Fla. Stat. § 497.001
Short title
This chapter may be cited as the “Florida Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services Act.”
Florida Statutes Chapter 497 — FUNERAL, CEMETERY, AND CONSUMER SERVICES
Florida · statute · Fla. Stat. ch. 497 · 131 active provisions
Fla. Stat. § 497.002
Purpose and intent
(1) The Legislature recognizes that purchasers of preneed burial rights, funeral or burial merchandise, or funeral or burial services may suffer serious economic harm if purchase money is not set aside for future use as intended by the purchaser and that the failure to maintain cemetery grounds properly may cause signi…
Fla. Stat. § 497.0021
Applicability of parts
The provisions of this part shall be applicable to and supplement the provisions of parts II, III, IV, V, and VI of this chapter and shall be applicable to all licensees under this chapter, except to the extent specifically provided otherwise in this chapter.
Fla. Stat. § 497.005
Definitions
As used in this chapter, the term:(1) “Alternative container” means an unfinished wood box or other nonmetal receptacle or enclosure, without ornamentation or a fixed interior lining, that is designed for the encasement of human remains and that is made of fiberboard, pressed wood, composition materials (with or withou…
Fla. Stat. § 497.101
Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services; membership; appointment; terms
(1) The Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services is created within the Department of Financial Services and shall consist of 10 members, 9 of whom shall be appointed by the Chief Financial Officer and confirmed by the Senate. One member must be the State Health Officer or her or his designee.(2) Two members of…
Fla. Stat. § 497.103
Authority of board and department; Chief Financial Officer recommendations
(1) BOARD AUTHORITY.—Subject to the provisions of this section, all authority provided under this chapter, including rulemaking authority, relating to the following matters, is vested solely in the board, and the board shall be deemed the licensing authority as to such matters:(a) Authority to determine any and all cri…
Fla. Stat. § 497.107
Headquarters
The Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services may be contacted through the division at the headquarters of the department in the City of Tallahassee.
Fla. Stat. § 497.140
Fees
(1)(a) As to any fee payable under this chapter as to which discretion is provided to the licensing authority to specify the amount of the fee subject to a cap stated in this chapter, the board shall from time to time as requested by the department determine by rule the amount of such fee, based upon department-prepare…
Fla. Stat. § 497.141
Licensing; general application procedures
(1) The provisions of this section shall supplement and implement all provisions of this chapter relating to application for licensure.(2) Any person desiring to be licensed shall apply to the licensing authority in writing using such forms and procedures as may be prescribed by rule. The application for licensure shal…
Fla. Stat. § 497.1411
Disqualification of applicants and licenses; penalties against licensees; rulemaking
(1) For purposes of this section, the term “applicant” means an individual applying for licensure or relicensure under this chapter, or an officer, a director, a majority owner, a partner, a manager, or other person who manages or controls an entity applying for licensure or relicensure under this chapter.(2) An applic…
Fla. Stat. § 497.142
Licensing; fingerprinting and criminal background checks
(1) In any instance that this chapter requires submission of fingerprints in connection with an application for license, the provisions of this section shall apply.(2) The fingerprints shall be taken by a law enforcement agency or other agency or entity approved by the department and in such a way as to allow their use…
Fla. Stat. § 497.143
Licensing; limited licenses for times of critical need
(1) It is the intent of the Legislature that, absent a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the public, retired Florida licensees in good standing, and active licensees in good standing from other jurisdictions, be able to serve this state during times of critical need.(2) As used in this section, the term “cri…
Fla. Stat. § 497.144
Licensing; examinations, general provisions
(1) The department shall, with the approval of the board, provide, contract, or approve services for the development, preparation, administration, scoring, score reporting, and evaluation of all examinations and may use professional testing services for the development, preparation, and evaluation of examinations, when…
Fla. Stat. § 497.145
Licensing; use of professional testing services
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the department may use a professional testing service to prepare, administer, grade, and evaluate any computerized examination, when that service is available and approved by the board.
Fla. Stat. § 497.146
Licensing; address of record; changes; licensee responsibility
Each licensee under this chapter is responsible for notifying the department in writing of the licensee’s current e-mail address, business and residence mailing address, and the street address of the licensee’s primary place of practice and shall notify the department within 30 days after any change in such information…
Fla. Stat. § 497.147
Continuing education; general provisions
(1) As to any licensure under this chapter that requires prelicensure training or continuing education for renewal of a license, no such training or continuing education shall be accepted in satisfaction of the requirements of this chapter, unless approved by the board.(2) There shall be adopted rules by the board to e…
Fla. Stat. § 497.148
Continuing education; monitoring of compliance
The department shall establish a system to monitor licensee compliance with applicable training and continuing education requirements and to determine each licensee’s continuing education status. The department is authorized to provide for a phase-in of the compliance monitoring system. The compliance monitoring system…
Fla. Stat. § 497.149
Investigations, hearings, and inspections
(1) INVESTIGATIONS.—Investigations shall be conducted by the department. The following provisions shall apply concerning investigations:(a) There shall be investigated all complaints directly or indirectly alleging violation of any provision of this chapter or rules adopted pursuant to this chapter. Investigations may…
Fla. Stat. § 497.150
Compliance examinations of existing licensees
(1) There may be examined by the department the facilities, records, operations, trust accounts, and financial affairs of licensees under this chapter, as often as may be deemed necessary by the department, to ensure compliance with the provisions of this chapter and rules adopted under this chapter. The provisions of…
Fla. Stat. § 497.151
Complaints; logs; procedures
(1) This section shall be applicable to all entities licensed under this chapter.(2) Licensees shall cause to be maintained on a continuing basis a log of all written complaints received by the licensee regarding any aspect of the licensee’s operations. The log shall show the complainant’s name, the date the complaint…
Fla. Stat. § 497.152
Disciplinary grounds
This section sets forth conduct that is prohibited and that shall constitute grounds for denial of any application, imposition of discipline, or other enforcement action against the licensee or other person committing such conduct. For purposes of this section, the requirements of this chapter include the requirements…
Fla. Stat. § 497.153
Disciplinary procedures and penalties
(1) JURISDICTION OF LICENSING AUTHORITY TO INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE.—The expiration, nonrenewal, or surrender of licensure under this chapter shall not eliminate jurisdiction in the licensing authority to investigate and prosecute for violations committed by a licensee while licensed under this chapter. The prosecutio…
Fla. Stat. § 497.154
Disciplinary guidelines
(1) The board shall adopt, by rule, and periodically review the disciplinary guidelines applicable to each ground for disciplinary action which may be imposed by the board pursuant to this chapter, and any rule of the board or department.(2) The disciplinary guidelines shall specify a meaningful range of designated pen…
Fla. Stat. § 497.155
Disciplinary citations and minor violations
(1) CITATIONS.—(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 497.153, the board shall adopt rules to permit the issuance of citations. The citation shall be issued to the subject and shall contain the subject’s name and address, the subject’s license number if applicable, a brief factual statement, the sections of the law a…
Fla. Stat. § 497.156
Emergency action against licensees
In addition to or in lieu of other actions authorized under this chapter for the enforcement of this chapter, the department may issue emergency orders under s. 120.60(6) suspending or restricting a license or ordering a licensee to cease or desist from specified conduct, or taking other action deemed necessary in the…
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