PRINTER'S NO. 1977
No. 1619 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY ROHRER, BROWNE, THOMAS, CLARK, FICHTER, FRANKEL,
HENNESSEY, PISTELLA, SOLOBAY, E. Z. TAYLOR, TRELLO,
WASHINGTON AND WILT, MAY 21, 2001
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, MAY 21, 2001
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of January 14, 1952 (1951 P.L.1898, No.522),
2 entitled, as amended, "An act to provide for the better
3 protection of life and health of the citizens of this
4 Commonwealth by requiring and regulating the examination,
5 licensure and registration of persons and registration of
6 corporations engaging in the care, preparation and
7 disposition of the bodies of deceased persons, and providing
8 penalties; providing for a State Board of Funeral Directors
9 in the Department of State, and repealing other laws,"
10 further providing for prepayments for funerals.
11 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
12 hereby enacts as follows:
13 Section 1. Section 13(c) of the act of January 14, 1952
14 (1951 P.L.1898, No.522), known as the Funeral Director Law,
15 added July 25, 1953 (P.L.592, No.163), is amended to read:
16 Section 13. Practice Without License; Exceptions.--* * *
17 (c) No person other than a licensed funeral director shall,
18 directly or indirectly, or through an agent, offer to or enter
19 into a contract with a living person to render funeral services
20 to such person when needed. If any such licensed funeral
21 director shall accept any money for such contracts, he shall,
1 forthwith, either deposit the same in an escrow account in, or
2 transfer the same in trust to, a banking institution in this
3 Commonwealth[, conditioned upon its withdrawal or disbursement
4 only for the purposes for which such money was accepted]. A
5 funeral director shall use these moneys in accordance with the
6 terms of the contract or shall, within 10 days of the written
7 request of a person or the person's personal representative,
8 return the money to the person or the person's estate. If the
9 money is returned, the contract shall be null and void, and the
10 funeral director may retain 10% of the money or $500, whichever
11 is less. This subsection does not apply to a contract by a bona
12 fide institution that it will provide professional funeral
13 services for persons who may die while inmates of the
14 institution, if such contract is made as a part of its contract
15 for housing, maintaining and caring for its inmates.
16 * * *
17 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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