HB 4437 Summary

• Establishes 4-hour annual continuing education requirement for mortuary science licensees beginning with the first complete license cycle after October 31, 2025, with at least 2 hours focused on technical skills, ethics, grief counseling, occupational health, communicable diseases, state law, prepaid funeral sales, and consumer protection.

• Allows funeral establishment managers to manage up to 2 funeral establishments if both are located in the same or contiguous counties with below-state-average population density and within 90 miles of each other, subject to director approval.

• Permits funeral establishments to continue using their established names after the death or retirement of a member, officer, or director if reported to the department within 30 days.

• Requires new funeral establishment owners to assume obligations of existing prepaid contracts or certify contracts have been assigned to another provider before obtaining a license.

• Specifies grounds for license suspension or revocation including solicitation of dead bodies, commission payments for business referrals, misuse of caskets, violations of public health and estates code provisions, and failure to comply with prepaid funeral sales regulations.