§ 3428 — Funeral directing; registration of licenses; fees

§ 3428. Funeral directing; registration of licenses; fees. 1. (a)\nEvery person who, within the state, practices as a funeral director,\nundertaker or embalmer and every person, partnership or corporation who\nor which owns or operates within the state a funeral firm as herein\ndefined shall biennially apply to the department for an appropriate\ncertificate of registration and report, in a statement subscribed and\naffirmed as true under the penalties of perjury, any facts requested by\nthe department.\n (b) Such report by a corporation also shall set forth the name,\nresidence address and title of each of its officers and directors and\nthe name and residence address of each stockholder and other person,\nfirm and corporation having a ten per centum or greater proprietary,\nbeneficial, equitable or credit interest therein.\n (c) Every such report also shall contain a statement as to whether the\napplicant and, if a partnership, any partner and, if a corporation, any\nof the officers, directors, stockholders or other persons, firms or\ncorporations required to be listed therein had been convicted of a crime\nin the two year period immediately preceding the date of such\napplication. Such statement shall identify such crime and the\njurisdiction involved and the disposition of the charge.\n (d) Every such report shall contain a statement as to whether the\napplicant and, if a partnership, any partner and, if a corporation, any\nof the officers, directors, stockholders or other persons, firms or\ncorporations required to be listed therein, or any funeral firm with\nwhich such applicant, partner, officer, director, stockholder, person,\nfirm or corporation has been affiliated, has been found in violation of\nthe provisions of this article or any statute, rule or regulation\nrelating to funeral directing. Such statement shall identify such\nstatute, rule or regulation and the disposition of any proceeding\nthereon.\n (e) In addition to such report, every person, partnership or\ncorporation herein required to apply for a certificate shall without\ndelay inform the department by written statement of his conviction, or\nof the conviction of any member of the partnership, or, if a\ncorporation, of the conviction of any of its officers, directors,\nstockholders or other persons, firms or corporations required to be\nreported as provided by paragraph (b) of this subdivision.\n (f) In addition to any report required pursuant to this section, every\nperson, partnership or corporation herein required to apply for a\ncertificate of registration pursuant to this article shall provide\nnotice to the department of the proposed: (i) sale or transfer of all or\nsubstantially all of the assets of a funeral firm, (ii) the sale or\ntransfer of a controlling interest of such funeral firm, or (iii) the\ntermination of the business of such funeral firm where there is no\ntransferee of assets or stock. For purposes of this section, the term\n"controlling interest" shall mean a fifty-one percent interest in a\npartnership or fifty-one percent of the issued and outstanding shares of\nstock of a corporation. In the case of subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of\nthis paragraph, such notice to the department shall identify the\ntransferee or transferees of the assets or controlling interest and\ncontain a listing of the names and addresses of the persons who\ndeposited moneys with the funeral firm pursuant to section four hundred\nfifty-three of the general business law, and the amount to be\ntransferred to the transferee or transferees. In the case of the\ntermination, cessation of operation or discontinuation of the firm where\nthere is no transferee, such notice shall contain a listing of the names\nand addresses of the persons who deposited funds with the funeral firm,\nthe amount held in trust by such funeral firm and the proposed\ndisposition of the moneys so held by such funeral firm. All such notices\nshall be provided to the department not less than ten days after the\nsale or transfer of such funeral firm or not less than thirty days prior\nto the termination, cessation of operation or discontinuation of the\nbusiness of such funeral firm.\n 2. (a) An undertaker or embalmer shall pay to the department a\nbiennial registration fee of sixty-two dollars and fifty cents.\n (b) A funeral director shall pay a biennial registration fee of one\nhundred twenty-five dollars; however, initial registration shall not\nrequire such fee.\n (c) Only a registered funeral firm may operate, or engage in the\nbusiness and practice of funeral directing. Said business and practice\nmust be conducted from an approved funeral establishment. In the event a\nfuneral firm conducts its business from more than one funeral\nestablishment, the firm must be registered from each such establishment.\nIn the event more than one firm conducts its business from the same\nfuneral establishment, each firm must be registered from the\nestablishment and have an individual manager representing that firm at\nthat establishment. The initial registration fee for each required\nregistration is four hundred dollars for the period ending with the then\ncurrent biennial registration period, and the biennial registration fee\nthereafter is three hundred dollars.\n (d) The owner of a funeral firm shall pay a registration fee of one\nhundred dollars for the amendment of a certificate of registration to\nindicate a change of location, change of manager or change in firm name\nthereof.\n (e) For failure to register, an additional fee of ten dollars for each\ndelay of thirty days or part thereof beyond the first day of the\nbiennial registration period shall be added to the regular fee. The\ncommissioner may, for good cause shown, waive or compromise all or any\npart of this additional fee.\n 3. (a) Upon verification of the statements thus reported and the\nreceipt of the requisite fee, the commissioner shall issue a certificate\nof registration; except that, in those instances where a conviction\nshall have been reported as herein required, or upon other proof\nthereof, and in the case of a funeral firm where an applicant or, if a\npartnership, any partner or, if a corporation, any of its officers,\ndirectors, stockholders or other persons, firms or corporation required\nto be reported as provided by paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this\nsection, or any funeral firm with which such applicant, partner,\nofficer, director, stockholder, person, firm or corporation has been\naffiliated, has committed repeated violations of the provisions of this\narticle or any statute, rule or regulation relating to funeral\ndirecting, or has committed a significant violation, as defined by the\ncommissioner pursuant to rule and regulation, of the provisions of this\narticle or any statute, rule or regulation relating to funeral\ndirecting, the commissioner may deny an application for a certificate.\n (b) The commissioner shall afford the applicant an opportunity to be\nheard at a hearing, on due notice, conducted in accordance with the\nprovisions of this chapter, prior to the issuance of any order or\ndetermination denying such application.\n 4. The commissioner shall establish by rule and regulation the\nbeginning date of the biennial registration period. In the event that a\nchange in the established beginning date of the biennial registration\nperiod requires an adjustment in the duration of a registration period,\nthere shall be a proportionate adjustment in the prescribed fee.\n 5. Each licensee who applies for registration as a funeral director,\nundertaker or embalmer during the second year of a biennial registration\nperiod shall pay a fee of twenty-five dollars for funeral director\nregistration or twelve dollars and fifty cents for undertaker\nregistration, and twelve dollars and fifty cents for embalmer\nregistration. However, initial registration for funeral directors shall\nnot require such fee.\n 6. If any funeral director, undertaker or embalmer continues to\npractice, or any owner continues to operate a funeral firm, without\nregistration, as herein provided, his license or business registration\nmay be suspended or revoked by the department in accordance with the\nprovisions of this article.\n 7. A funeral director, undertaker or embalmer who has been heretofore\nduly licensed and registered to practice in this state whose license\nshall not have been revoked or suspended, and who either before or after\nregistration as required by this section shall have temporarily\nabandoned the practice of funeral directing, undertaking or embalming,\nor shall have removed from the state, may register within the state upon\ncomplying with the provisions of this section for registration, and\nalso, filing with the department a statement of such facts subscribed\nand affirmed by him as true under the penalties of perjury.\n 8. Every funeral director, undertaker or embalmer shall communicate\nwith the department in the event that the application blank for\nregistration fails to reach them.\n 9. A funeral director, undertaker or embalmer who has been heretofore\nduly licensed and registered to practice in this state whose license\nshall not have been revoked or suspended and who no longer practices\nfuneral directing, may apply for an inactive certificate of\nregistration. The fee for an inactive certificate of registration shall\nbe the same amount as the regular certificate of registration. Upon\ncomplying with the provisions of this section and section three thousand\nfour hundred twenty-nine of this title for registration, a regular\ncertificate of registration shall be reinstated. An inactive registrant\nshall be considered duly licensed and registered solely for the purposes\nof section three thousand four hundred forty-three of this article,\nprovided, however, that any such registrant using his or her name in any\nadvertising or promotional materials shall disclose their inactive\nstatus in such materials.\n