I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5212 

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

or deceptive acts or practices related to the provision of funeral goods 

or funeral services. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 12, 2016 

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 goods or 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 2016’’. 

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 

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1 Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, Menorah Gardens 

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

3 Crematory in Noble, Georgia; 

4 (2) funeral arrangements are a major expense 

5 for most American households and families; 

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

7 their families by arranging and paying for preneed 

8 funeral and cemetery arrangements; 

9 (4) most funerals are planned by grieving fam10 ily members at a time when they are especially vul11 nerable and unlikely to focus on cost comparison; 

12 (5) the Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral 

13 Industry Practices Trade Regulation Rule (known as 

14 the Funeral Rule) dictates consumer protections in 

15 the funeral home, but does not cover the practices 

16 of cemeteries, crematoria, or sellers of monuments, 

17 urns, or caskets; 

18 (6) State laws are inconsistent and frequently 

19 too weak to provide adequate consumer protections, 

20 creating a need for minimum Federal standards in 

21 this area; 

22 (7) consumers have the right to receive clear 

23 and accurate information about all funeral goods 

24 and funeral services offered for sale; 

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1 (8) consumers need effective protection from 

2 fraud and abusive practices by all providers of fu3 neral goods and funeral services and at all stages of 

4 the funeral planning process; and 

5 (9) a new Federal law that provides adequate 

6 protections to grieving families is warranted. 

7 SEC. 3. FTC RULEMAKING RELATING TO UNFAIR OR DE8 CEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES IN THE PROVI9 SION OF FUNERAL GOODS OR FUNERAL 

10 SERVICES. 

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

12 shall prescribe rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts 

13 or practices in the provision of funeral goods or funeral 

14 services. Such rules shall include the following: 

15 (1) A requirement that providers of funeral 

16 goods or funeral services furnish accurate price in17 formation disclosing clearly and conspicuously the 

18 cost to the purchaser for each of the specific funeral 

19 goods or funeral services provided or offered for sale. 

20 (2) A prohibition on misrepresentations by such 

21 providers, including misrepresentations of the re22 quirements of Federal, State, or local law. 

23 (3) A prohibition on conditioning the provision 

24 of any funeral good or funeral service upon the purmstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with BILLS

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1 chase of any other funeral good or funeral service 

2 from that provider, except as required by law. 

3 (4) A requirement that any presale disclosures 

4 and contracts for funeral services or funeral goods 

5 be written clearly, stating the merchandise and serv6 ices that purchasers are buying and their prices. 

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

8 or funeral goods that are prepaid in whole or in 

9 part, a requirement for clear and conspicuous 

10 presale and contractual disclosure regarding any 

11 penalties incurred if the consumer decides to cancel 

12 or transfer the contract to another provider of fu13 neral services or funeral goods. 

14 (6) A requirement that contracts for funeral 

15 services or funeral goods disclose clearly and con16 spicuously all fees and costs to be incurred in the fu17 ture or at the time that the funeral services or fu18 neral goods are provided. 

19 (7) A requirement that cemeteries provide to 

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

21 regulations of the cemetery, and a clear explanation 

22 in writing of the interment, inurnment, or entomb23 ment right that has been purchased, and any mate24 rial terms and conditions of that purchase, including 

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1 any repurchase option by the cemetery or resale 

2 rights available to the consumer. 

3 (8) A requirement that cemeteries— 

4 (A) retain all records in existence on the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, including maps 

6 or other systems indicating the location and 

7 date of each interment, inurnment, or entomb8 ment; 

9 (B) accurately record and retain records of 

10 all interments, inurnments, or entombments oc11 curring, as well as any internment, inurnment, 

12 or entombment rights sold, after the effective 

13 date of the regulations issued under this sub14 section, in such manner and form as the Com15 mission may prescribe in such regulations; and 

16 (C) make such records available to Fed17 eral, State, and local governments, as appro18 priate. 

19 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Commission shall prescribe 

20 the rules under subsection (a) within 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act. Such rules, and any future rules 

22 or revision of rules prescribed by the Commission prohib23 iting unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the provision 

24 of funeral goods or funeral services, shall be prescribed 

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1 in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (c) APPLICATION OF RULES TO TAX-EXEMPT ORGA4 NIZATIONS AND STATES.—Notwithstanding the definition 

5 of corporation in section 4 of the Federal Trade Commis6 sion Act (15 U.S.C. 44), the rules prescribed under sub7 section (a), and any future rules or revision of rules pre8 scribed by the Commission prohibiting unfair or deceptive 

9 acts or practices in the provision of funeral goods or fu10 neral services, shall also apply to cemeteries organized or 

11 operated by— 

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

13 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that are exempt 

14 from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code, ex15 cept for cemeteries organized, operated, managed, 

16 and owned by a religious denomination, middle judi17 catory, house of worship, or similar religious organi18 zation, and that are not organized, operated, man19 aged, or owned by contract or affiliation with a for20 profit provider of funeral goods or funeral services 

21 that offers those goods or services for sale to the 

22 public; or 

23 (2) States or any political subdivision of a 

24 State. 

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1 (d) ENFORCEMENT.—Any violation of any rule pre2 scribed under this section shall be treated as a violation 

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

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

5 regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The Fed6 eral Trade Commission shall enforce this Act in the same 

7 manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdic8 tion as though all applicable terms and provisions of the 

9 Federal Trade Commission Act were incorporated into and 

10 made a part of this Act. Any person who violates the regu11 lations prescribed under this Act shall be subject to the 

12 penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities 

13 provided in that Act. 

14 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY STATES. 

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

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

17 residents of that State have been or are being threatened 

18 or adversely affected because any person has engaged or 

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

20 of the Commission issued under section 3 of this Act or 

21 the Trade Regulation Rule on Funeral Industry Practices 

22 (16 C.F.R. 453.1 et seq.), the State, as parens patriae, 

23 may bring a civil action on behalf of its residents in an 

24 appropriate district court of the United States to enjoin 

25 such violative act or practice, to enforce compliance with 

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1 such rule of the Commission, to obtain damages, restitu2 tion, or other compensation on behalf of residents of such 

3 State, or to obtain such further and other relief as the 

4 court may determine appropriate. 

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

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

7 to the Commission and provide the Commission with a 

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

9 the State to provide such prior notice, the State shall pro10 vide such notice immediately upon instituting such action. 

11 Upon receiving a notice respecting a civil action, the Com12 mission shall have the right— 

13 (1) to intervene in such action; 

14 (2) upon so intervening, to be heard on all mat15 ters arising therein; 

16 (3) to remove the action to the appropriate 

17 United States district court; and 

18 (4) to file petitions for appeal. 

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

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

21 prevent an attorney general from exercising the powers 

22 conferred on the attorney general by the laws of such 

23 State to conduct investigations or to administer oaths or 

24 affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses or 

25 the production of documentary and other evidence. 

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1 (d) ACTIONS BY COMMISSION.—Whenever a civil ac2 tion has been instituted by or on behalf of the Commission 

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

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

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

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

7 against any defendant named in the complaint in such ac8 tion for violation of any rule as alleged in such complaint. 

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

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

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

12 in which the defendant is found, is an inhabitant, or trans13 acts business or wherever venue is proper under section 

14 1391 of title 28, United States Code. Process in such an 

15 action may be served in any district in which the defend16 ant is an inhabitant or in which the defendant may be 

17 found. 

18 (f) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFICIALS.— 

19 (1) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing contained in this 

20 section shall prohibit an authorized State official 

21 from proceeding in State court on the basis of an al22 leged violation of any civil or criminal statute of 

23 such State. 

24 (2) OTHER STATE ACTIONS.—In addition to ac25 tions brought by an attorney general of a State 

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

2 may be brought by officers of such State who are 

3 authorized by the State to bring actions in such 

4 State on behalf of its residents. 

5 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW. 

6 Nothing in this Act or the rules prescribed under this 

7 Act shall be construed to preempt any provision of any 

8 law of a State or political subdivision of that State that 

9 provides protections to consumers of funeral services or 

10 funeral goods, except to the extent that the provision of 

11 law is inconsistent with any provision of this Act or a rule 

12 prescribed under this Act, and then only to the extent of 

13 the inconsistency. 

14 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act— 

16 (1) the term ‘‘cemetery’’ means any organiza17 tion, association, or other business that offers for 

18 sale the interment, inurnment, or entombment of 

19 human remains, but does not include any cemetery 

20 that— 

21 (A) performs fewer than a total of 25 in22 terments, inurnments, and entombments during 

23 any calendar year; or 

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1 (B) sells fewer than a total of 25 inter2 ment rights, inurnment rights, and entombment 

3 rights during any calendar year; 

4 (2) the term ‘‘funeral goods’’ means the goods 

5 which are sold or offered for sale directly to the pub6 lic for use in connection with funeral services; and 

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

8 (A) any services which are sold or offered 

9 for sale directly to the public in order to— 

10 (i) care for and prepare deceased 

11 human bodies for burial, cremation, or 

12 other final disposition; or 

13 (ii) arrange, supervise, or conduct the 

14 funeral ceremony or the final disposition of 

15 deceased human bodies; or 

16 (B) services provided by funeral directors, 

17 morticians, cemeterians, cremationists, and re18 tailers of caskets, urns, monuments, and mark19 ers. 

Æ 

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