H. B. 2604
(By Delegates Phillips and L. White)
[Introduced March 16, 1993; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article fourteen,
chapter forty-seven of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further
amend said article by adding thereto a new section,
designated section two-a, relating to preneed burial
contracts generally; and transferring the administration of
preneed burial contracts to the office of the insurance
commissioner.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article fourteen, chapter forty-seven of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted; that said article be
further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated
section two-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. PRENEED BURIAL CONTRACTS.
§47-14-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context otherwiserequires:
(1) "Burial goods" means all merchandise supplied in regard
to burial, or entombment in a mausoleum or inurnment in a
columbarium, but does not include those services actually
performed by a cemetery acting only as such, or the sale by any
person of cemetery lots, land or interests therein, services
incidental thereto, or the sale by any person of markers,
memorials, monuments, equipment, crypts, urns, burial vaults or
vaults constructed or to be constructed in a mausoleum or
columbarium.
(2) "Contract beneficiary" means any person specified or
implied in a preneed funeral contract, upon whose death funeral
services, funeral goods or burial goods shall be performed,
provided or delivered.
(3) "Contract buyer" means any person, whether or not a
contract beneficiary, who purchases goods or services pursuant
to a preneed funeral contract but shall not include any person
other than a natural person.
(4) "Contract seller" or "seller" means a person, his agent
or his employee, who sells, makes available or provides preneed
funeral contracts.
(5) "Department" means the office of the attorney general.
insurance commissioner.
(6) "Funds" means moneys or other consideration received
pursuant to the sale of a preneed funeral contract, including
interest accrued or earned thereon.
(7) "Funeral goods" means those items of merchandise sold or
offered for sale directly to the public by any person which will
be used in connection with a funeral or alternative for final
disposition of human remains, but does not include those
services actually performed by a cemetery acting only as such, or
the sale by the cemetery of cemetery lots, land or interest
therein, services incidental thereto, or the sale by any person
of markers, memorials, monuments, equipment, crypts, urns, burial
vaults or vaults constructed or to be constructed in a mausoleum
or columbarium.
(8) "Funeral services" means those services usually
performed by a funeral service licensee, including, but not
limited to, care and preparation of human remains and
coordinating rites and ceremonies in connection with the
disposition of human remains carried out at the request of any
individual responsible for funeral and disposition arrangements.
(9) "Person" means a natural person, partnership, firm,
association or corporation, including any agent or employee
thereof residing in or doing business in this state who is
engaged in the selling of, making available of or providing of
"preneed funeral contracts," defined herein, or is the recipient
of funds paid for such purpose.
(10) "Person who makes a preneed funeral contract available"
means a person who, while not directly selling the contents of a
preneed funeral contract to the public through his efforts, makes
such contracts available to the public but shall not includemanufacturers of funeral goods or burial goods.
(11) "Personal residence" means any residential building in
which one temporarily or permanently maintains his abode
including, but not limited to, hotels, motels, apartments,
nursing homes, convalescent homes, homes for the aged and public
and private institutions.
(12) "Preneed funeral contract" means any contract,
agreement, mutual understanding, series or combination of
contracts, agreements and mutual understandings, other than a
contract of insurance, under which, for a specified consideration
paid in advance of death in a lump sum or by installments, a
person promises to furnish or make available or provide funeral
services, funeral goods or burial goods for use at a time
determinable by the death of the "contract beneficiary" who is
either named or implied.
(13) "Provider" means a person who, though not a party to a
preneed funeral contract does, through his efforts, make the
services or goods referred to in such a contract available to the
public pursuant to such a contract.
(14) "Trustee" means any natural person, partnership or
corporation, including any bank, trust company, savings and loan
association or credit union, which receives money pursuant to any
agreement or contract made pursuant to the provisions of this
article.
§47-14-2a. Transfer of administration to insurance
commissioner.
Effective the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-three: (i) The administration of preneed burial contracts
shall be transferred to and shall become a part of the insurance
commissioner's office; (ii) all personnel, salaries, fringe
benefits, equipment, supplies, records, papers and proceedings
shall be transferred to and become a part of the insurance
commissioner's office; (iii) all power, authority and
responsibility for preneed burial contracts previously exercised
by the attorney general shall be transferred to and shall become
a part of the insurance commissioner's office; and (iv) all
certification, licensing, disciplinary, revocation and
liquidation proceedings and all civil actions pending at the time
of transfer shall continue and shall become the responsibility of
the insurance commissioner.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to transfer the
administration of preneed burial contracts from the Attorney
General's office to the Insurance Commissioner's office.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
§47-14-2a is new; therefore strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.