House Bill 419 Summary

• Reduces the Board of Morticians from four members to three members and removes the secretary position, with two licensed morticians and one public member required.

• Modifies mortician and funeral director licensure requirements, including reducing general education hours for funeral directors from 60 to 45 semester hours and allowing completion of an associate degree from an accredited mortuary school as an alternative to the embalming school course requirement.

• Requires licensed funeral establishments to replace a full-time resident mortician within 90 days if one is lost, or face license cancellation, with board discretion to extend the timeline for good cause.

• Transfers license fee authority from statute to board rules, allowing the Board of Morticians to set all fees for original licenses, examinations, renewals, and certificates.

• Adds conviction of crimes reflecting on qualifications and functions of a license and failing an inspection as grounds for license denial, suspension, or revocation.

• Requires all licensed funeral establishments selling prearrangement contracts to obtain a certificate of authority effective July 1, 2021, and mandates annual renewal concurrent with establishment license renewal.