PROPOSED RULEMAKING
STATE BOARD OF FUNERAL DIRECTORS
[ 49 PA. CODE CH. 13 ]
Continuing Education Enforcement
[39 Pa.B. 2210]
[Saturday, May 2, 2009]The State Board of Funeral Directors (Board) proposes to amend §§ 13.231 and 13.401 (relating to biennial registration; unregistered status and inactive status; failure to renew; and credit hour requirements), to read as set forth in Annex A.
Effective Date
The amendments will be effective upon publication of the final-form regulation in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Statutory Authority
This proposed rulemaking is authorized under sections 10(b) and 16(a) of the Funeral Director Law (act) (63 P. S. §§ 479.10(b) and 479.16(a)).
Background and Need for the Amendment
Section 10(b)(2) of the act requires licensees to complete 6 hours of mandatory continuing education during each biennial renewal period as a condition of license renewal. Under section 11(a)(6) of the act, the Board may take disciplinary action against any licensee who fails to comply with any provision of the act or Board regulations. Disciplinary actions for failing to complete the continuing education requirement in a timely manner invariably result in the licensee being required to pay a civil penalty proportionate to the amount of deficiency and to make up the deficiency promptly. Accordingly, the Board proposes to utilize the more streamlined procedures under section 5(a) of the act of July 2, 1993 (P. L. 345, No. 48) (Act 48) (63 P. S. § 2205(a)) (Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs, after consultation with licensing boards in the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, may promulgate a schedule of civil penalties for violations of the acts or regulations of these licensing boards).
Description of the Proposed Amendments
Under proposed § 13.401(d), a licensee who has not completed the required amount of continuing education would be required to pay a civil penalty, under 49 Pa. Code § 43b.6 (related to schedule of civil penalties--funeral directors and funeral establishments). The civil penalty schedule for continuing education violations (first offense) will be promulgated by the Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs in a separate rulemaking package. See 39 Pa.B. 2210 (May 2, 2009). Second or subsequent offenses will subject the licensee to discipline under section 11(a)(6) of the act, which authorizes the Board to discipline a licensee for violating the act or a regulation of the Board. A licensee who did not complete the required amount of continuing education would be required to complete the entire amount of mandatory continuing education and provide the Board with proof within the first 6 months of the renewal period.
The proposed rulemaking would also revise the requirement of § 13.231(a) (unless excused for good cause, the Board will not renew a funeral director's licensee unless the licensee has certified that the licensee completed the required amount of continuing education). Instead, the licensee would only be required to certify that the licensee has complied with the continuing education requirements ''in accordance with §§ 13.401--13.406 (relating to continuing education).'' As discussed previously, the proposed rulemaking would revise those provisions to permit renewal by a licensee who has not completed the required amount of continuing education, conditioned upon paying a civil penalty and making up the deficient hours of continuing education within the first 6 months of the renewal period.
Fiscal Impact and Paperwork Requirements
The proposed rulemaking should have no adverse fiscal impact on the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions or the private sector. The proposed rulemaking will impose no additional paperwork requirements upon the Commonwealth, its 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 22, 2009, 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 shall 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 Regulatory Unit Counsel, Department of State, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649 or by e-mail at ST-FUNERAL@state.pa.us, within 30 days of publication of this proposed rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Reference No. 16A-4818 (continuing education enforcement), when submitting comments.
MICHAEL J. YEOSOCK, FD
ChairpersonFiscal Note: 16A-4818. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND OCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 13. STATE BOARD OF FUNERAL DIRECTORS
LICENSE RENEWAL § 13.231. Biennial registration; unregistered status and inactive status; failure to renew.
(a) A licensee shall register each biennial period to retain the right to practice. Initial registration shall automatically occur when a license is issued. Registration for a biennial period expires on the first day of February of every even number year. Unless excused by the Board for good cause under section 10(b)(4) of the act (63 P. S. § 479.10(4)), the Board will not grant an application for renewal of a funeral director license unless the licensee has certified that the licensee has [completed the amount of continuing education required by § 13.401 (relating to credit hour requirements] complied with the continuing education requirements mandated by section 10(b) of the act during the biennial period immediately preceding the application for renewal in accordance with §§ 13.401--13.406 (relating to continuing education).
* * * * *
CONTINUING EDUCATION § 13.401. Credit hour requirements.
* * * * * (d) Unless otherwise excused as authorized under the act or this chapter, failure to complete the minimum required amount of continuing education during the applicable renewal period will subject the licensee to discipline under section 17(b) of the act (63 P. S. § 479.17(b)) in accordance with the schedule of civil penalties in § 43b.6 (relating to schedule of civil penalties--funeral directors and funeral establishments). A second or subsequent violation will subject the licensee to disciplinary action under section 11(a)(6) of the act (63 P. S. § 479.11(a)(6)). Within 6 months after the end of the renewal period during which the required amount of continuing education was not completed, the licensee shall make up the deficiency and shall provide proof of attendance at continuing education courses during the previous biennial registration period as required under § 13.402 (relating to reporting completion of continuing education). In addition to any civil penalty assessed under this subsection, failure to provide the Board with proof of the required amount of continuing education within 6 months after the beginning of a biennial period in which the licensee renewed without having completed the required amount of continuing education shall subject the licensee to disciplinary action under section 11(a)(6) of the act (63 P. S. § 479.11(a)(6)).
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 09-800. Filed for public inspection May 1, 2009, 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.
