PROPOSED RULEMAKING
STATE BOARD OF FUNERAL DIRECTORS
[49 PA. CODE CH. 13]
Forms Review
[37 Pa.B. 1867]
[Saturday, April 21, 2007]The State Board of Funeral Directors (Board) proposes to amend §§ 13.204 and 13.224 (relating to written agreement; and funding and reporting of prepaid burial contracts) to read as set forth in Annex A.
Effective Date
The proposed rulemaking will be effective upon final-form publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Statutory Authority
The proposed rulemaking is authorized under section 16(a) of the Funeral Director Law (act) (63 P. S. § 479.16(a)).
Background, Need and Description of the Proposed Amendment
Currently, §§ 13.204 and 13.224 set forth requirements for contracts typically used by licensees in providing, or agreeing to provide, funeral goods and services. Under § 13.204(a), a licensee shall use a form agreement or statement of funeral goods and services that has been reviewed and approved by the Board. Likewise, § 13.224(f) requires a licensee to use a form prepaid burial contract or preneed contract form that has been reviewed and approved by the Board. However, the existing provisions do not state the basis upon which the Board may disapprove a form submitted to it.
In implementing the existing sections, the Board has refused to approve form contracts or agreements that include a term prohibited by the act or Board regulations, or form contracts or agreements that do not include a term required by the act or Board regulations. However, in the absence of express language in its regulations, the Board has not disapproved a form that includes a contractual provision the enforcement of which would lead to a violation of a provision of the act or Board regulations.
Under the proposed amendments to §§ 13.204 and 13.224, the Board would have authority to refuse to approve a form that does not comply with the act or the regulations or if the enforcement of any terms of the form would result in a violation of the act or Board regulations.
The Board solicited input from and provided an exposure draft of this proposed rulemaking to funeral directors and organizations. In addition, the Board considered the impact the proposed amendments would have on the regulated community and on public health, safety and welfare. The Board finds that the proposed amendments address a compelling public interest as described in this preamble.
Fiscal Impact and Paperwork Requirements
The proposed rulemaking will have no adverse fiscal impact on the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions. The proposed rulemaking will impose no additional paperwork requirement upon the Commonwealth, political subdivisions or the private sector.
Sunset Date
The Board continuously monitors the cost effectiveness of its regulations. Therefore, no sunset date has been assigned.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), on April 11, 2007, the Board submitted a copy of this proposed rulemaking and a copy of a Regulatory Analysis Form to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and to the Chairpersons of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and the House Professional Licensure Committee. A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
Under section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC may convey any comments, recommendations or objections to the proposed rulemaking within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The comments, recommendations or objections must specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review, prior to final publication of the rulemaking, by the Board, the General Assembly and the Governor of comments, recommendations or objections raised.
Public Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, recommendations or objections regarding this proposed rulemaking to Michelle T. Smey, Administrator, State Board of Funeral Directors, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649 within 30 days following publication of this proposed rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Reference No. 16A-4813 (Forms Review) when submitting comments.
ANTHONY SCARANTINO,
ChairpersonFiscal Note: 16A-4813. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 13. STATE BOARD OF FUNERAL DIRECTORS
STANDARDS OF PRACTICE AND CONDUCT § 13.204. Written agreement.
* * * * * (h) The Board will not approve a form statement of funeral goods and services that does not comply with the act or this chapter, or the enforcement of any term of which would result in the violation of the act or this chapter.
PREPAID BURIAL CONTRACTS § 13.224. Funding and reporting of prepaid burial contracts.
* * * * * (f) [Prepaid] Form prepaid burial contracts or form preneed contracts to be used by a funeral director shall be reviewed and approved by the Board and should reflect whether or not an additional service fee or arrangement fee is charged. [Prepaid] Form prepared burial contracts or form preneed contracts used by a funeral director may not incorporate a contract for funeral merchandise entered into by a person or entity other than a funeral director. The Board will not approve a form prepaid burial contract or preneed contract that does not comply with the act or this chapter, or the enforcement of any term of which would result in the violation of the act or this chapter.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 07-684. Filed for public inspection April 20, 2007, 9:00 a.m.]
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
