I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4112 

To establish consumer protections, including disclosure requirements, relating 

to funeral service contracts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2004 

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

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish consumer protections, including disclosure requirements, relating to funeral service contracts, and for 

other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Federal Death Care 

5 Disclosure Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act the following definitions apply: 

8 (1) ALTERNATIVE CONTAINER.—The term ‘‘al9 ternative container’’ means an unfinished wooden 

10 box or other nonmetal receptacle or enclosure, with-
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1 out ornamentation or a fixed interior lining, which 

2 is designed for the encasement of human remains 

3 and which is made of fiberboard, pressed-wood, com4 position materials (with or without an outside cov5 ering), or similar materials. 

6 (2) ARRANGEMENT SERVICES FEE.—The term 

7 ‘‘arrangement services fee’’ means a reasonable fee 

8 that— 

9 (A) is charged to cover professional and 

10 overhead costs, including staff time dedicated to 

11 conducting arrangement conferences, imple12 menting arrangement instructions, obtaining 

13 permits or other authorizations, preparing no14 tices for newspapers, coordinating with clergy 

15 and monument dealers, and similar activities; 

16 and 

17 (B) is— 

18 (i) calculated at an hourly rate; or 

19 (ii) a series of flat-rate fees for spe20 cific arrangements made by a funeral serv21 ice provider. 

22 (3) CASH ADVANCE ITEM.—The term ‘‘cash ad23 vance item’’ means any item of service or merchan24 dise described to a purchaser as a cash advance, ac25 commodation, cash disbursement, or similar term. A 
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1 cash advance item includes any item obtained from 

2 a third party and paid for by the funeral provider 

3 on the purchaser’s behalf. Cash advance items in4 clude cemetery or crematory services, pallbearers, 

5 public transportation, clergy honoraria, flowers, mu6 sicians, singers, nurses, permit fees, obituary no7 tices, gratuities, and death certificates. 

8 (4) CASKET.—The term ‘‘casket’’ means a rigid 

9 container which is designed for the encasement of 

10 human remains and which is usually constructed of 

11 wood, metal, fiberglass, plastic, or like material, and 

12 ornamented and lined with fabric. 

13 (5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

14 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

15 (6) CREMATION.—The term ‘‘cremation’’ means 

16 a heating process which incinerates human remains. 

17 (7) CREMATORY.—The term ‘‘crematory’’ 

18 means any person, partnership, or corporation that 

19 performs cremation. 

20 (8) DECEPTIVE PRACTICE.—The term ‘‘decep21 tive practice’’ means an unfair or deceptive act or 

22 practice in or affecting commerce that violates sec23 tion 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

24 U.S.C. 45(a)). 
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1 (9) DIRECT CREMATION.—The term ‘‘direct 

2 cremation’’ means a disposition of human remains 

3 by cremation without formal viewing, visitation, or 

4 ceremony with the body present. 

5 (10) FUNERAL CEREMONY.—The term ‘‘funeral 

6 ceremony’’ means a service commemorating a de7 ceased person that occurs with the body of the de8 ceased person present. 

9 (11) FUNERAL GOODS.—The term ‘‘funeral 

10 goods’’ means goods which are sold or offered for 

11 sale directly to the public for use in connection with 

12 funeral services. 

13 (12) FUNERAL PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘funeral 

14 provider’’ means any person, partnership, or cor15 poration that sells or offers to sell funeral goods or 

16 funeral services to the public. 

17 (13) FUNERAL SERVICES.—The term ‘‘funeral 

18 services’’ means— 

19 (A) any services which may be used to— 

20 (i) care for and prepare deceased 

21 human bodies for burial, cremation, or 

22 other final disposition; and 

23 (ii) arrange, supervise, or conduct the 

24 funeral ceremony or the final disposition of 

25 deceased human bodies; and 
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1 (B) services provided by funeral directors, 

2 morticians, cemeterians, cremationists, and me3 morial retailers. 

4 (14) IMMEDIATE BURIAL.—The term ‘‘imme5 diate burial’’ means a disposition of human remains 

6 by burial, without formal viewing, visitation, or cere7 mony with the body present, except for a graveside 

8 service. 

9 (15) MEMORIAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘memo10 rial service’’ means a ceremony commemorating the 

11 deceased without the body present. 

12 (16) MEMORIAL RETAILER.—The term ‘‘memo13 rial retailer’’ means a person who sells or offers to 

14 sell to the public any memorial intended to mark the 

15 location of the internment of human remains. 

16 (17) OUTER BURIAL CONTAINER.—The term 

17 ‘‘outer burial container’’ means any container which 

18 is designed for placement in the grave around the 

19 casket including, but not limited to, containers com20 monly known as burial vaults, grave boxes, and 

21 grave liners. 

22 (18) PRENEED CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘preneed 

23 contract’’ means a funeral contract arranged for and 

24 paid, in part or in full, prior to an anticipated death. 
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1 (19) PURCHASER OF FUNERAL GOODS OR FU2 NERAL SERVICES.—The terms ‘‘purchaser of funeral 

3 goods or funeral services’’ and ‘‘purchaser’’ mean 

4 any person who— 

5 (A) purchases funeral goods or funeral 

6 services from a funeral provider; or 

7 (B) contacts a funeral provider, in any 

8 manner, including in person, by telephone, by 

9 mail, or electronically, to obtain information re10 lated to purchasing funeral goods or funeral 

11 services. 

12 (20) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION RELATED TO

13 FUNERAL GOODS OR FUNERAL SERVICES.—The term 

14 ‘‘request for information related to funeral goods or 

15 funeral services’’ means any inquiry made by a per16 son to a funeral provider for information related to 

17 such goods or services. Such request may be made 

18 in person, in writing, by telephone, or electronically. 

19 SEC. 3. PRICE DISCLOSURES. 

20 (a) DECEPTIVE PRACTICES.—It shall be a deceptive 

21 trade practice under section 5(a) of the Federal Trade 

22 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)) for a funeral provider 

23 to fail to provide, in a timely manner— 

24 (1) in response to a request for information re25 lated to funeral goods or funeral services— 
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1 (A) accurate, printed information regard2 ing the price of the funeral goods and funeral 

3 services described in subsection (b); and 

4 (B) the printed disclosures described in 

5 subsection (c); or 

6 (2) in response to a specific request for the 

7 prices of caskets, alternative containers, or outer 

8 burial containers, a list of the prices of each model 

9 of casket, alternative container, or outer burial con10 tainer that the funeral provider offers for sale. 

11 (b) FUNERAL GOODS AND FUNERAL SERVICES.— 

12 The price of funeral goods and funeral services referred 

13 to in subsection (a)(1)(A) means the retail price, ex14 pressed as a flat fee or a price per hour, mile, or other 

15 unit, of all funeral goods and services offered by a funeral 

16 provider, including the following: 

17 (1) Embalming. 

18 (2) Transportation of remains. 

19 (3) The use of facilities. 

20 (4) Staff attendance at meetings, gatherings, or 

21 services. 

22 (5) Equipment usage or rental. 

23 (6) Casket and alternative containers. 

24 (7) Outer burial container. 

25 (8) Immediate burials. 
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1 (9) Direct cremations. 

2 (10) Crematory services. 

3 (11) Viewing, without embalming. 

4 (12) Insurance or benefit processing fee. 

5 (13) Internment rights. 

6 (14) Opening and closing charges. 

7 (15) Monuments, markers, or memorials. 

8 (c) DISCLOSURES.—The disclosures referred to in 

9 subsection (a)(1)(B) are the following disclosures: 

10 (1) The name, address, and telephone number 

11 of the funeral provider’s place of business. 

12 (2) The effective date of any prices provided. 

13 (3) The following statement: ‘‘For information 

14 on the purchase of funerals and consumer rights or 

15 to file a complaint, you may contact 

16 llllll.’’, with the blank space being filled 

17 with the name, address, phone number, and other 

18 relevant information for contacting the State agency 

19 or agencies responsible for handling consumer in20 quiries and complaints pertaining to death care serv21 ice providers. 

22 (4) Contact information, including a toll-free 

23 number, for an agency that provides information re24 lated to veteran’s benefits. 
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1 (5) In immediate conjunction with the price of 

2 embalming, the following statements: 

3 (A) ‘‘Except in certain special cases, em4 balming is not required by law. Embalming may 

5 be necessary, however, if you select certain fu6 neral arrangements, such as a funeral with 

7 viewing. If you do not want embalming, you 

8 usually have the right to choose an arrange9 ment that does not require you to pay for it, 

10 such as direct cremation, immediate burial, or 

11 other timely disposition.’’. The phrase ‘‘except 

12 in certain special cases’’ shall not be included in 

13 the disclosure if State or local law in the area 

14 where the provider does business does not re15 quire embalming under any circumstances. 

16 (B) ‘‘If you selected a funeral that may re17 quire embalming, such as a funeral with view18 ing, you may have to pay for embalming. You 

19 do not have to pay for embalming you did not 

20 approve if you selected arrangements such as a 

21 direct cremation or immediate burial. If we 

22 charged for embalming, we will explain why 

23 below.’’. 

24 (6) In immediate conjunction with the price of 

25 direct cremations, the following disclosure: ‘‘If you 
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1 want to arrange a direct cremation, you can use an 

2 alternative container. Alternative containers encase 

3 the body and can be made of materials like fiber4 board or composition materials (with or without an 

5 outside covering). The containers we provide are 

6 llllll.’’, with the blank space being filled 

7 with a description of the container and its construc8 tion. 

9 (7) In immediate conjunction with the price of 

10 any outer burial container, the following disclosure: 

11 ‘‘In most areas of the country, State or local law 

12 does not require that you buy a container to sur13 round the casket in the grave. However, many ceme14 teries require that you have such a container so that 

15 the grave will not sink or settle. Either a grave liner 

16 or a burial vault will satisfy these requirements.’’. 

17 The phrase ‘‘in most areas of the country’’ shall not 

18 be included in this disclosure if State or local law in 

19 the area where the provider does business does not 

20 require a container to surround the casket in the 

21 grave. 

22 (8) In immediate conjunction with the price of 

23 any casket or sealer casket, the following disclosure: 

24 ‘‘There is no scientific or other evidence that any 
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1 casket with a sealing device will preserve human re2 mains.’’ 

3 (d) TIMELY MANNER.—For the purposes of sub4 section (a), information is provided in a timely manner 

5 if it is provided to the purchaser of funeral goods or fu6 neral services at the first opportunity, which may not be 

7 later than the first selling, showing, or making any rep8 resentation about any funeral goods or funeral services. 

9 (e) SPECIFIC APPLICATION.—The requirements of 

10 subsection (a) apply to every communication between a fu11 neral provider and a purchaser of funeral goods or funeral 

12 services, except an in-person request made by a funeral 

13 provider for authorization to embalm at the time a de14 ceased human body is removed for transportation. 

15 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF FUNERAL GOODS AND SERVICES 

16 SELECTED. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be a deceptive trade prac18 tice under section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission 

19 Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)) for a funeral provider to fail to give 

20 an itemized written statement for retention to a purchaser 

21 of funeral goods or funeral services at the conclusion of 

22 the discussion related to such goods and services and prior 

23 to providing any services beyond taking possession of a 

24 deceased human body for authorized embalming. The 

25 statement shall include the following information: 
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1 (1) The funeral goods and funeral services se2 lected by the purchaser and the prices to be paid for 

3 each good or service. 

4 (2) A specific itemization of cash advance items 

5 to the extent then known or reasonably ascertain6 able. If the prices are not known or reasonably as7 certainable, a good faith estimate shall be given and 

8 a written statement that the actual charges shall be 

9 provided before the final bill is paid. 

10 (3) The total cost of the goods and services se11 lected. 

12 (4) If a sealer casket is selected by the pur13 chaser, the following disclosure: ‘‘This product is not 

14 designed or intended to preserve human remains, 

15 and may under certain circumstances accelerate the 

16 decomposition of the body.’’ 

17 (b) PLACEMENT OF INFORMATION.—The information 

18 required by subsection (a) shall be included on any con19 tract, statement, or other document which the funeral pro20 vider would otherwise provide at the conclusion of a dis21 cussion related to funeral goods or funeral services. 

22 SEC. 5. MISREPRESENTATIONS. 

23 It shall be a deceptive trade practice under section 

24 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

25 45(a)) for a funeral provider to— 
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1 (1) inaccurately represent that Federal, State, 

2 or local law or industry custom requires the pur3 chase of any funeral goods or funeral services, in4 cluding to inaccurately represent that— 

5 (A) State or local law requires that a de6 ceased person be embalmed; 

7 (B) State or local law requires a casket for 

8 direct cremation; or 

9 (C) a particular cemetery requires outer 

10 burial containers; 

11 (2) fail to identify and briefly describe in writ12 ing on the statement of funeral goods and funeral 

13 services selected any legal requirement which the fu14 neral provider represents to a person as compelling 

15 the purchase of funeral goods or funeral services for 

16 the funeral which that person is arranging; 

17 (3) fail to disclose that embalming is not re18 quired for— 

19 (A) direct cremation; 

20 (B) immediate burial; or 

21 (C) a closed casket funeral without viewing 

22 or visitation when refrigeration is available and 

23 when State or local law does not require em24 balming; or 
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1 (4) inaccurately represent the ability of funeral 

2 goods or funeral services to delay the natural decom3 position of human remains for a long-term or indefi4 nite time. 

5 SEC. 6. REQUIRED PURCHASE OF FUNERAL GOODS OR FU6 NERAL SERVICES. 

7 (a) OTHER REQUIRED PURCHASES OF FUNERAL

8 GOODS OR FUNERAL SERVICES.—It shall be a deceptive 

9 trade practice under section 5(a) of the Federal Trade 

10 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)) for a funeral provider 

11 to— 

12 (1) condition the furnishing of any funeral good 

13 or funeral service to a person arranging a funeral on 

14 the purchase of any other funeral good or funeral 

15 service, except as required by law or as otherwise 

16 permitted by this Act; 

17 (2) charge any fee as a condition to furnishing 

18 any funeral goods or funeral services to a person ar19 ranging a funeral, other than— 

20 (A) the fees for specific funeral services 

21 and funeral goods selected by the purchaser; 

22 (B) the fees for other funeral goods or fu23 neral services required to be purchased, as ex24 plained on the itemized statement in accordance 

25 with section 4(a); or 
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1 (C) an arrangement services fee that— 

2 (i) is disclosed as being either an 

3 hourly rate fee described in clause (i) of 

4 section 2(2)(B) or a flat fee described in 

5 clause (ii) of such section; and 

6 (ii) is elected by the purchaser; 

7 (3) fail to place— 

8 (A) immediately above the prices disclosed 

9 as described in section 3(a), the following dis10 closure: ‘‘The goods and services shown below 

11 are those we can provide to our customers. You 

12 may choose the items you desire. If legal or 

13 other requirements mean you must buy any 

14 item that you do not specifically request, we will 

15 explain the reason in writing on the statement 

16 we provide describing the funeral goods and 

17 services you selected.’’; or 

18 (B) in the statement of funeral goods and 

19 services selected, as described in section 

20 4(a)(1), the following disclosure: ‘‘Charges are 

21 only for those items that you selected or that 

22 are required. If we are required by law or by a 

23 cemetery or crematory to use any items, we will 

24 explain the reasons in writing below.’’. 
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1 (b) EXCEPTION.—A funeral provider shall not be 

2 treated as violating this section, if the funeral provider 

3 fails to comply with a request for a combination of goods 

4 or services which would be impossible, impractical, or ex5 cessively burdensome to provide. 

6 SEC. 7. SERVICES PROVIDED WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL. 

7 (a) DECEPTIVE PRACTICES.—It shall be a deceptive 

8 trade practice under section 5(a) of the Federal Trade 

9 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)) for a funeral provider 

10 to embalm a deceased human body unless— 

11 (1) State or local law or regulation requires em12 balming in the particular circumstances regardless 

13 of any funeral choice which the family might make; 

14 (2) prior approval for embalming has been ex15 pressly obtained from a family member or other au16 thorized person; 

17 (3) the funeral provider is unable to contact the 

18 family member or other authorized person after ex19 ercising due diligence and reasonably believes the 

20 family wants embalming performed; or 

21 (4) refrigeration is necessary and is not avail22 able in the community where the provider does busi23 ness. 

24 (b) DISCLOSURE REQUIRED.—In seeking the ap25 proval required by subsection (a)(2), the funeral provider 
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1 shall disclose that a fee will be charged if the family or 

2 other authorized person selects a funeral which requires 

3 embalming, such as a funeral with a public or private 

4 viewing, and that no fee will be charged if the family or 

5 other authorized person selects a service which does not 

6 require embalming, such as direct cremation or immediate 

7 burial. 

8 SEC. 8. RETENTION OF DOCUMENTS. 

9 A funeral provider shall retain and make available for 

10 inspection by the Commission true and accurate copies 

11 of— 

12 (1) the price lists required by section 3(a) for 

13 at least 1 year after the date of the last distribution 

14 of such lists to customers; and 

15 (2) each statement of funeral goods and serv16 ices selected, as required by section 4, for at least 

17 1 year from the date of arranging a funeral or me18 morial services. 

19 SEC. 9. COMPREHENSION OF DISCLOSURES. 

20 A funeral provider shall make the disclosures re21 quired by this Act in a clear and conspicuous manner 

22 using type that is not smaller than 12 points in size. A 

23 funeral provider shall not include in any price list, a state24 ment or information that alters or contradicts the infor25 mation required by this Act to be included in those lists. 
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1 SEC. 10. PROHIBITED SALES PRACTICES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each of the following sales prac3 tices shall be a deceptive trade practice under section 5(a) 

4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)): 

5 (1) Unsolicited telephone offers to sell funeral 

6 goods, funeral services, crematory services, inter7 ment rights, or other cemetery and memorialization 

8 goods and services. 

9 (2) Door-to-door direct offers to sell funeral 

10 goods, funeral services, crematory services, inter11 ment rights, or other cemetery and memorialization 

12 goods and services. 

13 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF AFFILIATION.—A person 

14 who is an operator, funeral provider, funeral director, em15 balmer, or memorial dealer shall— 

16 (1) state the person’s affiliation with any pub17 licly traded company in all contracts and on all busi18 ness letterhead, advertising, and marketing mate19 rials; and 

20 (2) state the person’s licensed business location 

21 in all directories, advertising, and marketing mate22 rials in which offsite telephone numbers are used. 

23 SEC. 11. CASH ADVANCE PROVISIONS. 

24 It shall be a deceptive trade practice under section 

25 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

26 45(a)) for a funeral provider to— 
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1 (1) represent that the price charged for a cash 

2 advance item is the same as the cost to the funeral 

3 provider for the item when such is not the case; 

4 (2) fail to disclose to a person arranging a fu5 neral that the price being charged for a cash ad6 vance item is not the same as the cost to the funeral 

7 provider for the item when such is the case; or 

8 (3) fail to place in the itemized statement of fu9 neral goods and funeral services selected, in imme10 diate conjunction with the list of itemized cash ad11 vance items required by section 4(a)(2), the fol12 lowing statements: 

13 (A) ‘‘We charge for our services in obtain14 ing llll.’’, with the blank space being 

15 filled with a list of cash advance items, if the 

16 funeral provider marks up the price for or re17 ceives and retains a rebate, commission, or 

18 trade or volume discount on a cash advance 

19 item. 

20 (B) ‘‘You have the right to arrange for the 

21 purchase of these items on your own behalf.’’. 

22 SEC. 12. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS IN PRENEED AND PRE23 PAID FUNERAL SERVICE TRANSACTIONS. 

24 It shall be a deceptive trade practice under section 

25 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
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1 45(a)) for a funeral provider to fail to comply with the 

2 following prepaid contract requirements: 

3 (1) Prepaid contracts shall conform to all appli4 cable Federal and State statutes and regulations. 

5 (2) Prepaid contracts shall be written in plain 

6 English, and clearly state the merchandise and serv7 ices that purchasers are buying and their prices. Use 

8 of legal or industry-specific jargon shall be avoided 

9 to the extent possible. 

10 (3) Charges for funeral goods or funeral serv11 ices shall be itemized. The itemization shall be in 

12 greater detail than a recitation of prices and shall 

13 include a complete description of the services to be 

14 rendered and an unambiguous description of the 

15 merchandise to be delivered. 

16 (4) When prices of merchandise or services to 

17 be delivered in the future are not guaranteed, or an 

18 additional payment may be required in the future, a 

19 statement to that effect shall be included in the pre20 pared contract and initialed by the purchaser. 

21 (5) The contract must clearly state what hap22 pens if merchandise is not available at delivery time 

23 and substitution is necessary. The description of the 

24 merchandise shall be sufficiently complete for the 

25 person authorized to make funeral arrangements to 
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1 make a decision, based on objective criteria, about 

2 the comparability of a needed substitution. 

3 (6) No substitution shall be made without the 

4 consent of the purchaser, or upon the purchaser’s 

5 death, the person authorized to make funeral ar6 rangements. A prepaid contract must contain a pro7 vision, which is initialed by the purchaser, either 

8 prohibiting any changes, or, alternatively, specifying 

9 what instructions may be modified and by whom. 

10 (7) There shall be an explanation of how the 

11 purchaser’s funds will be protected to assure the 

12 seller’s performance in compliance with the pre13 vailing prepaid contract law. The name of the insti14 tution where funds will be deposited in escrow must 

15 be disclosed. The buyer must receive an annual re16 port from the escrow agent. An administrative fee, 

17 not to exceed 1 percent of the contract, may be with18 drawn annually by the escrow agent. 

19 (8) The prepaid contract shall provide for can20 cellation and refund or transfer of the contract with 

21 no loss of benefits paid by the purchaser along with 

22 accrued interest. 

23 (9) A prepaid contract may be made irrevocable 

24 only when the beneficiary will be applying for med25 icaid or other social benefits within the next 6 
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1 months. The irrevocability of the prepaid contract 

2 shall not affect the right of the purchaser to change 

3 the provider. 

4 (10) Copies of the prepaid contract and supple5 mental material, such as information on credit life 

6 insurance and transfer or exchange plans, shall be 

7 provided to the purchaser at the time of the preneed 

8 sale. 

9 (11) Copies of the prepaid contract and at-need 

10 documentation shall be provided to the person au11 thorized to make the final funeral arrangements at 

12 the time of death to ensure that the merchandise 

13 and services match those specified in the prepaid 

14 contract. A list of items substituted shall be in writ15 ing and included in the at-need documentation. 

16 (12) Copies of all prepaid contracts and at-need 

17 documentation shall be retained by the seller for a 

18 period of 1 year after performance of the contract. 

19 SEC. 13. CONSUMER DISCLOSURES IN PREPAID CON20 TRACTS. 

21 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Commission shall establish minimum 

23 standards and requirements with respect to State man24 dated consumer disclosures in prepaid contracts for the 
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1 purchase of funeral, cemetery, or crematory goods or serv2 ices, including— 

3 (1) basic information identifying the seller, the 

4 purchaser, the entity that will provide the goods and 

5 services (if different from the seller), the prices of 

6 the goods and services being purchased on an 

7 itemized basis, and the total price of the purchase; 

8 (2) funding information disclosing where, how, 

9 and with whom the prepaid funds will be deposited 

10 and invested, and what portion of the prepaid funds, 

11 if any, will be paid to the seller prior to the perform12 ance of the contract; 

13 (3) price and payment disclosures regarding to 

14 what extent the prices of the goods and services are 

15 guaranteed or not guaranteed, who is responsible for 

16 any payment shortfalls, and who is entitled to re17 ceive excess funds; and 

18 (4) cancellation and transfer information dis19 closing whether the consumer may cancel or transfer 

20 the prepaid contract, the method for exercising such 

21 rights, the amount of revocation or transfer fees, if 

22 any, retained by the seller, and safeguards for the 

23 consumer if the seller is unable to provide the goods 

24 and services in the contract. 
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1 SEC. 14. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 

2 In addition to the remedies identified in the Federal 

3 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), a person 

4 who is injured by a violation of this Act may commence 

5 a civil action against the funeral provider. Such person 

6 shall be entitled to recover the greater of actual damages 

7 or $5,000 for each violation proved by a preponderance 

8 of the evidence. 

9 SEC. 15. ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION. 

10 The Commission shall enforce the provisions of this 

11 Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with 

12 the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all ap13 plicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Com14 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into 

15 and made a part of this Act. 

16 SEC. 16. ADMINISTRATION AND RULEMAKING. 

17 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—The provisions of this Act 

18 shall be administered by the Commission. 

19 (b) RULEMAKING.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of law, the Commission may prescribe rules in accord21 ance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code (com22 monly known as the ‘‘Administrative Procedure Act’’) to 

23 carry out the provisions of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 17. STATE EXEMPTIONS. 

2 A provision of this Act, or a regulation issued by the 

3 Commission pursuant to this Act, shall not be in effect 

4 in a State if— 

5 (1) the appropriate State agency requests such 

6 provision or regulation not be in effect in the State; 

7 (2) there is a State requirement in effect that 

8 applies to a transaction to which the provision or 

9 regulation applies; 

10 (3) the State requirement affords an overall 

11 level of protection to consumers that is equal to, or 

12 exceeds, the level of protection afforded by the provi13 sion or regulation; and 

14 (4) the Commission determines that the State 

15 is administering and enforcing the State require16 ment in a manner that affords a level of protection 

17 to consumers that is equal to or exceeds the level of 

18 protection afforded by the Commission’s enforce19 ment of such provisions or regulations. 

20 SEC. 18. DECLARATION OF INTENT. 

21 This Act does not apply to the business, or acts in 

22 the conduct of the business, of insurance. 
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1 SEC. 19. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fed3 eral Trade Commission $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

4 2005 through 2010 to carry out this Act. 

Æ