Page 1,
between lines 1 and 2, insert:
"Section 1. Section 32-1301, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE32-1301. Definitions
In this
chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Accredited"
means recognized or authorized by the American board of funeral service
education.
2. "Administrative
costs and expenses" means the cost of copies, transcripts, court reporter
and witness fees, reimbursement for mileage and office of administrative
hearings costs.
3. "Alternative
container" means any unfinished wood box or other nonmetal receptacle or
enclosure, without ornamentation or a fixed interior lining, that is designed
for the encasement of human remains.
4. "Authorizing
agent" means a person who is legally entitled to order the cremation,
disinterment or embalming of human remains pursuant to section 32‑1365.02.
5. "Beneficiary"
means a person whose future funeral arrangements will be handled by a funeral
establishment pursuant to a prearranged funeral agreement.
6. "Board"
means the state board of funeral directors and embalmers.
7. "Business
entity" includes any corporation, association, limited liability company,
professional corporation, partnership, limited partnership, sole
proprietorship, business trust, trust, joint venture and other business entity.
8. "Casket"
means a rigid container that is designed to permanently encase human remains
and that is usually constructed of wood, metal or synthetic substances and
ornamented and lined with fabric.
9. "Change
of ownership" means a transfer of a controlling legal or equitable
interest in a licensed funeral establishment or crematory resulting from a sale
or merger. If the establishment or crematory is operated by a
business entity, any transfer of the ownership of ten percent or more of the
entity constitutes a change of ownership.
10. "Conviction"
means a criminal adjudication or conviction by any state or federal court of
competent jurisdiction, including a judgment based on a no contest plea,
without regard to whether civil rights have been restored.
11. "Cremated
remains" means the remaining bone fragments after cremation.
12. "Cremation"
means the heating process that reduces human remains to bone fragments by
combustion and evaporation.
13. "Cremation
container" means a leak and spill resistant, rigid, combustible, closed
receptacle into which human remains are placed before cremation.
14. "Cremationist"
means a person who operates a crematory retort, who performs the actual
cremation of human remains and who may be licensed pursuant to article 6 of
this chapter.
15. "Crematory"
means a building or portion of a building that is licensed pursuant to article
6 of this chapter and that houses a retort in which only human remains are
cremated.
16. "Disciplinary
action" means an action taken by the board to revoke or suspend a license
or registration, to impose probationary requirements or civil penalties or to
issue a letter of censure or reprimand to any person who is subject to this
chapter and who violates any provision of this chapter or rules adopted by the
board.
17. "Embalmer"
means a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter and who is engaged in
embalming.
18. "Embalmer's
assistant" means a person who is registered pursuant to this chapter and
who is engaged in embalming without the supervision of a licensed embalmer.
19. "Embalming"
means the implementation of reconstructive procedures and the process of
disinfecting and preserving a dead human body to retard organic decomposition
by treating the body to reduce the presence and growth of organisms.
20. "Financial
institution" means a bank, savings and loan association, trust company or
credit union that is lawfully doing business in this state and that is not
affiliated with a funeral establishment.
21. "Fixed
price prearranged funeral agreement funded by trust" means any agreement
or combination of agreements that establishes a fixed price for funeral goods
and services, that requires a funeral establishment to provide those funeral
goods and services at the price levels in effect at the time of the execution
of the agreement and that requires the purchaser to convey all or a portion of
the accrued interest to the funeral establishment at the time that the funeral
goods and services are actually provided.
22. "Funded
by insurance" means that monies for a prearranged funeral agreement are
paid directly to an insurance company licensed pursuant to title 20 on behalf
of the beneficiary of the agreement.
23. "Funeral
directing" means arranging, directing or providing a service in the
disposition of dead human bodies for compensation.
24. "Funeral
director" means a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter and who
is engaged in funeral directing.
25. "Funeral
establishment" means a business at a specific location that is licensed
pursuant to this chapter and that is devoted to the care, storage or preparation
for final disposition or transportation of dead human bodies.
26. "Funeral
goods and services" means any personal property or services that are
typically sold or provided in connection with the final disposition of human
remains, including caskets, alternative containers, outer burial containers,
cremation containers, transportation containers, funeral clothing or
accessories, monuments, grave markers, urns, embalming services, funeral
directing services and similar funeral or burial items. Funeral goods and
services do not include goods and services sold by cemeteries.
27. "Good
moral character" means that a person:
(a) Has
not been convicted of a class 1 or 2 felony by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(b) Has
not, within five years of applying for licensure or registration, been
convicted of a felony or misdemeanor if the offense has a reasonable
relationship to the person's proposed area of licensure or registration.
(c) Has
not, within five years of applying for licensure or registration, committed any
act involving dishonesty, fraud, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty,
gross negligence or incompetence if the act has a reasonable relationship to
the person's proposed area of licensure or registration.
(d) Is
not currently incarcerated in or on community supervision after a period of
imprisonment in a local, state or federal penal institution or on criminal
probation.
(e) Has
not engaged in fraud or misrepresentation in connection with an application for
licensure or registration under this chapter or an examination required for
licensure or registration.
(f) Has
not, within five years of applying for licensure or registration, had a
license, registration or endorsement revoked or suspended by the board or by
the funeral services licensing authority of any other jurisdiction.
(g) Has
not surrendered a license, registration or endorsement to the board or the
funeral licensing authority of any other jurisdiction in lieu of disciplinary
action.
(h) Has
not practiced funeral directing or embalming without a license in this state or
any other jurisdiction that requires licensure to perform these activities.
28. "Holding
facility" means a designated area for the retention of human remains.
29. "Human
remains" means a lifeless human body or parts of a human body that allow a
reasonable inference that death occurred.
30. "Intern"
means a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter and who is engaged in
either or both of the following:
(a) Embalming
under the supervision of a licensed embalmer.
(b) Arranging
and directing funerals under the supervision of a licensed funeral director.
31. "Intern
trainee" means a person who intends to enter training as an intern and who
is temporarily employed by a funeral establishment.
32. "License"
means a written authorization that is issued by the board and that entitles a
person to act as a funeral director, embalmer or intern or to operate a funeral
establishment or crematory in this state.
33. "Licensee"
means a person to whom the board has issued a license to act as a funeral
director, embalmer or intern or to operate a funeral establishment or crematory
in this state.
34. "Manage"
means:
(a) That
a responsible funeral director exercises control and oversight over all
employees of a funeral establishment and over funeral transactions, including
the care of dead human bodies, funeral services and activities and the
documentation and retention of records.
(b) That
a responsible cremationist exercises control and oversight over all employees
of a crematory and crematory operations.
35. "Mentor"
means either:
(a) A
funeral director or embalmer who is approved by the board to train a person in
a department of economic security-approved apprenticeship program in funeral
directing and embalming in a funeral establishment licensed by the board.
(b) A
cremationist who is approved by the board to train a person in a department of
economic security-approved apprenticeship program in cremation in a crematory
licensed by the board.
35. 36. "National
board examination" means the test or tests given by the conference of
funeral service examining boards to determine the entry level knowledge and
skills of a person regarding funeral directing and embalming.
36. 37. "Net
interest" means interest earned on a prearranged funeral trust account
minus applicable taxes, reasonable and necessary charges made by the financial
institution and the annual service fee allowed to be deducted by the funeral
establishment according to section 32‑1391.06, subsection B.
37. 38. "Outer
burial container" means a container that is designed for placement in a
grave around a casket, including burial vaults, grave boxes and grave liners.
38. 39. "Owner"
means a person who owns ten percent or more of a business entity. Owner
does not include shareholders of companies who have a class of common equity
stock listed or authorized to be listed on the New York stock exchange or the
American stock exchange or listed on the NASDAQ stock market.
39. 40. "Person
legally responsible" means the person responsible for burying a dead body
as determined in section 36‑831.
40. 41. "Prearranged
funeral agreement" means any agreement or combination of agreements under
which a payment is made before the death of the intended beneficiary for
funeral goods and services to be delivered or performed after the death of the
beneficiary.
41. 42. "Prearranged
funeral trust account" means a trust account that is established at a
financial institution and into which all monies paid on behalf of a beneficiary
pursuant to a prearranged funeral agreement are deposited.
42. 43. "Preparation"
means washing, shaving, dressing or arranging hair on, applying cosmetics to or
positioning bodily features on a dead human body and placing the
dead human body in a casket.
43. 44. "Processed
cremated remains" means cremated remains after they are pulverized and
cleaned, leaving primarily small bone fragments.
44. 45. "Provisionally
accredited" means granted candidacy status by the American board of
funeral service education.
45. 46. "Registration"
means a written authorization that is issued by the board and that entitles a
person to act as an assistant funeral director, an embalmer's assistant or a
prearranged funeral salesperson in this state.
46. 47. "Responsible
cremationist" means a licensed cremationist who manages a crematory.
47. 48. "Responsible
funeral director" means a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter,
who is engaged in funeral directing and who manages and is accountable for a
funeral establishment.
48. 49. "Retort"
means an enclosed space within which cremation takes place.
49. 50. "State
equivalent examination" means the test or tests that are provided by the
conference of funeral service examining boards and offered by the board to
determine the entry level knowledge and skills of a person regarding funeral
directing and embalming.
50. 51. "Supervise"
or "supervision" means that a licensed embalmer has responsibility
for and is within sight and sound of a licensed intern who is embalming a dead
human body or a student who is assisting in embalming a dead human body.
51. 52. "Temporary
container" means a receptacle that is usually made of cardboard, rigid
plastic or another similar material and that is designed to hold processed
cremated remains until they are placed in an urn or another permanent
container.
52. 53. "Trust
funds" means all monies that are deposited on behalf of a beneficiary of a
prearranged funeral agreement funded by trust and all accrued net
interest. Trust funds shall be considered an account kept in
suspense until distributed to the beneficiary, the funeral establishment or the
estate of the beneficiary in accordance with this article.
53. 54. "Universal
precautions" means the universal blood and fluid precautions recommended
by the centers for disease control of the United States public health service
to prevent the transmission of bloodborne and bodily fluid‑borne
infectious diseases.
54. 55. "Unprofessional
conduct" includes the following acts, whether occurring in this state or
elsewhere:
(a) Committing
a class 1 or 2 felony.
(b) Committing
a felony or misdemeanor if the offense has a reasonable relationship to funeral
directing or embalming. Conviction by any court of competent
jurisdiction or a plea of no contest is conclusive evidence of the commission.
(c) Providing
false, misleading or deceptive information on an application for licensure or
registration pursuant to this chapter or on an examination required for licensure
or registration.
(d) Bribing
or offering to bribe, directly or indirectly, a member of the board to
influence the member's actions in performing the member's duties.
(e) Wilfully
interfering with an embalmer, funeral director or cremationist who has lawful
custody of a dead human body in performing the embalmer's, funeral director's
or cremationist's duty to embalm or prepare the body for burial, transportation
or cremation.
(f) Paying
or causing money or other valuable consideration to be paid to a person, other
than an employee of a funeral establishment, to secure business regulated
pursuant to this chapter from or through the person.
(g) Violating
any law of this state or any rule adopted by the department of health services
that relates to embalming or preparing dead human bodies.
(h) Certifying
falsely to having embalmed or prepared a dead human body that was embalmed by a
person other than a licensed embalmer making the certification or an intern
under the supervision of a licensed embalmer making the certification.
(i) Falsely
advertising or labeling any service or merchandise with the intention of
deceiving the public.
(j) Shipping
or delivering any merchandise or supplies that are not the substantial
equivalent of or superior in quality to merchandise or supplies previously
presented to the purchaser as samples.
(k) Committing
any act involving dishonesty, fraud, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary
duty, gross negligence or incompetence if the act has a reasonable relationship
to funeral directing or embalming.
(l) Engaging
in any conduct or practice that is reasonably related to funeral directing or
embalming and that is or may be harmful or dangerous to the health, safety or
welfare of the public.
(m) Within
a period of five years, having a license, registration or endorsement suspended
or revoked by the board or by the funeral services licensing authority of any
other jurisdiction or surrendering a license, registration or endorsement in
lieu of disciplinary action.
55. 56. "Urn"
means a receptacle into which processed cremated remains are placed for
disposition. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 32-1307, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE32-1307. Powers
and duties of board
A. The
board shall:
1. Administer
and enforce this chapter and the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.
2. Adopt
a seal.
3. Maintain
a record of the name and the mailing or employer's business address of each
licensee and registrant.
4. Investigate
alleged violations of this chapter and the rules adopted pursuant to this
chapter.
5. Adopt
rules in accordance with title 41, chapter 6. Rules adopted by the
board shall include provisions relating to the following:
(a) The
keeping and disposition of records by licensees and registrants.
(b) Standards
of practice, professional conduct, competence and consumer disclosure relating
to owning or operating a funeral establishment or crematory, funeral directing,
embalming and cremation.
(c) The
prohibition of deceptive, misleading or professionally negligent practices in
advertising, offering or selling funeral goods or services by funeral
establishments, crematories, licensees and registrants and agents of funeral
establishments, crematories, licensees and registrants. The rules shall
specifically prohibit misrepresentation of the legal requirements concerning
the preparation and interment of dead human bodies.
(d) Standard
price disclosure formats and price list requirements and definitions to
facilitate price comparisons by members of the public.
(e) Guidelines
to enable members of the public to determine the substantial equivalency of
funeral goods available for sale to the public.
(f) Administrative
and investigative procedures.
(g) The
efficient administration of the board's affairs and the enforcement of the
provisions of this chapter.
(h) The
inspection of all funeral establishments and crematories at least once every
five years.
(i) Any
other matters the board deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this
chapter.
6. Approve
a funeral director, embalmer or cremationist as a mentor based on the funeral
director's, embalmer's or cremationist's record of compliance with this
chapter. The board may not condition the approval on the payment of an
additional fee or completion of an additional requirement.
B. The
board may:
1. Subject
to title 41, chapter 4, article 4, employ investigative, professional and
clerical employees as it deems necessary to carry out this chapter.
Compensation of these employees shall be determined pursuant to section 38‑611.
2. Appoint
citizen advisory committees to make recommendations to the board concerning
enforcement and the administration of this chapter.
3. In
connection with investigations or administrative hearings, issue subpoenas to
compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers,
contracts, agreements and other documents or records in any form, administer oaths
and take testimony and evidence concerning all matters within its
jurisdiction. The board may pay the fees and expenses of witnesses
who appear in any proceeding before the board. If a person refuses
to obey a subpoena issued by the board, the board may invoke the aid of any
court in this state to require the attendance and testimony of witnesses and
the production of documentary evidence.
4. Contract
with other state and federal agencies as it deems necessary to carry out this
chapter.
5. Charge
reasonable fees for the distribution of materials that the board prints or has
printed at its expense and for the costs of mailing these materials.
6. Charge
the reasonable costs of a fingerprint background check to an applicant for
licensure or registration." END_STATUTE
Renumber to
conform
Amend title to conform
Bill
Number: S.B. 1136