Bill
SB 857
SB 857 modernizes NC Funeral Board and DOI licensing, expanding oversight, licensing, education, examination options, and consumer protections for funeral services.
Purpose and main aim
- SB 857 seeks to update the statutes governing the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service (the Funeral Board) and to amend various licensing programs administered by the Department of Insurance (DOI), as recommended by the General Statutes Commission.
- The bill reorganizes, clarifies, and expands regulatory provisions for funeral service practitioners, establishments, and related activities; it also broadens Board powers and modernizes definitions and processes to align with contemporary regulatory standards.
Key provisions and changes
1) Funeral Board governance and operations
- Reconstitutes several statutory sections to streamline the Board’s structure and procedures, including definitions, meetings, quorum, compensation, vacancies, and removal.
- Board composition remains nine members with specific appointment rules (governor-appointed from two associations, one unaffiliated member, and two General Assembly appointments with non-licensed appointees). Terms are staggered three-year terms; limits on consecutive terms are maintained.
- Board powers include rulemaking, inspections, licensing oversight, discipline, oversight of resident trainees, examination recognition, and jurisdiction over mortuary schools.
- New authority to recover attorney’s fees in certain show-cause disciplinary hearings (up to $5,000).
2) Licensing and examinations
- Major recodification and updating of licensing requirements for funeral directors, embalmers, and funeral service licensees.
- Establishes revised eligibility criteria, including age, good moral character, education (mortuary science degree or equivalent), and supervised resident traineeship requirements.
- Creates and reorganizes provisions for provisional licenses, continuing education (CE), inactive licenses, and trainee participation.
- Introduces a new Examinations section allowing the Board to recognize external examinations as equivalent and potentially contract with third parties to administer exams.
- Adds a new section (90-210.25H) permitting recognition of external exams as equivalents.
3) Resident trainees and continuing education
- Renames and reorganizes trainee regulations (e.g., 90-210.25L for resident traineeship) and sets a 12-month traineeship requirement with guidance on supervision, reporting, and performance competencies.
- CE requirements: five hours annually for license renewal, with carryover of up to five hours; Board-directed CE and waivers for certain long-tenured or Assembly members.
- Provisions to ensure active supervision and limits on the number of trainees per supervisor.
4) Funeral establishment ownership, management, and operation
- Strengthens requirements for ownership, naming, and management of funeral establishments (manager must be licensed; specified ownership rules for individuals, partnerships, corporations, and LLCs).
- Requires registration of establishment names and prohibits misleading names; limits ancillary entities within a 50-mile radius of the principal establishment.
- Reforms on permits for funeral establishments (distinct permits per location) and non-transferability, with procedures for ownership changes and court-approved extensions in case of disasters.
5) Handling of human remains and privacy
- Refines identification tagging requirements for bodies, and reinforces prohibitions against mishandling or improper disposal of remains.
- Tightens prohibitions around tissue recovery and sets standards aligned with public health and ethical practices.
- Strengthens disclosures of prices for funeral merchandise and services, including mandatory written price statements at arrangements.
6) Inspections and enforcement
- Expands inspector authority to enter facilities, inspect records, and review criminal records of licensees and applicants.
- Establishes inspection protocols and corresponding reinspection fees for deficiencies found during inspections.
Potential impact
Effective dates and timeline
- The bill text outlines procedural recodifications and new sections; implementation timelines would be set by rulemaking and transition guidance adopted by the Board and DOI, subject to General Assembly approval.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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