Funeral Rule Improvement Act of 2014

Bill: 113-hr-4213
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Whitfield, Ed [R-KY-1]
Introduced: 2014-03-12
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Cemeteries and funerals

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Retail and wholesale trades

Service industries
Latest action: action_date: 2014-03-14
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.

Summaries:
action_date: 2014-03-12
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>Funeral Rule Improvement Act of 2014 - Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to revise funeral industry regulations concerning funeral providers and services.</p> <p>Revises the definition of &quot;funeral provider&quot; to: (1) include trusts (currently, only persons, partnerships, or corporations), and (2) apply to the sale of funeral or burial goods or services to the public (currently, such definition is limited to entities that sell both funeral goods and funeral services).</p> <p> Excludes from such definition: (1) religious denominations, middle judicatories, houses of worship, or similar religious organizations; (2) states or political subdivisions; (3) cemeteries with 25 or fewer burials per year; and (4) certain non-profit cemetery companies and burial or cremation corporations exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code.</p> <p>Amends the definition of &quot;funeral services&quot; to define &quot;funeral or burial services&quot; as any services that are sold or offered for sale directly to the public for use in connection with: (1) the care and preparation of deceased human remains for burial, cremation, or other final disposition; or (2) the arrangement, supervision, or carrying out the funeral ceremony or final disposition of deceased human bodies.</p>

tv_txt: I 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 4213 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 12, 2014 Mr. Whitfield (for himself, Mr. Peters of Michigan , and Mr. Walberg ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Federal Trade Commission to revise the regulations regarding the definitions for funeral industry practices.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Funeral Rule Improvement Act of 2014 . 2. Revision of regulations regarding funeral industry practices required Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall revise the definitions in section 453.1 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations in the following manner: (1) By amending the definition of funeral provider to read as follows: A funeral provider is any person, partnership, trust, or corporation that sells or offers to sell funeral or burial goods or services to the public. . (2) By further amending the definition of funeral provider to except each of the following: (A) Any religious denomination, middle judicatory, house of worship, or similar religious organization. (B) Any State or political subdivision of a State. (C) Any cemetery that has 25 or fewer burials per year. (D) Any entity described in section 501(c)(13) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(13)). (3) By amending the definition of funeral services to read as follows: Funeral or burial services are any services that are sold or offered for sale directly to the public for use in connection with either: (1) the care and preparation of deceased human remains for burial, cremation, or other final disposition or (2) the arrangement, supervision, or carrying out the funeral ceremony or final disposition of deceased human bodies. .