2023 New York Laws › PBH - Public Health › Article 34 - Funeral Directing › Title 4 - Enforcement and Discipline; Violations and Penalties › 3450 - Suspension and Revocation of Licenses.

§ 3450. Suspension and revocation of licenses. 1. The commissioner may
revoke  or  suspend  any  license  of  a funeral director, undertaker or
embalmer and, if such licensee shall be the owner of, or a member  of  a
partnership  owning,  a  funeral  firm  or  the  licensed and registered
manager of a funeral firm owned by a  corporation,  any  certificate  of
registration of such firm, or may reprimand or otherwise discipline such
licensee  or  funeral  firm  in  accordance  with the provisions of this
article  upon  proof  that  such  licensee  or,  in  the  case  of  such
corporation,  that  the  corporation  or  one or more of its officers or
directors or one or more of its stockholders or other persons, firms  or
corporations having a ten per centum or greater proprietary, beneficial,
equitable or credit interest therein:
(a)  has  violated any of the provisions of this article, the sanitary
code, the rules and regulations of the commissioner or of  any  statute,
code,  rule or regulation relating to the practice of funeral directing,
embalming, or vital statistics;
(b) has been convicted of a crime;
(c) has practiced fraud, deceit or misrepresentation  in  securing  or
procuring   a  license  or  admission  to  practice  funeral  directing,
undertaking, or embalming;
(d) is incompetent to engage in the business or  practice  of  funeral
directing,  undertaking,  or  embalming except that this provision shall
not apply to an officer, director or stockholder  of,  or  other  person
interested  in,  a  corporation owning a funeral firm unless he shall be
the licensed and registered manager thereof;
(e) has practiced fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation in his  business
or practice or in the business of such funeral firm;
(f) has committed acts of misconduct in the conduct of the business or
practice  of  funeral  directing,  undertaking,  or  embalming or in the
business of such funeral firm;
(g) is an habitual drunkard;
(h) is addicted to the use of morphine, opium, cocaine or other  drugs
having a similar effect;
(i)  has  practiced  or  conducted  the  business of such funeral firm
without biennial registration of his license or of such firm;
(j) has employed, hired, procured or induced  or  otherwise  aided  or
abetted  any  person  not  licensed  or  registered  to practice or hold
himself out as licensed, practicing,  or  entitled  to  practice  as  an
undertaker, or embalmer, or funeral director;
(k)  has  wrongfully  transferred  or  surrendered  possession, either
temporarily  or  permanently,  of  his   license   or   certificate   of
registration  thereof  or  of  the  certificate  of registration of such
funeral firm to any other person, partnership or corporation;
(l) has paid, given, has caused to be paid or given or offered to  pay
or  to  give  to any person a commission or other valuable consideration
for the solicitation or procurement, either directly or  indirectly,  of
funeral  patronage, or has accepted any consideration (including without
limitation a commission, rebate, or discount or direct or indirect price
reduction on merchandise  from  the  current  value  thereof)  from  any
financial  institution or trust company, or agent thereof, with whom the
funeral director deposits funds paid for funeral services in advance  of
need  pursuant to subdivision one of section four hundred fifty-three of
the general business law except that the funeral  director  may  accept,
from  the  financial  institution, trust company or agent thereof, up to
twenty-five hundredths of  one  percent  of  the  fee  authorized  under
paragraph  (b)  of subdivision three of section four hundred fifty-three
of the general business law for administrative services provided by  the
funeral  director,  or has accepted any consideration (including without

limitation a commission or gift) from any insurer or agent  thereof,  to
sell,  offer  or  promote  the  sale of any policy of insurance payable,
expressly or as marketed, at the death of the  insured  for  funeral  or
burial expenses;
(m)   has   been   guilty   of  fraudulent,  misleading  or  deceptive
advertising;
(n) has practiced funeral directing, undertaking or embalming, or  has
conducted business as a funeral firm, under a false name;
(o)  has  impersonated  another  licensee or another funeral firm of a
like or different name; or
(p) has failed to comply with requirements set forth in  section  four
hundred fifty-three of the general business law, relating to moneys paid
in connection with agreements for funeral merchandise in advance of need
to  be  kept on deposit pending use or repayment except, that revocation
and suspension shall apply only in the case where a funeral director  or
funeral  firm  has  committed repeated violations of these provisions or
has committed a violation of the  provisions  of  section  four  hundred
fifty-three  of  the general business law relating to failure to deposit
or hold moneys on deposit; failure to return such  moneys  and  interest
thereon  upon  demand or upon the termination, cessation of operation or
discontinuance of any funeral firm,  or  a  successor  in  interest;  or
failure  to comply with the requirements of paragraph (b) of subdivision
five of section four hundred fifty-three of  the  general  business  law
regarding compliance by transferors who receive such moneys.
2. The commissioner shall also have power, and after due notice and an
opportunity  to  be  heard,  to  revoke  or suspend the endorsement of a
funeral director, undertaker or embalmer license issued  to  any  person
pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  this article or any previous law upon
evidence that the duly constituted authorities of any state or political
subdivision of the United States have lawfully revoked or suspended  the
funeral  director,  undertaker or embalmer license issued to such person
by such state or political subdivision.
3. The action of the  commissioner  in  revoking  or  suspending  such
license  or  certificate  of  registration of such funeral firm shall be
reviewable by the supreme court of the state of New York pursuant to the
provisions of article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
4. (a) A person convicted of a felony shall  forfeit  his  license  to
practice  as  a  funeral  director,  undertaker,  or  embalmer, and upon
presentation to the department of a certified copy  of  a  court  record
showing that he has been convicted of a felony, that fact shall be noted
on  the  record  of  license,  and the license shall be revoked, and the
registration shall be cancelled.
(b) If such conviction be subsequently  reversed  on  appeal  and  the
accused   acquitted  or  discharged,  his  license  shall  become  again
operative from the date of such acquittal or discharge.
(c) The conviction  of  a  felony  aforementioned  shall  include  the
conviction of a felony by any court in this state or by any court of the
United  States  or by any court of any other state of the United States;
provided, however, that if a crime of which the licensee is convicted by
any court of the United States or by any court of any other state  is  a
felony  in  the jurisdiction in which the conviction is had but is not a
felony in the state of New York, then the conviction shall not be deemed
a conviction of a felony for the purposes of this article. In the  event
that  a  crime  of  which  the licensee is convicted by any court of the
United States or by any court of any other state is not a felony in  the
jurisdiction in which the conviction is had but is a felony in the state
of  New  York,  then  the  conviction  shall be deemed a conviction of a
felony for the purposes of this article.