Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services

Prohibits funeral and cemetery licensees from entering contracts that make them the exclusive provider of services for medical, palliative, or end-of-life care facilities.

Increases the minimum acreage requirement for new cemetery licenses from the previous standard to at least 30 contiguous acres.

Requires that all burial rights sold in land being sold by a cemetery must be transferred back to the licensee before the sale can be finalized.

Updates the process for notifying consumers about the cancellation of preneed funeral contracts, including requirements for diligent searches for new contact addresses.

Extends the timeframe for disposing of unclaimed cremated remains from 90 days to 120 days.

Removes an exception that allowed certain applicants to bypass educational requirements for funeral director licensure.

Updates educational and testing requirements for embalmers, funeral directors, and combination license applicants, including new criteria for interns.

Added a ban on funeral or cemetery licensees entering contracts that make them the exclusive provider of services for medical or end-of-life care entities.

Increased the minimum contiguous acreage required to open a new cemetery from 20 to 30 acres.

Expanded the search for contact information when notifying families of cancelled preneed contracts to include addresses found in public databases and address services.

Removed an exception that allowed funeral director interns to qualify with only an associate degree, requiring them to meet standard educational credentials instead.

Removed an exception that allowed applicants for funeral director licensure to bypass standard educational requirements.

Extended the waiting period before a funeral home can dispose of unclaimed cremated remains from 90 days to 120 days.