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HB 25-1217

Funeral Services & Consumer Protections

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jennifer Bacon and 17 co-sponsors

The bill strengthens consumer protections for funeral services by excluding certain transportation agreements as preneed contracts and creating civil and criminal penalties for fun

Governor Signed
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Bill Summary · HB 25-1217

Summary — HB 25-1217: Funeral Services & Consumer Protections

Status: Governor signed (Apr 18, 2025) — takes effect Aug 6, 2025 (per fiscal note), unless a referendum is filed. Applies to offenses committed on or after the effective date.

Main purpose

Strengthen consumer protections for people who purchase or prepay funeral services by (1) clarifying that certain transport-related agreements are not “preneed contracts,” and (2) creating statutory consumer- and professional-sanctions when a funeral director steals money paid by a client.

Key provisions

  • Preneed contracts (C.R.S. 10-15-102)

    • Adds a definition of "transportation protection agreement": an agreement that primarily provides for coordination/arrangement, by a third party that is not a general provider, of services related to (a) preparation of human remains for transportation, or (b) transportation of human remains.
    • Explicitly excludes transportation protection agreements from the statutory definition of “preneed contract.”

  • Theft by funeral directors (new and amended statutes)

    • Adds C.R.S. 6-1-738: a funeral director commits a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act when the director commits theft (as defined by C.R.S. 18-4-401) of money that a client or prospective client paid for funeral services.
    • Adds that violating this provision is an unfair/deceptive trade practice (6-1-105) and is an unlawful act under the Mortuary Science Code (12-135-105).
    • The conduct may also establish a criminal basis (the fiscal note describes creating a new factual basis for unlawful practice of mortuary science, a class 1 misdemeanor).

  • Provisional license timing (12-135-501)

    • Delays the deadline by which applicants for a provisional mortuary science practitioner license must have completed 4,000 hours of work experience from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027.

Who is affected

  • Funeral directors and funeral service providers (new civil and professional exposure; possible criminal liability).
  • Consumers who buy preneed funeral contracts or transportation protection agreements (clarer distinctions and added remedies).
  • Third-party transport coordinators (defined and carved out from preneed contract rules).
  • State agencies: Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) — outreach, policy updates, enforcement; Department of Law and Judicial Department — minimal increased enforcement and casework.

Penalties and fiscal impact

  • Civil: Violations under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act can carry civil penalties up to $20,000 per violation (damage awards not subject to TABOR). Exact revenue is uncertain.
  • Criminal/professional: Theft remains prosecutable under theft statutes and may be treated as a class 1 misdemeanor or as an unlawful practice under the Mortuary Science Code with licensing consequences.
  • Fiscal note: Minimal ongoing state revenue and expenditures; no new appropriation required. Expected increases in workload for DORA, the Department of Law, and courts are expected to be minimal.

Effective & applicability

  • Signed into law Apr 18, 2025. Effective date per fiscal note: Aug 6, 2025 (subject to referendum). Applies to conduct occurring on or after the effective date.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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