I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3655 

To direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish rules to prohibit unfair 

or deceptive acts or practices related to the provision of funeral services. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2009 

Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish rules 

to prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices related 

to the provision of funeral services. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bereaved Consumer’s 

5 Bill of Rights Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) there have been shocking consumer abuses 

9 in the funeral industry, including scandals at Burr 

10 Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, Menorah Gardens 


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1 Cemetery in Palm Beach, Florida, and the Tri State 

2 Crematory in Noble, Georgia; 

3 (2) funeral arrangements are a major expense 

4 for most American households and families; 

5 (3) some consumers seek to ease the burdens on 

6 their families by arranging and paying for pre-need 

7 funeral and cemetery arrangements; 

8 (4) most funerals are planned by grieving fam9 ily members at a time when they are especially vul10 nerable and unlikely to focus on cost comparison; 

11 (5) the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral 

12 Industry Practices Trade Regulation Rule (known as 

13 the Funeral Rule) dictates consumer protections in 

14 the funeral home, but does not cover the practices 

15 of cemeteries, crematoria, or sellers of monuments, 

16 urns, or caskets; 

17 (6) State laws are inconsistent and frequently 

18 too weak to provide adequate consumer protections, 

19 creating a need for minimum federal standards in 

20 this area; 

21 (7) consumers have the right to receive clear 

22 and accurate information about all funeral goods 

23 and services offered for sale; 

24 (8) consumers need effective protection from 

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1 neral goods and services and at all stages of the fu2 neral planning process; and 

3 (9) a new Federal law that provides adequate 

4 protections to grieving families is warranted. 

5 SEC. 3. FTC RULEMAKING RELATING TO UNFAIR OR DE6 CEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES IN THE PROVI7 SION OF FUNERAL GOODS OR SERVICES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade Commission 

9 shall prescribe rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts 

10 or practices in the provision of funeral goods or services. 

11 Such rules shall include the following: 

12 (1) A requirement that providers of funeral 

13 goods or funeral services furnish accurate price in14 formation disclosing the cost to the purchaser for 

15 each of the specific funeral goods or funeral services 

16 provided or offered for sale. 

17 (2) A prohibition on misrepresentations by such 

18 providers, including misrepresentations of the re19 quirements of Federal, State, or local law. 

20 (3) A prohibition on conditioning the provision 

21 of any funeral good or funeral service upon the pur22 chase of any other funeral good or funeral service 

23 from that provider, except as required by law. 

24 (4) A requirement that contracts for funeral 

25 services or funeral goods be written clearly, stating 


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1 the merchandise and services that purchasers are 

2 buying and their prices. 

3 (5) In the case of contracts for funeral services 

4 or funeral goods that are pre-paid in whole or in 

5 part, required disclosures in the contract regarding 

6 any penalties incurred if the consumer decides to 

7 cancel or transfer the contract to another provider 

8 of funeral services or funeral goods. 

9 (6) A requirement that contracts for funeral 

10 services or funeral goods disclose all fees and costs 

11 to be incurred in the future or at the time that the 

12 funeral services or funeral goods are provided. 

13 (7) A requirement that cemeteries provide to 

14 consumers, in a timely manner, all written rules and 

15 regulations of the cemetery, and a clear explanation 

16 in writing of the interment, inurnment, or entomb17 ment right that has been purchased, and any mate18 rial terms and conditions of that purchase, including 

19 any repurchase option by the cemetery or resale 

20 rights available to the consumer. 

21 (8) A requirement that cemeteries— 

22 (A) retain all records in existence on the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, including maps 

24 or other systems indicating the location and 


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1 date of each interment, inurnment, or entomb2 ment; 

3 (B) accurately record and retain records of 

4 all interment, inurnment, or entombment rights 

5 sold after the effective date of the regulations 

6 issued under this subsection, in such manner 

7 and form as the Commission may prescribe in 

8 such regulations; and 

9 (C) make such records available to Fed10 eral, State, and local governments, as appro11 priate. 

12 (b) RULEMAKING.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall pre14 scribe the rules under subsection (a) within 1 year 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act. Such rules, 

16 and any future rules or revision of rules prescribed 

17 by the Commission prohibiting unfair or deceptive 

18 acts or practices in the provision of funeral goods or 

19 services, shall be prescribed in accordance with sec20 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

21 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO FUNERAL RULE.—No 

22 rule prescribed pursuant to this Act shall be less 

23 protective of consumers than the Trade Regulation 

24 Rule on Funeral Industry Practices (16 C.F.R. part 

25 453). 


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1 (c) APPLICATION OF RULES TO TAX EXEMPT ORGA2 NIZATIONS AND STATES.—Notwithstanding the definition 

3 of corporation in section 4 of the Federal Trade Commis4 sion Act (15 U.S.C. 44), the rules prescribed under sub5 section (a), and any future rules or revision of rules pre6 scribed by the Commission prohibiting unfair or deceptive 

7 acts or practices in the provision of funeral goods or fu8 neral services, shall also apply to cemeteries organized or 

9 operated by— 

10 (1) organizations described in section 501(c) of 

11 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that are exempt 

12 from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code; 

13 (2) religious organizations (notwithstanding any 

14 contrary provisions of law set forth in the Religious 

15 Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000bb— 

16 2000bb–4); and 

17 (3) States or any political subdivision of a 

18 State. 

19 (d) ENFORCEMENT.—Any violation of any rule pre20 scribed under this section shall be treated as a violation 

21 of a regulation prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the 

22 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) 

23 regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The Fed24 eral Trade Commission shall enforce this Act in the same 

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1 tion as though all applicable terms and provisions of the 

2 Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and 

3 made a part of this Act. Any person who violates the regu4 lations prescribed under this Act shall be subject to the 

5 penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities 

6 provided in that Act. 

7 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY STATES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Whenever an attorney general of 

9 any State has reason to believe that the interests of the 

10 residents of that State have been or are being threatened 

11 or adversely affected because any person has engaged or 

12 is engaging in an act or practice which violates any rule 

13 of the Commission issued under section 3 of this Act, the 

14 State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf 

15 of its residents in an appropriate district court of the 

16 United States to enjoin such violative act or practice, to 

17 enforce compliance with such rule of the Commission, to 

18 obtain damages, restitution, or other compensation on be19 half of residents of such State, or to obtain such further 

20 and other relief as the court may determine appropriate. 

21 (b) NOTICE.—The State shall provide prior written 

22 notice of any civil action under subsection (a) or (f)(2) 

23 to the Commission and provide the Commission with a 

24 copy of its complaint, except that if it is not feasible for 

25 the State to provide such prior notice, the State shall proVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:36 Sep 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3655.IH H3655

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1 vide such notice immediately upon instituting such action. 

2 Upon receiving a notice respecting a civil action, the Com3 mission shall have the right— 

4 (1) to intervene in such action; 

5 (2) upon so intervening, to be heard on all mat6 ters arising therein; 

7 (3) to remove the action to the appropriate 

8 United States district court; and 

9 (4) to file petitions for appeal. 

10 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing any 

11 civil action under subsection (a), nothing in this Act shall 

12 prevent an attorney general from exercising the powers 

13 conferred on the attorney general by the laws of such 

14 State to conduct investigations or to administer oaths or 

15 affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses or 

16 the production of documentary and other evidence. 

17 (d) ACTIONS BY COMMISSION.—Whenever a civil ac18 tion has been instituted by or on behalf of the Commission 

19 for violation of any rule prescribed under section 3 of this 

20 Act, no State may, during the pendency of such action 

21 instituted by or on behalf of the Commission, institute a 

22 civil action under subsection (a) or (f)(2) of this section 

23 against any defendant named in the complaint in such ac24 tion for violation of any rule as alleged in such complaint. 


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1 (e) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.—Any civil action 

2 brought under subsection (a) of this section in a district 

3 court of the United States may be brought in the district 

4 in which the defendant is found, is an inhabitant, or trans5 acts business or wherever venue is proper under section 

6 1391 of title 28, United States Code. Process in such an 

7 action may be served in any district in which the defend8 ant is an inhabitant or in which the defendant may be 

9 found. 

10 (f) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFICIALS.— 

11 (1) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing contained in this 

12 section shall prohibit an authorized State official 

13 from proceeding in State court on the basis of an al14 leged violation of any civil or criminal statute of 

15 such State. 

16 (2) OTHER STATE ACTIONS.—In addition to ac17 tions brought by an attorney general of a State 

18 under subsection (a) of this section, such an action 

19 may be brought by officers of such State who are 

20 authorized by the State to bring actions in such 

21 State on behalf of its residents. 

22 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW. 

23 (a) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this Act or the 

24 rules prescribed under this Act shall be construed to pre25 empt any provision of any law of a State or political subVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:36 Sep 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3655.IH H3655

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1 division of that State that provides protections to con2 sumers of funeral services or funeral goods, except to the 

3 extent that the provision of law is inconsistent with any 

4 provision of this Act or a rule prescribed under this Act, 

5 and then only to the extent of the inconsistency. 

6 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘cemetery’’ means any organiza9 tion, association or other business that offers for 

10 sale the interment, inurnment, or entombment of 

11 human remains, but does not include any cemetery 

12 that— 

13 (A) performs fewer than 25 interments, 

14 inurnments, and entombments during any cal15 endar year; or 

16 (B) sells fewer than 25 interment, 

17 inurnment, or entombment rights during any 

18 calendar year; 

19 (2) the term ‘‘funeral goods’’ are the goods 

20 which are sold or offered for sale directly to the pub21 lic for use in connection with funeral services; and 

22 (3) the term ‘‘funeral services’’ means— 

23 (A) any services which are sold or offered 

24 for sale to the public in order to— 


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1 (i) care for and prepare deceased 

2 human bodies for burial, cremation, or 

3 other final disposition; or 

4 (ii) arrange, supervise, or conduct the 

5 funeral ceremony or the final disposition of 

6 deceased human bodies; or 

7 (B) services provided by funeral directors, 

8 morticians, cemeterians, cremationists, and re9 tailers of caskets, urns, monuments, and mark10 ers. 

Æ 


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