or offers for sale cemetery property upon the
promise, guarantee, or representation to the purchaser that the same
may be resold or repurchased at a financial profit is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(b) For violation of a provision of this section, the board may
temporarily suspend or permanently revoke the license of the cemetery
sales agent or cemetery broker in accordance with the provisions of
this act relating to disciplinary proceedings.
(c) Violation of a provision of this section by a cemetery sales
agent or employee of a licensed cemetery broker may not cause the
suspension or revocation of the license of the employer of the sales
agent or employee unless it appears upon a hearing by the board that
the employer had guilty knowledge of the violation.
7709. (a) An officer, agent, or employee of a company, and a
person who knowingly authorizes, directs, or aids in the publication,
advertisement, distribution, or circulation of a false statement or
representation concerning a cemetery or cemetery brokerage business
and a person who, with knowledge that an advertisement, pamphlet,
prospectus, or letter concerning a cemetery brokerage business or a
written statement that is false or fraudulent, issues, circulates,
publishes, or distributes the same, or causes it to be issued,
circulated, published, or distributed, or who in any other respect
willfully violates or fails, omits, or neglects to obey, observe, or
comply with an order, permit, decision, demand, or requirement of the
board under a provision of this act relating to cemetery brokerage,
is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) If the violator is a cemetery licensee, he or she shall be
held to trial by the board for a suspension or revocation of the
cemetery license, as provided in the provisions of this act relating
to disciplinary proceedings.
7709.5. A person, other than a person making an occasional sale,
who advertises cemetery property for sale or exchange, without being
duly licensed as a cemetery broker or a cemetery sales agent, or
without possessing a certificate of authority as a cemetery
corporation, is guilty of a misdemeanor. If the person is a
corporation, it shall be punished by a fine of up to five thousand
dollars ($5,000).
7710. It is a misdemeanor for a person, firm, or corporation to
cremate human remains or to engage in the disposition thereof without
a valid crematory license or a valid certificate of authority issued
by the board.
7710.5. A person who scatters cremated human remains without a
valid registration and who is not otherwise exempt from this article
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. The remains of each person
scattered shall constitute a separate violation.
7711. A person who scatters cremated human remains without
specific written instructions from the person having the right to
control the disposition of the remains or who scatters remains in a
manner not in accordance with those instructions shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, but in no event shall one who scatters human remains be
obligated to follow written instructions to the extent that conduct
would violate local, state, or federal law.
7711.5. It is a misdemeanor for a cemetery corporation to make an
interment or perform a cremation without a valid, subsisting, and
unsuspended certificate of authority. Each interment or cremation
shall be a separate violation.
7712. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amount of
an administrative fine assessed by the board for each inspection or
investigation made with respect to a violation of this chapter or a
violation of an applicable regulation may not be limited.
7712.5. The fees for cemetery licenses at all periods of the
fiscal year are the same as provided in this article. A cemetery
license fee is payable in advance of issuing the license and at the
time of filing the application. Except for a temporary salesperson's
license, for which other provision is made, a license shall be
issued for the fiscal year and shall expire on June 30 of each fiscal
year at midnight. The amount of fees prescribed for a license or
certificate of authority under this act is that fixed by the
following provisions of this article.
7713. (a) The original cemetery broker's license fee shall be
fixed by the board at not more than four hundred dollars ($400).
(b) The original cemetery broker's license fee is payable at the
time of the filing of an application for an original cemetery broker'
s license.
(c) A part of an original cemetery broker's license fee or
reexamination fee is not refundable. It is deemed earned upon
receipt by the board, whether the accompanying application for
license is complete or incomplete.
7713.5. The reexamination fee for an applicant for a cemetery
broker's license shall be fixed by the board at not more than one
hundred dollars ($100).
7714. The annual renewal fee for a cemetery broker's license
shall be fixed by the board at not more than three hundred dollars
($300).
7714.5. If the licensee is a cemetery brokerage corporation, the
license issued to it entitles one officer only, on behalf of the
corporation, to engage in the business of a cemetery broker without
the payment of a further fee, the officer to be designated in the
application of the corporation for a license. For each other officer
of a licensed cemetery brokerage corporation, through whom it
engages in the business of a cemetery broker, the annual renewal fee,
in addition to the fee paid by the corporation, shall be fixed by
the board at not more than one hundred dollars ($100).
7715. If the licensee is a cemetery brokerage partnership, the
license issued to it entitles one member only of the partnership to
engage on behalf of the partnership in the business of a cemetery
broker, which member shall be designated in the application of the
partnership for a license. For each other member of the partnership
who, on behalf of the partnership, engages in the business of a
cemetery broker, the annual renewal fee, in addition to the fee paid
by the partnership, shall be fixed by the board at not more than one
hundred dollars ($100).
7715.5. A branch office broker's license fee shall be fixed by
the board at not more than one hundred dollars ($100).
7716. (a) The cemetery sales agent's license fee shall be fixed
by the board at not more than thirty dollars ($30).
(b) A cemetery sales agent's license fee is payable upon the
filing of each application for a cemetery sales agent's license.
(c) A part of an original or temporary cemetery sales agent's
license fee is not refundable. It is deemed earned upon receipt by
the board, whether the accompanying application for license is
complete or incomplete.
(d) If the applicant for a cemetery sales agent's license fails
the required written examination, he or she may be permitted to take
another examination upon the filing of an application for
reexamination and the payment of a reexamination fee that shall be
fixed by the board at not more than fifteen dollars ($15).
(e) The annual renewal fee for a cemetery sales agent's license
shall be fixed by the board at not more than twenty-five dollars
($25).
7716.5. (a) The cremated remains disposer registration fee shall
be one hundred dollars ($100).
(b) The renewal fee for a cremated remains disposer registration
shall be fifty dollars ($50).
7717. (a) For change of name or of address of licensee on the
records of the board, the fee shall be fixed by the board at not more
than twenty-five dollars ($25).
(b) For transfer of a sales agent's license upon change of
employer, the fee shall be fixed by the board at not more than
twenty-five dollars ($25).
(c) For a duplicate license the fee shall be fixed by the board at
not more than twenty-five dollars ($25).
7717.5. (a) For reinstatement of a license within the fiscal
year, the fee shall be fixed at not more than twenty-five dollars
($25).
(b) As used in this section, "reinstatement of a license" means
the reissuance of a canceled cemetery broker's license, or a cemetery
sales agent's license which was canceled during the year for which
it was issued upon the sales agent's withdrawal from the employ of a
cemetery broker.
7718. (a) A cemetery authority operating a cemetery shall pay an
annual renewal fee for each cemetery to be fixed by the board at not
more than four hundred dollars ($400), plus an additional charge of
not more than fifty cents ($0.50) for each burial, entombment, or
inurnment, and not more than one dollar ($1) for each cremation, made
during the preceding full calendar year. If the cemetery authority
performed the cremation and either the burial, entombment, or
inurnment, the total of all additional charges shall not be more than
one dollar ($1).
(b) The board shall issue a renewal of the certificate of
authority to the cemetery authority upon payment of these charges.
(c) Failure to pay these charges prior to February 1 for each year
shall be cause for suspension of the certificate of authority. The
certificate may be restored upon payment to the board of the
prescribed charges.
(d) A crematory licensee operating a crematory pursuant to a
license issued in compliance with this article shall pay an annual
renewal fee for each crematory, to be fixed by the board at not more
than four hundred dollars ($400), plus an additional charge of not
more than fifty cents ($0.50) one dollar ($1)
per cremation made during the preceding full calendar year.
7718.5. (a) If a person fails to apply for a renewal of his or
her license prior to midnight of June 30 of the year for which the
license was issued, a renewal license may not be issued to him or her
except upon payment of the renewal fee for the license plus 50
percent of the renewal fee, but not more than the renewal fee plus
twenty-five dollars ($25).
(b) A person who fails to renew his or her license within one year
of the expiration date may not engage in an activity authorized by
the license unless he or she first files the application required for
an original license, pays the original license fee, and otherwise
complies with all of the provisions of this act pertaining to the
issuance of an original license.
7719.5. (a) A cemetery authority shall file with the board
annually, on or before May 1, or within five months after close of
their fiscal year if a modified reporting period has been granted by
the board as provided for in Section 7720, a copy of an independent
certified public accountant's (CPA) annual audit of its endowment
care fund condition. The board may prescribe the format and
supplemental schedules necessary for full disclosure. Failure to
file reports required in this section by May 1 of each year shall
subject the cemetery authority to a board-imposed penalty not to
exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each day the reports are
not filed with the board. If the reports are not submitted within 30
days, the board may perform the audit at an expense to the licensee
not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) per auditor per day.
(1) Failure to pay the fine within 15 days after receipt of
written notification of the assessment or, where a timely request for
waiver or reduction of the fine has been filed, within 15 days after
receipt of written notification of the board's decision in the
matter, shall be cause for disciplinary action.
(2) A cemetery authority may request waiver or reduction of a fine
by making a written request. The request shall be postmarked within
the time specified above for payment of the fine and shall be
accompanied by a statement showing good cause for the request.
(3) The board may, in its discretion, waive or reduce the fine
where a timely request is made and where the cemetery authority has
made a sufficient showing of good cause for the waiver or reduction.
(b) The report shall be in the form prescribed by the board and
shall set forth, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The number of square feet of grave space and the number of
crypts and niches sold or disposed of under endowment care by
specific periods as set forth in the form prescribed.
(2) The amount collected and deposited in both the general and
special endowment care funds segregated as to the amounts for crypts,
niches, and grave space by specific periods as set forth either on
the accrual or cash basis at the option of the cemetery authority.
(3) All written reports of general and special endowment care
funds required under this chapter shall include, but are not limited
to, a statement setting forth the following:
(A) Amounts collected pursuant to endowment care arrangements,
contracts or plans, or any agreement collateral thereto.
(B) A schedule showing amounts deposited with a trustee and held
in trust.
(C) A schedule showing amounts of expenditures of income allowable
to individual accounts, itemized as to the nature of expenditures
and authorization.
(D) Amount of actual expenditures of income, itemized as to the
nature of expenditures.
(E) A schedule showing the total amount of such trust funds
invested, itemized to include the location, description, yield, and
character of each investment of the endowment care portfolio. The
statement shall show the actual cost and current market value of the
trust fund, including the amount of cash not invested.
(F) A schedule showing the transaction entered into between the
corporation or an officer, employee, or stockholder and the trustees
of the endowment and special care funds with respect to the trust
funds. The statement shall show the dates and amounts of the
transactions, and shall contain the resolution of the trustees which
include a statement of the reasons for those transactions.
(4) No later than July 1, 1997, the board shall adopt appropriate
educational, experience, and examination requirements to ensure that
a licensee who is permitted to receive, invest, and account for
endowment care funds has demonstrated competence in that area.
(c) The report shall be verified by the president or vice
president and one other officer of the cemetery corporation and shall
be subject to an independent certified financial audit with a copy
of the audit to be submitted to the board for review by May 1 of the
calendar year.
(d) If a cemetery authority files a written request prior to the
date the report is due, the board may, in its discretion, grant an
additional 30 days within which to file the report.
7720. A cemetery authority requesting a change of filing date of
the endowment care fund report from a calendar year to a fiscal year
or a change in fiscal year shall file a petition with the board prior
to the close of the year of request. The board may approve the
petition provided that a report may not be for a period of more than
12 months.
7720.5. The endowment care fund report shall state the name of
the trustee or trustees of the endowment care fund. A change of a
trustee shall be reported to the board within a period of 30 days
after the change is made.
7721. A copy of an annual audit report shall be transmitted to
the board and shall be a public record. It shall also be open for
public inspection at the offices of the cemetery authority during
normal business hours. If the cemetery authority does not maintain
offices in the county in which its cemetery is located, it shall file
a copy of the annual audit report with the county clerk of the
county, which shall be subject to public inspection.
7722. (a) The board or its designee shall examine the endowment
care fund reports for compliance with the requirements of the Health
and Safety Code as to the amount of endowment care funds collected
and as to the manner of investment of the funds. At the discretion
of the board, the board's designee may be a certified public
accountant (CPA) or other auditing professional.
(b) The board or its designee shall examine the endowment care
funds of a cemetery authority upon the occurrence of any of the
following:
(1) When it deems necessary and at least once a year.
(2) When the cemetery authority in charge of endowment care funds
fails to file the report in a timely manner, as required by this
article.
(3) When an examination is requested by verified petition signed
by 10 persons interested as lot owners or members, alleging that the
endowment care funds are not in accordance with the law.
(4) When an examination is requested by a grand jury.
(c) The expense of the examination shall, in the discretion of the
board, be paid by the cemetery authority, not exceeding one hundred
dollars ($100) per day for each examiner engaged in the examination
whenever the examination requires more than two days.
(d) If a cemetery authority refuses to pay these expenses in
advance, the board shall refuse it a certificate of authority and
shall revoke any existing certificate of authority. Examination
expense money collected by the board shall be paid into the State
Treasury to the credit of the State Board of Funeral and Cemetery
Services Fund.
(e) In making the examination, the board or its designee shall:
(1) Enjoy free access to the books and records relating to the
endowment care funds, their collection and investment, and the number
of graves, crypts, and niches under endowment care.
(2) Inspect and examine the endowment care funds to determine
their condition and the existence of the investments.
(3) Ascertain if the cemetery corporation has complied with all
the laws applicable to endowment care funds.
(f) The board or its designee may administer oaths and examine
under oath any person relative to the endowment care fund. The
examination shall be conducted in the principal office of the person
or body in charge of the endowment care fund and shall be private.
(g) If an examination made by the board or its designee, or a
report filed with it, shows that there has not been collected and
deposited in the endowment care funds the minimum amounts required by
the Health and Safety Code since September 19, 1939, the board shall
require the cemetery corporation to comply with Sections 8743 and
8744 of the Health and Safety Code.
7722.5. Whenever the board finds, after notice and hearing, that
endowment care funds have been invested in violation of the Health
and Safety Code, it shall by written order mailed to the person or
body in charge of the fund require the reinvestment of the funds in
conformity to that code within 30 days of the board's finding. If
the board finds extenuating circumstances, it may extend the time
period.
7723. (a) The superior court of the county in which the principal
office of the cemetery authority in charge of endowment care funds
is located shall, upon the filing by the board of a verified
application showing any of the following conditions to exist, issue
an order vesting title to any endowment care funds of a cemetery
authority in the board, and directing the board to take possession of
all necessary books, records, property, real and personal, and
assets, and to conduct as conservator, the management of the
endowment care funds, or so much thereof as the board may deem
appropriate:
(1) That the cemetery authority has refused to submit its books,
papers, accounts, or affairs to the reasonable examination of the
board.
(2) That the cemetery authority has neglected to observe an order
of the board to make good within the time prescribed by law a
deficiency in its investments of endowment care funds.
(3) That the cemetery authority is found, after an examination, to
be in such a condition that its further management of its endowment
care funds will be hazardous to its members, plot holders, or to the
public.
(4) That the cemetery authority has violated its articles of
incorporation or any law of the state.
(5) That an officer, director, agent, servant, or employee of the
cemetery authority person refuses to be examined under oath relative
to the endowment care funds thereof.
(6) That a person has embezzled or otherwise wrongfully diverted
endowment care funds of the cemetery authority.
(b) The order shall continue in force and effect until, on the
application either of the board or of the cemetery authority, it
shall, after a full hearing, appear to the court that the ground for
such order does not exist or has been removed and that the cemetery
authority can properly resume title and possession of its property
and the management of its endowment care funds.
7723.5. (a) The board may, without notice and before applying to
the court for an order, take possession of the endowment care funds
and the books, records, and accounts relating thereto of the cemetery
authority, and retain possession subject to the order of the court
upon any of the following circumstances:
(1) When it has been alleged by verified petition pursuant to
Section 7722.
(2) When the board on its own investigation determines that there
is probable cause to believe that any of the conditions set forth in
Section 7723 exist.
(3) When irreparable loss and injury to the endowment care funds
of a cemetery authority has occurred or may occur unless the board
acts immediately.
(b) A person having possession of and refusing to deliver an
asset, book, or record of a cemetery authority against which a
seizure order has been issued by the board, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand
dollars ($1,000) or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both
fine and imprisonment.
7723.6. With respect to any conservatorship established pursuant
to this chapter, the board shall be the custodian of all moneys
collected by it or coming into its possession in the course of those
proceedings. The board shall deposit those moneys, or any part
thereof, without court approval in only a bank which is a member of
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), as long as the
total deposit does not exceed those federal insurance limits; in a
centralized State Treasury system bank account; or in funds
administered by the Treasurer.
As soon as possible, the board shall seek court approval for a
conservatorship as provided for in subdivision (a) of Section 7723.
Any money which is deposited by the board pursuant to this section,
which the board determines is available for investment, may be
invested or reinvested by the Treasurer in any of the securities
which are described in Article 1 (commencing with Section 16430) of
Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code,
and handled in the same manner as money in the State Treasury. Any
increment which is received from that investment or reinvestment or
deposit shall be remitted to the board for allocation, upon a proper
and equitable basis, to each conservatorship participating in the
investment, reinvestment, or deposit, and deposited and disbursed as
provided for in this chapter. The Treasurer may deduct from that
remittance an amount equal to the reasonable costs incurred in
carrying out this section or may bill the board for those costs and
the board shall pay those costs from money which is collected
pursuant to this chapter. There is hereby established in the State
Treasury the State Funeral and Cemetery Services Trust Fund.
7724. Whenever the board makes any seizure as provided in Section
7723.5, it shall be the duty of the sheriff of a county of this
state, and of the police department of a municipal corporation
therein, to furnish, upon the demand of the board, those deputies,
patrolmen, or officers as may be necessary to assist the board in
making and enforcing the seizure.
7724.5. Within 15 days after effecting a seizure pursuant to
Section 7723.5, the board shall institute a proceeding as provided
for in Section 7723.
7725. In a report to the board, all bonds, debentures, or other
evidences of debt held by a cemetery corporation if amply secured and
if not in default as to principal or interest, may be valued as
follows:
(a) If purchased at par at the par value.
(b) If purchased above or below par on the basis of the purchase
price adjusted so as to bring the value to par at maturity and so as
to yield the effective rate of interest on the basis at which the
purchase was made.
(c) In this valuation of the purchase price, in no case may the
price be taken at a higher figure than the actual market value at the
time of purchase.
(d) A security or other evidence of debt if in default as to
principal or interest or if not amply secured shall not be valued as
an asset of the endowment care fund above its market value.
7725.5. The board shall maintain, regulate, operate, and control
the property situated in Amador County, referred to as the Elkin
property Property in Judicial Council
Coordination Proceedings Nos. 1814 and 1817, Order Re Proposed
Neptune Memorial, Disposition of the Elkin Property, and Order Re
Final Disposition of Ashes of the Sacramento Superior Court, and
legally described as "Parcel 16-B as shown on the certain Record or
Survey for Eugene S. Lowrance, et ux, filed for record May 17, 1971,
in Book 17 of Maps and Plats at page 87, Amador County Records." The
board shall administer and supervise endowment funds established by
the court for the property. The board shall exercise the authority
granted by this section for the sole purpose of protecting the human
remains resting on the property and preserving the property in its
natural state.
7726. The board is authorized to bring action to enforce the
provisions of the law subject to its jurisdiction, in which actions
it shall be represented by the Attorney General.
Article 6. Consumer Protection
7730. (a) Commencing January 1, 1996, the address, telephone
number, and name of the board shall appear in 8-point boldface type
on the first page of a contract for goods or services offered by a
funeral establishment, cemetery authority, or crematory.
(b) No later than July 1, 1997, the board shall adopt regulations
that require clear price and other contract term disclosures for a
sale of services and products, and the use of plain English
disclosures in clear boldface type in a preneed trust agreement and
in an endowment care agreement.
7730.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a funeral
director or cemetery authority shall present to the survivor of the
deceased or the responsible party who is handling the funeral,
burial, or cremation arrangements, a copy of a preneed agreement that
has been signed and paid in full, or in part, by or on behalf of the
deceased and which is in the possession of the funeral director or
cemetery authority.
(b) The copy may be presented in person, by certified mail, or by
facsimile transmission, as agreed upon by the survivor of the
deceased or the responsible party.
(c) A licensee subject to this section who knowingly fails to
present the preneed agreement to the survivor of the deceased or the
responsible party shall be liable for a civil fine equal to three
times the cost of the preneed agreement, or one thousand dollars
($1,000), whichever amount is greater.
7731. (a) A funeral director shall provide to a person, upon
beginning discussion of prices or of funeral goods and services that
are available for purchase, a written or printed list containing, but
not necessarily limited to, the price for professional services
offered. The services may include the funeral director's services,
the preparation of the body, the use of facilities, and the use of
automotive equipment.
(b) All services included in the quoted price or prices shall be
enumerated. The funeral director shall also provide a written
statement or list that gives the price range for all caskets offered
for sale. The funeral director shall also provide a written
statement or list that, at a minimum, specifically identifies a
particular casket or caskets by price and by thickness of metal, or
type of wood, or other construction, interior and color, in addition
to other casket identification requirements under Part 453 of Title
16 of the Code of Federal Regulations and any subsequent version of
this regulation, when a
request for specific information on a casket or caskets is made in
person by an individual.
(c) Prices of caskets and other identifying features such as
thickness of metal, or type of wood, or other construction, interior
and color, in addition to other casket identification requirements
required to be given over the telephone by Part 453 of Title 16 of
the Code of Federal Regulations and any subsequent version of this
regulation, shall be provided over the telephone, if requested.
7731.5. (a) The funeral establishment shall indicate the price in
a conspicuous manner on each casket. Individual price tags on
caskets shall include the thickness of metal, or type of wood, or
other construction, as applicable, in addition to interior and color
information.
(b) A casket shall be priced individually, irrespective of the
type of service purchased.
(c) If a funeral director advertises a funeral service for a
stated amount, he or she shall display in a reasonably convenient
location in the showroom and have available for sale, the casket that
is used for determining that price.
7732. (a) A funeral director may not enter into a contract for
furnishing services or property in connection with the burial or
other disposal of human remains until he or she has first submitted
to the potential purchaser of the services or property a written or
printed memorandum containing the following:
(1) The total charge for the funeral director's services and the
use of his or her facilities, including the preparation of the body
and other professional services, and the charge for the use of
automotive and other necessary equipment.
(2) An itemization of charges for the casket, an outside
receptacle, and clothing, as selected.
(3) An itemization of fees or charges and the total amount of cash
advances made by the funeral director for transportation, flowers,
cemetery or crematory charges, newspaper notices, clergy honoraria,
transcripts, telegrams, long distance telephone calls, music, and
other advances as authorized by the purchaser.
(4) An itemization of fees or charges not included above.
(5) The total of the amount specified in paragraphs (1), (2), (3),
and (4).
(b) If the charge for any of the above items is not known at the
time the contract is entered into, the funeral director shall advise
the purchaser of the charge within a reasonable period after the
information becomes available.
(c) All prices charged for items covered under Sections 7731 and
7731.5 shall be no more than those given under those sections.
7732.5. A funeral director may not charge the survivor of the
deceased who is handling the funeral or burial arrangements or the
responsible party any of the following:
(a) A handling fee for a casket supplied by the survivor or
responsible party.
(b) An additional fee for handling or embalming a body when death
was due to a contagious or infectious disease.
(c) A fee for filing a certificate of death or for providing
copies thereof in excess of fees set by statute for filing and
providing certified copies of these certificates.
7733.5. A crematory licensee under this article may not conduct a
cremation unless the licensee has a written contract with the person
or persons entitled to custody of the remains clearly stating the
location, manner, and time of disposition to be made of the remains,
agreeing to pay the regular fees of the licensee for cremation,
disposition, and other services rendered, and any other contractual
provisions as may be required by the board.
7734. A crematory licensee who prohibits relatives or the
responsible party from viewing the cremation process shall disclose
this fact in writing to the person or persons entitled to custody of
the remains prior to the signing of any contract.
SEC. 3. Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 9600) of Division 3 of
the Business and Professions Code is repealed.
SEC. 4. The sum of six hundred sixty-eight thousand five hundred
dollars ($668,500) is hereby appropriated from the State Board of
Funeral and Cemetery Services Fund to the Board of Funeral and
Cemetery Services for the purposes of Chapter 12 (commencing with
Section 7600) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.
SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.