H. B. 3107


(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss (By Request))
[Introduced March 30, 2001; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]




A BILL to repeal section fourteen, article six, chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section one, sections three through eight, thirteen and section sixteen, article six, chapter thirty; to further amend said article by adding thereto three new sections, designated sections eighteen, nineteen and twenty, all relating to activities which are incident, convenient, or related to the preparation and arrangements for the embalming, funeral, transportation, cremation and final disposition of dead human bodies.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fourteen, article six, chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be repealed; and that section one, sections three through eight, thirteen, fourteen and section sixteen, article six, chapter thirty be amended and reenacted; that said article be further amended by adding thereto three new sections, designated sections eighteen, nineteen and twenty, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 30. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.

ARTICLE 6. EXAMINERS.

§30-6-1. Board of funeral examiners created; membership.

There is hereby created a state board to be known and designated as the "West Virginia board of embalmers and funeral directors examiners," which shall consist of seven members, who shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, six five of whom shall be licensed embalmers and practicing funeral directors with a minimum of five consecutive years' experience in West Virginia immediately preceding their appointment, one of whom shall be a crematory owner or licensed funeral director employed by a crematory with a minimum of five consecutive years' experience in West Virginia immediately preceding their appointment. The seventh member shall be a lay member as provided in section four-a, article one of this chapter.
§30-6-3. Oath of members of board; officers; salary and expenses, bond of treasurer; meetings; powers and duties; rules; continuing education and examinations; necessary equipment and procedures; inspection; compensation.

(a) Members of said board, before entering upon their duties, shall take and subscribe to the oath of office prescribed by the secretary of state.
(b) Said board shall select elect biennially from its own members a president, and a secretary, and a treasurer who shall hold their offices for two years, but shall continue to hold their offices until their successors are elected. Each member shall be reimbursed for his traveling expenses, incident to his attendance upon the business of the board, and in addition thereto, the sum of fifty dollars per day for each day actually spent by such member upon the business of the board. The secretary shall receive an annual salary of not to exceed one thousand dollars, the amount and payment of which shall be fixed by said board, and in addition thereto shall receive traveling and other incidental expenses incurred in the performance of his duties.
(c) The board may employ an executive director and such clerks, inspectors, investigators, and assistants as it shall consider necessary to discharge the duties imposed by the provisions of this article and duly promulgated rules of the board and to effect its purposes, and the board shall determine the duties and fix the compensation of the executive director, clerks, inspectors, investigators, and assistants, subject to the general laws of the state. Any inspector employed by the board shall have either a West Virginia embalmer's license or a West Virginia funeral director's license. Any inspection shall be conducted in a manner so as not to interfere with the conduct of business within the funeral establishment. and the inspector shall be absolutely prohibited from examining any books and records of the funeral establishment
(d) All the expenses, per diem and compensation shall be paid out of the receipts of the board, but the allowances shall at no time exceed the receipts of the board.
(e) The treasurer of the board shall give bond to the state of West Virginia in the sum as the board shall direct with two or more sureties or a reliable surety company approved by the board, and the bond shall be conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of the officer. The bond, with approval of the board endorsed thereon, shall be deposited with the treasurer of the state of West Virginia.
(f) The board shall hold not less than two meetings during each calendar year for the purpose of examining applicants for licenses and certificates of registration, the meeting or meetings to be held at a time and place as the board shall determine. The time and place of the meeting shall be announced by publication in three one daily newspapers newspaper of general circulation in different locations in the state, and publication to be once a week for two consecutive weeks immediately preceding each meeting.
(g) The board may hold such other meetings as it may consider necessary and may transact any business at the meetings. Four or more members shall comprise a quorum authorizing the board to transact such business as is prescribed under this article.
(h) The board shall have the power and it shall be its duty to make and enforce all necessary rules, not inconsistent with this article, for the examination and licensing of funeral directors, and the general practice of funeral directing; the examination and licensing of embalmers and the general practice of embalming and the registration and regulation of apprentices; the licensing and general operation of funeral establishments, except that no rules issued by the board shall require that an applicant for a license to operate a funeral establishment shall be required to have either an embalmer's or funeral director's license. The board may make investigations, subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and conduct hearings. The board may establish committees to oversee various board issues, which shall report findings, actions or recommendations to the board.
(i) On or before the first day of July, two thousand, the board shall propose for legislative promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code rules necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article, including, but not limited to, the subjects to be covered in the examinations and the standards to be attained for licensure; requirements for continuing education, including authorizing continuing education credits through audio or video recordings; and a procedure for the investigation and resolution of complaints against persons licensed under this article.
(j) The board may conduct annually a school of instruction to apprise funeral directors and embalmers of the most recent scientific knowledge and developments affecting their profession. Qualified lecturers and demonstrators may be employed by the board for this purpose. The board shall give notice of the time and place at which the school will be held for all licensed funeral directors and embalmers, and it shall be the duty of every licensed funeral director and embalmer to attend at least one such school or other approved program, every three years: Provided, That the location of any school of continuing education shall accommodate the geographic diversity of the embalmers and funeral directors of this state. Compliance with the requirements of continuing education is a prerequisite for license renewal.
(k) Hours of continuing education may be obtained by attending and participating in board-approved programs, meetings, seminars or activities. It is the responsibility of each licensee to finance his or her costs of continuing education.
(j) On or before the first day of July, two thousand one, the board shall propose for legislative promulgation rules necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article, including, but not limited to, necessary equipment for crematories, procedures and equipment for the transportation of dead human bodies, requirements for price disclosures and representation of products by crematories, advertising and solicitation requirements for crematories, inspection procedures for crematories, methods for identifying dead human bodies scheduled for cremation, cremation procedures, disposition of unclaimed cremated remains, and record keeping practices for crematories.
(k) All licensed funeral directors and embalmers shall attend approved continuing education programs as a prerequisite to license renewal.
(l) The board, any of its members or any duly authorized employee of the board shall have the authority to enter at all reasonable hours for the purpose of inspecting the premises in which the business or profession of funeral directing is conducted or practiced or where embalming is practiced of a funeral establishment. The holder of a funeral establishment license is required to comply with all violations found during the course of an inspection.
§30-6-4. Definitions.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms shall be construed in the following manner:
(1) "Agent" means any person who represents a funeral establishment in the course of a business transaction with the public. An agent may be an employee or a contracted vendor.
(2) "Certificate" means a certificate of registration.
(3) "Courtesy card holder" means a person who is a licensed funeral director and embalmer in a state which borders the state of West Virginia and who has been given a certificate of registration from this board to periodically practice funeral directing in the state of West Virginia. A courtesy card holder may not own or operate a funeral business in the state of West Virginia.
(4) "Cremated remains" means all human remains recovered after the completion of the cremation process, which may include, but not be limited to, the residue of any foreign matter such as casket material, dental work, or eyeglasses that were cremated with the human.
(5) "Cremation" means any mechanical or thermal process whereby a dead human body is reduced to ashes and bone fragments. Cremation also includes any other mechanical or thermal process whereby human remains are pulverized, burned, recremated or otherwise further reduced in size or quantity.
(6) "Cremation chamber" means the enclosed space within which cremation takes place.
(7) "Direct disposition" means the final disposition of a dead human body without preparation of the body by embalming and without any attendant services or rites such as funeral or graveside services.
(8) "Direct supervision" means the physical presence of a licensed funeral director or licensed embalmer while the specific functions of the funeral or embalming or final disposition are being carried out.
(9) "Disaster assistance" means an established program for disaster response in which a trained team of funeral directors and embalmers are dispatched to aid those in charge of human remains during a multideath disaster, and which team assists using operation guidelines established by the West Virginia funeral directors association.
(10) "Final disposition" means the entombment, earth interment, aboveground interment, burial in a cemetery or cremation of a dead human body.
(11) "Funeral director" shall mean means any person engaged, or holding himself or herself out as engaged, in the business of funeral directing as herein defined, and shall use in connection with his or her name or business the words or terms "funeral director," "undertaker," "mortician," or any other word, term, or title to imply or designate him or her as a funeral director, undertaker, or mortician.
(12) "Funeral directing" shall mean means the business or profession of directing or supervising funerals for profit compensation by any person, partnership, association, corporation, or other organization, or the business or profession of preparing dead human bodies for burial by means other than embalming by any person, partnership, association, corporation, or other organization, or the disposition of dead human bodies by any person, partnership, association, corporation, or other organization, or maintenance of a place or establishment for the preparation for disposition or for the care or disposition of dead human bodies by any person, partnership, association, corporation, or other organization, or the use in connection with a business of the word or term "funeral director," "undertaker," "mortician," by any person, partnership, association, corporation, or other organization, directing or the holding out to the public that one is a funeral director by any person, partnership, association, corporation, or other organization. A funeral director shall directly supervise the funeral ceremony and be present at the final disposition of dead human bodies.
(13) A "funeral establishment" is means a place of business maintained and operated for compensation by a person, partnership, association, corporation, or other organization, conducted in a building, or series of buildings, or a separate portion of a building having a specific street address or location, and devoted to such activities as are incident, convenient, or related to the preparation and arrangements, financial and otherwise, for the embalming or cremation of, funeral, transportation, burial or other disposition of dead human bodies.
(a) A "crematory" means a funeral establishment devoted, in part or whole, to such activities as are incident, convenient or related to the reduction of dead human bodies to ashes and bone fragments.
(b) A "funeral home," "funeral chapel," or "funeral parlor" means a funeral establishment which offers funeral services and preparation by embalming for the disposition of dead human bodies. A funeral home may offer cremations to the public, so long as the funeral home utilizes a licensed crematory to provide such services or maintains crematory equipment on its premises in accordance with this article.
(c) A "trade service" or "mortuary service" means a funeral establishment devoted strictly to the preparation and embalming of dead human bodies. A trade service may not offer to the public funeral services, either in the funeral establishment, in religious facilities or at graveside. A trade service may offer cremations to the public, so long as the trade service utilizes a licensed crematory to provide such services or maintains crematory equipment on its premises in accordance with this article.
(14) "Funeral services" means any services which may be used to: (1) Care for and prepare dead human bodies for burial, cremation, or other final disposition; or (2) to arrange, supervise, or conduct the funeral ceremony or the final disposition of dead human bodies.
(15) "Embalmer" shall means any person engaged in, or holding himself or herself out to be engaged in, the practice of embalming, whether on his or her own behalf or in the employ of another, and shall include any person who shall use in connection with his or her name, the term "embalmer," or use any word, term, or title intending to imply or designate him or her as an embalmer or as one engaged in embalming.
(16) "Embalming" is means the introduction into the vascular system or hollow organs of a dead human body, by arterial or by hypodermic injection, of any chemical substance, fluids, or gases used for the purpose of preservation or disinfection.
(17) "Apprentice" shall means any person engaged in this state in the learning of the practice of embalming or of the practice of funeral directing under the instruction and personal direct supervision of a duly licensed embalmer or a duly licensed funeral director, under the provisions of this chapter article.
(18) "Human remains" or "remains," or "dead human body" or "dead human bodies," means the body of a deceased human person for which a death certificate or fetal death certificate is required by article five, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, and includes the body in any stage of decomposition and the residue of cremated human bodies.
(19) "Legally authorized person" means the surviving spouse, son, or daughter who is eighteen years of age or older, parent, or brother or sister eighteen years of age or older, person in the next degree of kinship; the guardian of the deceased person at the time of death, the personal representative of the deceased or a public health officer.
(20) "Licensee" means a person who holds a license issued by this board.
(21) "Licensee in charge" means a funeral director who is currently licensed in this state who accepts responsibility for the operation of a funeral establishment in conformance with this article and who is personally in full and actual charge of such funeral establishment and personnel.
(22) "Person" means an individual, partnership, association, corporation or other organization.
(23) "Registrant" means a person who holds a certificate of registration issued by this board.
(24) "Supervision" means the operation of all phases of the funeral business under the direction of a licensed funeral director or licensed embalmer.

(25) "Transportation of a dead human body or human bodies" means any movement of a dead human body by private vehicle, any other appropriate conveyance, or public transportation from the place of death, to or between funeral establishments, or to any destination for final disposition.
§30-6-5. Embalmers and funeral directors to be licensed; qualifications and requirements for license; renewal of license; courtesy cards; penalty for violation of article.

(a) No person shall engage in or hold himself or herself out as engaging in, or discharge any of the duties of the business or profession of embalming, or preserving in any manner dead human bodies in this state, whether for himself or herself or in the employ of another, unless he or she holds an embalmer's license issued to him or her by the board, and shall at the date of its issuance have complied with the provisions of this article.
(b) No person shall engage in, or hold himself or herself out as engaging in, or discharge any of the duties of the business or profession of funeral directing in this state, unless he or she holds a funeral director's license issued to him or her by the board, and shall at the date of its issuance have complied with the provisions of this article, or conduct a funeral unless he or she be a licensed funeral director.
(c) No person shall be entitled to an embalmer's license unless he or she:
(1) Is eighteen years of age or over;
(2) A citizen of the United States;
(3) (2) Is of good moral character and temperate habits;
(4) Holds a high school diploma or its equivalent;
(5) (3) Meets at least one of the following educational requirements Completes one of the following educational tracks:
(A) Holds Track I, whereby the applicant obtains an associate degree from an accredited college or university or has successfully completed not less than sixty semester hours or ninety quarter hours of academic work in an accredited college or university toward a baccalaureate degree with a declared major field of study, as evidenced by a transcript submitted for evaluation prior to beginning a one-year course of apprenticeship as described in subdivision (6) of this section and prior to obtaining a diploma of graduation from a school of mortuary science as described in subdivision (7) of this section; and duly approved by the board; and; obtains a diploma of graduation or an associate degree in mortuary science from a school of mortuary science accredited by the American board of funeral service education, inc., which requires as a prerequisite to graduation the completion of a course of study not less than twelve months' duration; or
(B) Track II, whereby the applicant obtains a bachelor of science degree or a bachelor of mortuary science degree from a school of mortuary science accredited by the American board of funeral service education, inc.
(6) (4) Has completed a one-year course of apprenticeship under the supervision of a licensed embalmer actively and lawfully engaged in the practice of embalming in this state, such apprenticeship to consist of diligent attention to the work in the course of regular and steady employment and not as a side issue to another employment, and under which said apprenticeship he or she shall have taken an active part in the operation of embalming not less than thirty-five dead human bodies, under the direct supervision of a licensed embalmer;
(7) Possesses a diploma of graduation from a school of mortuary science which requires as a prerequisite to graduation the completion of a course of study not less than twelve months' duration, and which said school of mortuary science must be one accredited by the American board of funeral service education, inc., and duly approved by the board; and
(8) (5) Passes with an average score of not less than seventy-five percent the international conference of funeral services examining boards, inc. examination at a testing site provided by the national international conference, passes with a score of not less than seventy-five percent the state law examination administered by the board, and passes such further examination as the board may deem consider necessary to ascertain his or her qualification and ability to engage in the practice of embalming. Successfully passing the national international conference of funeral services examining boards' examination is a condition precedent prerequisite to taking the state law examination administered by the board. The board shall offer the state law examination at least twice each year.
(d) The board shall issue licenses separately to embalmers and funeral directors.
(e) An applicant for a funeral director's license must furnish satisfactory proof to the board that his or her business or profession of funeral directing is to be conducted in a fixed place or establishment equipped for the care and preparation for burial or disposition of dead human bodies. What shall be deemed considered "necessary equipment" shall be defined in the rules and regulations of the board, the same to be in compliance with the public health laws of the state or the rules of the state board of health of West Virginia. This shall not be so construed as to deny an applicant for a funeral director's license such a license because he or she is not the owner, or part owner, of an establishment or proposed funeral business.
(f) Licenses issued under the provisions of this article shall not be transferable or assignable.
(g) No person shall be eligible to receive a license as a funeral director unless he or she:
(1) Holds an embalmer's license issued by this board;
(2) Has been duly registered with the board as an apprentice;
(3) (2) Has served not less than a one-year apprenticeship under the personal direct supervision of a licensed funeral director embalmer actively and lawfully engaged in the business or profession of funeral directing and embalming in this state, such apprenticeship to consist of diligent attention to the work in the course of regular and steady employment and not as a side issue to another employment including taking an active part in conducting not less than thirty-five funeral services. For the purpose of this section, "regular and steady employment" means a forty-hour week or a longer period of time set at the discretion of the person by whom he or she is employed.
All funeral homes or establishments or any other places pertaining to funeral directing or the conducting of funerals shall display in all advertising the name of the licensed funeral director who is actually in charge of the establishment. All branch establishments must display the name of the funeral director who is actually in charge. At least one licensed funeral director shall supervise each main establishment and at least one licensed funeral director shall directly supervise each branch establishment when professional services are performed at the branch establishment.
(h) No licensed funeral director or licensed embalmer shall be permitted to register or have registered more than five apprentices under his or her license at the same time.
(i) Any person now holding a license as an embalmer or funeral director shall not be required to make a new application, or submit to an examination, but shall, upon the payment of the fee therefor and submission of a renewal application, be entitled to a renewal of his or her license upon the terms and conditions herein provided for the renewal of licenses of those who may be licensed after the effective date of this article, but all such persons shall be subject to every provision of this article, and such rules and regulations as the board may adopt in pursuance of this article.
(j) No person shall be registered as an apprentice funeral director or apprentice embalmer unless he or she is eighteen years of age, or over, a citizen of the United States, of good moral character and temperate habits, the holder of a high school diploma or its equivalent, and holds an associate degree from an accredited college or university or has successfully completed not less than sixty semester hours or ninety quarter hours of academic work in an accredited college or university toward a baccalaureate degree with a declared major field of study.
(k) The board may issue annual nonrenewable courtesy cards to licensed funeral directors and licensed embalmers of the states bordering on West Virginia, upon application for same made on form prescribed by the board. The annual fee for such courtesy cards shall be fifty sixty dollars and said fee shall be paid at the time application is made therefor. Failure to pay fees for a courtesy card, shall result in a refusal to grant such courtesy card until such fees are paid. Applications for said courtesy cards shall be approved by the board before the same may be issued, and said courtesy cards shall be issued under the following conditions: Holders of courtesy cards shall not be permitted to open or operate a place of business for the purpose of conducting funerals or embalming bodies in the state of West Virginia, nor shall they be permitted to maintain an office or agency in this state. A violation of this section shall be sufficient cause for the board to revoke or cancel the courtesy card of the violator.
§30-6-6. Registration and renewals; disposition of fees.
(a) The examination for a funeral director's license and the examination for an embalmer's license may be administered simultaneously.
(1) The examination fee for a funeral director's license shall be one hundred fifty dollars and shall be remitted at the time the application for a funeral director's license examination is submitted to the board.
(2) The examination fee for an embalmer's license shall be one hundred fifty dollars and shall be remitted at the time the application for an embalmer's license examination is submitted to the board.
(b) All the licenses, courtesy cards, and certificates of registration shall expire on the thirtieth day of June of each calender every other year and the renewal date for all licenses, courtesy cards and certificates shall be the first day of July of each calender every other year.
(c) The annual renewal fee for an embalmer's license is thirty forty dollars; the annual renewal fee for a funeral director's license is thirty forty dollars; the annual renewal fee for an apprentice embalmer's license is twenty-five thirty-five dollars; the annual renewal fee for an apprentice funeral director's license is twenty-five thirty-five dollars. and each shall be paid on or before the first day of July of each calender year
(d) (1) Any person who has been duly licensed as a funeral director or as an embalmer under the laws of this state, but who fails to renew his or her license within thirty days after the expiration date for renewals, may file an application for a renewal of his or her license, without examination, upon payment of a penalty of fifty dollars, a reinstatement fee of fifty dollars and the required renewal fee.
(2) Any person who has been duly licensed as a funeral director or as an embalmer under the laws of this state, but who fails to renew his or her license within sixty days after the expiration date for renewals, may file an application for a renewal of his or her license, without examination, upon payment of a penalty of one hundred dollars, a reinstatement fee of one hundred dollars and the required renewal fee.
(3) A funeral director or an embalmer whose license has lapsed one year or more shall make application to the board for a new license in compliance with the provisions of this article relating to unlicensed persons.
(e) Any person who has been duly registered as an apprentice embalmer or apprentice funeral director and fails to renew his or her registration within thirty days after the expiration date for renewals may file an application for such renewal upon payment of a penalty of fifty dollars, a reinstatement fee of fifty dollars and the required renewal fee. Otherwise, after the said period of thirty days, his or her registration will shall automatically be canceled. Subsequent applications shall be made to the board in compliance with the provisions of this article relating to un- registered persons.
All fees and other moneys received by the board pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be kept in a separate fund and expended solely for the purposes of this article. After the expenditures for a fiscal year, of the remaining moneys accrued and set aside for that fiscal year, all sums in excess of twenty thousand dollars in the separate fund shall revert to the general fund of the state. The compensation provided by this article and all expenses incurred, the payment of which is authorized under this article, shall be paid from this separate fund. No compensation or expense incurred under this article shall be a charge against the general funds of the state.
§30-6-7. Refusal to grant or renew; suspension or revocation of license or certificate of registration.

The board may either refuse to issue, or may refuse to renew, or may suspend, or may revoke any embalmer's license or funeral director's license, or embalmer's or funeral director's certificate of registration issued by it and under the provisions of this article for any one or combination of the following causes:
(a) The practice of fraud or deceit in obtaining or attempting to obtain a license or a certificate of registration;
(b) Conviction of a felony or the equivalency of a felony in federal court which constitutes a crime of violence, a crime committed during the course of conducting funeral business or a crime which bears a rational nexus to the individual's ability to practice in funeral business as shown by a certified copy of the record of the court of conviction;
(c) Violation of any of the provisions of this article, the rules of the board, or the public health laws of this state;
(d) The use of false, misleading or unethical advertising by any licensee or applicant for a license or certificate of registration;
(e) Upon satisfactory proof that a licensed embalmer or a licensed funeral director licensee or registrant has taken undue advantage of his or her patrons or has committed a fraudulent act in the conduct of his or her business;
(f) Solicitation of funeral business by the licensee or registrant, his or her agents, assistants or employees, whether such solicitation occurs after death or while death is impending: Provided, That this shall may not be deemed considered to prohibit proper advertising;
(g) If the applicant therefor or holder thereof a license or certificate of registration knowingly permits an unlicensed or unregistered person to engage in the profession or business of embalming or funeral directing under his or her supervision; or if any holder of an embalmer's license or funeral director's license issued hereunder knowingly permits any unlicensed person to use his or her license number or numbers for the purpose of practicing, or discharging any of the duties of, the professions of embalming or funeral directing.
(h) Employment by the licensee or registrant of persons as "cappers," "steerers" or "solicitors," or other such persons to obtain funeral directing business;
(i) Employment by the licensee, directly or indirectly, of any apprentice, agent, assistant, embalmer, employee, or other person, on part or full time, or on commission, for the purpose of calling upon individuals or institutions by whose influence dead human bodies may be turned over to a particular funeral director licensee or registrant;
(j) The buying of business by the licensee or registrant, his or her agents, assistants, or employees or the direct or indirect payment or offer of payment of a commission by the licensee or registrant, his or her agents, assistants, or employees, for the purpose of securing business;
(k) Gross immorality, or unethical conduct that would be inconsistent with the Funeral Ethics Association's Manual of Professional Practice;
(l) If the applicant therefor or holder thereof has been guilty of habitual drunkeness or is addicted to the use of morphine, cocaine or other habit-forming drugs a license or certificate of registration habitually uses, abuses, or has an addiction to habit-forming drugs, whether those drugs are illegal drugs, over-the-counter drugs, or prescription drugs or alcohol.
§30-6-8. Duty of public officers, physicians, etc., as to disposition of body of deceased person; hearings on refusing, suspending or revoking licenses; appeals from decisions of board; penalty for engaging in business without license or certificate of registration; purpose of article.

(a) No public officer, employee, physician or surgeon, or any other person having a professional relationship with the deceased, shall send, or cause to be sent, to any funeral director, undertaker, mortician or embalmer, the body of any deceased person without having first made due inquiry as to the desires of the next of kin, or any persons who may be chargeable with the funeral expenses of such deceased person; and if any such kin or person can be found, his or her authority and direction shall be received as to the disposal of said corpse.
Any person who shall violate the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars, nor more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not less than ten days nor more than ninety days, or both.
The board may make investigations, subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and conduct hearings.
(b) No order suspending or revoking a license or certificate of registration shall be made until after a public hearing conducted by the board.
At least twenty days prior to the date of hearing, the board shall send a written notice of the time and place of such hearing to the applicant, together with a statement of the charges against him, by mailing the same to the last-known address of such person.
The testimony presented and the proceedings had at such hearings shall be taken in shorthand, at the expense of the board, and preserved as records of the board. The board shall as soon thereafter as possible make its findings in determination thereof, and send a copy to each interested party.
(c) (1) Any person who has been refused a license or certificate of registration is entitled to a public hearing before the board: Provided, That when the license or certificate of registration is refused pursuant to section six, article two, chapter twenty-one-a of this code, relating to employers defaulting on worker compensation or unemployment compensation payments, the provisions of W.Va. Code §21A-2-6 shall apply instead.
(2) Upon decision of the board after a public hearing, any person who has been refused a license or certificate of registration for any cause or whose license or certificate of registration has been revoked or suspended may file with the secretary of the board, within thirty days after the decision of the board, a written notice of appeal therefrom to the circuit court of the county within which such person whose license or certificate of registration has been refused, revoked or suspended resides. Upon the filing of such notice, the secretary of the board shall transmit to the clerk of said court the record of such proceedings. Such The court shall thereupon hear and determine such the case as in other cases of appeal. The judgement of the circuit court may be reviewed upon proceedings in error in the supreme court of appeals.
(d) (1) No person shall engage in the profession or business of embalming or funeral directing as defined in this article unless he or she is duly licensed as an embalmer and/or as a funeral director within the meaning of this article, and any person who shall engage in either business or profession, or both, without having first complied with the provisions of this article, or who shall violate any other provisions of this article, shall be deemed considered guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction, shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than four hundred dollars for the first offense. Upon conviction of a second or subsequent offense, the violator shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars.
(2) No person shall engage in the profession or business of operating a funeral establishment as defined in this article unless he or she is licensed as a funeral establishment within the meaning of this article, and any person who shall engage in either business or profession, or both, without having first complied with the provisions of this article, or who shall violate any other provisions of this article, shall be considered guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction, shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than four hundred dollars for the first offense. Upon conviction of a second or subsequent offense, the violator shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars.
(e) The sanitary preparation of dead human bodies for burial and cremation and the burial thereof is a public necessity, and it has direct relation to the health, welfare and convenience to the public, and the Legislature hereby finds, determines and declares that this article is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, welfare, health, and safety the conduct and sale of funeral related services is a privilege and not a natural and fundamental right of any individual. As a matter of public policy, it is necessary to protect the public through the enactment of this article and to regulate the granting of such privileges and their uses.
(f) It is the purpose of this article to promote, preserve, and protect the public health, safety, and welfare by the effective regulation of the conduct of funeral service; the licensure of funeral directors; the licensure of embalmers; the registration of apprentice funeral directors; the registration of apprentice embalmers; the licensure of funeral establishments within this state.
§30-6-13. License required to operate funeral establishment; application and qualifications for license; renewal; advertising; cessation of operation; licensee-in- charge; provisions for holding interest in a funeral establishment.

(a) On or before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, every funeral establishment operating in West Virginia shall obtain a license for the succeeding fiscal year beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred sixty-nine, as provided for in this section.
(b) An application for a license to operate a newly acquired or constructed funeral establishment shall be in writing and verified on a form provided by the board and shall be accompanied by a fee as herein provided. and upon receipt of the same A separate application shall be submitted for each business location. Should two or more funeral establishments having different business names operate at the same address or location, each business shall submit separate applications for licensure. This shall be followed by an inspection, as scheduled by the board at the convenience of the applicant. The applicant is required to notify the board that the facility is ready for inspection at least three weeks prior to opening the establishment to the public, at which time an appointment for inspection shall be made. Upon completion of inspection and it is found that the funeral establishment is in compliance with the provisions of this article, the board shall forthwith issue or renew a license to operate a funeral establishment. Such application to operate a funeral establishment shall be made by any person, partnership, association, corporation, organization or fiduciary having controlling interest in such funeral establishment at least sixty days prior to the scheduled opening of establishment to the public. Applications received after this deadline will result in a penalty fee, as promulgated in the board's legislative rules. If the anticipated acquisition of an existing funeral home does not take place, all fees shall be refunded to applicant, pursuant to regulations governing state agencies' refunding policies.
(c) An application to renew a license to operate a funeral establishment shall be in writing and verified on a form provided by the board and shall be accompanied by a fee as herein provided. Upon receipt of same, the board shall forthwith renew a license to operate a funeral establishment.
(d) Such A new application or renewal application shall be signed by the applicant and by the individual who is duly licensed as a funeral director licensee in charge of the funeral establishment, and who shall be in charge and responsible for all transactions conducted and or services performed therein, except that a funeral establishment operating solely as a crematory shall not be required to have the application signed by a licensed funeral director.
(e) If such funeral establishment is owned by a person who is not licensed as a funeral director or by a partnership, association, corporation or other organization, then such owner A funeral home or trade service shall have in his or her or its employ and place in charge of such establishment a person who is duly licensed as a funeral director who shall manage, conduct and have supervision of the work or business of such establishment and be responsible therefor.
(f) A license to operate a funeral establishment shall expire on the thirtieth day of June of each calender every other year and the renewal date for any such license shall be the first day of July of each calender every other year.
(g) Each funeral establishment license shall be valid only for one funeral establishment to be located at a specific street address or location; the fee to operate the principal establishment shall be one hundred twenty-five seventy-five dollars per year and the fee to operate each additional funeral establishment by the same applicant shall be seventy-five one hundred five dollars per year. Each separate funeral establishment shall have its own license, which license shall be prominently displayed within the funeral establishment. No additional license fee shall be charged if during any given year it shall be necessary to reapply for a license to operate a funeral establishment at the same or different location. A funeral establishment that fails to pay fees for either the principal establishment or additional establishment by the first day of July of each calender year renewal period is subject to a penalty of fifty dollars and a reinstatement fee of fifty dollars for each establishment and the required renewal fee. Failure to pay fees for the renewal of a funeral establishment license shall result in a refusal to renew until such fees are paid.
(h) The holder of any funeral establishment license who ceases to operate the funeral establishment at the location specified in the application shall, within twenty days thereafter, surrender the funeral establishment license to the board and such the license shall be canceled by the board, except that in the event of the death of an individual who was the holder of a funeral establishment license, it shall be the duty of such the holder's personal representative to surrender such the funeral establishment license within one hundred twenty days of qualifying as such a personal representative. It shall be the duty of any holder of a funeral establishment license, pursuant to this section, to notify the board within thirty days if for any reason the licensed funeral director whose name is signed to the application for the issuance thereof, ceases to be employed by such the funeral establishment. Within thirty days after such notification, such the holder of a funeral establishment license may execute a new application, without payment of an application fee, for a funeral establishment license. signed by the applicant and by the licensed funeral director who shall be in charge of and responsible for all transactions conducted and services performed within the funeral establishment Failure to comply with any of these provisions shall be grounds for revocation of a funeral establishment license.
(i) A licensee whose embalmer's license, funeral director's license or license to operate a funeral establishment has been revoked under this article shall may not operate, either directly or indirectly, or hold any interest in any funeral establishment. Nothing herein contained shall prohibit a licensee or registrant whose license or registration has been revoked from leasing any property owned by him or her or them for use as a funeral establishment so long as he or she or they do not participate in the control or profit of such funeral establishment otherwise than as a lessor of the premises for a fixed rental not dependent upon earnings.
(j) All funeral homes and trade services shall display in all advertising the name of the licensee in charge. All branch facilities must display the same. At least one licensed funeral director shall supervise each main facility and at least one licensed funeral director shall directly supervise each branch facility when business is conducted at the branch establishment, except that a funeral establishment operating solely as a crematory shall not be required to employ a licensed funeral director.
§30-6-16. Reciprocity in licensing of embalmers and funeral directors.

(a) The board may recognize licenses issued to funeral directors or embalmers from other states and, upon presentation of such license, may, upon the payment of the sum of sixty eighty dollars to the director of the board, issue to the lawful holder thereof, the funeral director's or embalmer's license provided for in this article. Provided, That such recognition shall not be extended to funeral directors or embalmers holding licenses from other states unless reciprocal rights are provided by such other states to holders of funeral director's or embalmer's licenses granted in this state Such reciprocal licenses may shall be renewed annually biennially upon payment of the renewal license fee as provided for in section (6) twenty of this article for license holders residing in this state.
(b) No person is entitled to a reciprocal license as a funeral director or embalmer unless he or she furnishes proof that he or she has, in the state in which he or she is regularly licensed, complied with requirements substantially greater than or equal to those set out in this article. The board may require an applicant of a reciprocal license to take the state law examination administered by the board.
(c) Should the applicant fail to meet requirements greater than or equal to those provided in this article, the board may issue, in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, a provisional funeral director's license and a provisional embalmer's license for a probationary period of one year: Provided, That such applicant meet the following requirements:
(1) Be in good standing with applicant's home state funeral licensing board; and
(2) Submit verification of completion of five consecutive years of active practice as a funeral director and embalmer within the past seven years; and
(3) Submit three recommendations from funeral directors or embalmers with equivalent licenses in the applicant's home state, one of which must be a licensed member of the home state funeral licensing board; and
(4) Pass the state law examination administered by the board with an average score of not less than seventy-five percent; and
(5) Pass the international conference of funeral service examining boards, inc. examination with an average score of not less than seventy-five percent.
(d) No person shall be eligible for a provisional funeral director's license unless he or she holds an embalmer's license from another state.
(e) At the end of the one-year probationary period, the board may issue a regular reciprocal funeral director's license and a regular reciprocal embalmer's license at its discretion.
(f) The board may enter into agreements or contracts with other states to provide for reciprocity, so long as the requirements of other states are greater than or equal to those provided in this article.
§30-6-18. Disaster Assistance.
(a) In the event of a major natural or mechanical disaster where it is necessary to bring in a special team of funeral directors and embalmers from other states to assist a mass fatality response organization with the identification, preparation, and transportation of bodies, and other related arrangements, the board shall have the authority to grant those licensed funeral directors and licensed embalmers from other states temporary privileges to practice in this state for the duration of the disaster clean up and impending funeral services for victims of such a disaster. No licensing fee shall be required.
(b) Funeral directors and embalmers shall provide proof of licensure in another state to the board prior to granting such the privileges. Due to time constraints, this proof may be relayed to the board via facsimile, telephone call, or E-mail directly from the licensing authority in that state.
(c) Temporary permit cards shall be issued, each having a reference number, along with state of licensure, and other pertinent licensing information. Upon completion of disaster assistance, privileges shall be automatically canceled.
(d) The board shall may not issue a temporary permit card to a funeral director or embalmer who fails to prove he or she is in good standing with his or her state of licensure. A funeral director or embalmer who has been granted a temporary permit and violates any provisions of West Virginia law shall have his or her temporary permit canceled immediately.
(e) No provision of this article shall prohibit or interfere with federal or state agencies who are performing their duties and responsibilities associated with disaster assistance.
§30-6-19. Authorization for future fee modifications to be made by rule.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, beginning on the first day of July, two thousand one, the board may set any fee authorized under this article by legislative rule, in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
§30-6-20. Biennial renewals.
Immediately after the effective date of this article, all licenses and certificates of registration shall expire on the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one. One half of all licenses and certificates shall be renewed for a period of one year, to expire on the thirtieth day of June, two thousand two, and renewed biennially thereafter, and one-half shall be renewed for a period of two years, to expire on the thirtieth day of June, two thousand three, and renewed biennially thereafter. All licenses and certificates issued after the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one, shall expire biennially on the thirtieth day of June.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for more effective regulation of the funeral business. The bill provides for regulation of cremation, for students of mortuary science to receive a bachelor's degree, for fee increases, for biennial renewal of licenses, for requiring adherence to a code of ethics, for due process, for appropriate procedures for transporting of dead human bodies, for updated reciprocity, for temporary disaster assistance from other states, and for the setting of fees by legislative rule.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

 §§30-6-18 through 20 are new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.