1 REPORT BY THE PRESIDENT’S TASK FORCE ON PUERTO RICO’S STATUS (Dec. 2007)(“Task

Force Report”), available at http://www.justice.gov/opa/documents/2007-report-by-thepresident-task-force-on-puerto-rico-status.pdf.

2 Id. at 3.

3 Id.

4 Id.

5 Pub. L. 600.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580

Division of Marketing Practices

Craig Tregillus Direct Dial: (202) 326-2970

ctregillus@ftc.gov Facsimile: (202) 326-3395

May 14, 2010

Mr. Carlos E. Rodriguez, President

Celestium Crematory

P.O. Box 9086

Plaza Carolina Station

Carolina, Puerto Rico 00988-9086

Dear Mr. Rodriguez:

You have asked for confirmation of your understanding that the Commission’s Funeral

Rule applies to funeral providers in Puerto Rico. Your request was prompted by a recent hearing

examining funeral home practices in the Commonwealth House of Representatives where some

legislators expressed their belief that the Rule is inapplicable in Puerto Rico, giving funeral

providers there the impression they need not comply. You are correct, of course, that the Rule

does apply to funeral providers in Puerto Rico, as a brief review of the history of the relationship

between the United States and Puerto Rico shows.

A Presidential task force has recounted that history,1

 but it is useful to summarize it here. 

Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States by Spain in 1898 pursuant to the Treaty of Paris,

which ended the Spanish-American war.2

 After two years under a military governor, Congress

in 1900 established a civilian government for Puerto Rico.3

 In 1917, Congress established the

island as an “organized but unincorporated” territory and granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto

Ricans.4

 In 1952, pursuant to the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act,5 a referendum vote by the

people of Puerto Rico approved a new constitution, also approved by Congress later that year,
Mr. Carlos E. Rodriguez

Page 2 of 3

6 Task Force Report at 3.

7 Id. at 3-4.

8 Art. IV, § 3, cl. 2.

9 Task Force Report at 5; see note 4 supra, and accompanying text.

10 See, e.g., Harris v. Rosario, 446 U.S. 651 (1980). 

11 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1).

12 15 U.S.C. § 44 (emphasis added).

13 47 Fed. Reg. 42260, 42263 (Sept. 24, 1982)

14 15 U.S.C. § 57a(a)(1)(B) (emphasis added).

which established the present-day Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.6 In four subsequent

plebiscites, Puerto Ricans have declined to alter that status in favor of becoming a state or an

independent sovereign nation.7

The U.S. Constitution provides that “[t]he Congress shall have power to dispose of and

make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the

United States.”8

 The Department of Justice accordingly affirmed Puerto Rico’s territorial status

in 1959, several years after the creation of the Commonwealth,9

 as has the Supreme Court.10

Thus, Puerto Rico is a “territory” of the United States.

Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”) prohibits “unfair or

deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.”11 Section 4 of the FTC Act defines

“commerce” as follows:

Commerce means commerce among the several states or with foreign

nations, or in any territory of the United States or in the District of Columbia, or

between any such territory and another, or between any such territory and any

state or foreign nation, or between the District of Columbia and any state or

territory or foreign nation.12

The Commission’s Funeral Rule was issued in 1982 pursuant to Section 18(a)(1) of the

FTC Act,13 which mandates, in pertinent part, that any such rule “define with specificity acts or

practices which are unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce (within the

meaning of such section 5(a)(1)).”14 Consequently, the Funeral Rule has the same jurisdictional

reach over unfair or deceptive acts or practices as Section 5 of the FTC Act, which reaches

commerce “in any territory of the United States.” Because Puerto Rico remains a U.S.

“territory,” the Funeral Rule applies to funeral providers in Puerto Rico.
Mr. Carlos E. Rodriguez

Page 3 of 3

I am enclosing copies in English and Spanish of the Compliance Guide to the Funeral

Rule. The Guide is also available on the FTC’s website in English at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/

edu/pubs/business/adv/bus05.pdf and in Spanish at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/

adv/sbus05.pdf. 

Please be advised that the views expressed in this letter are those of the FTC staff. They

have not been reviewed, approved, or adopted by the Commission, and they are not binding upon

the Commission. However, they do reflect the opinions of those staff members charged with

enforcement of the Funeral Rule. Staff Funeral Rule opinions are routinely posted on the FTC

website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/funerals/staffopinions.shtm.

Sincerely,

 /s/

Craig Tregillus

Funeral Rule Coordinator