(1) Upon complaint or upon its own motion, the State Mortuary and Cemetery Board may investigate any complaint concerning any person, licensee or holder of a certificate of authority made by any person or by the board. If the board finds any of the causes described in this section in regard to any person, licensee or applicant or the holder of a certificate of authority, the board may impose a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each violation, suspend or revoke a license to practice or to operate under this chapter or refuse to grant or renew a license. The causes are as follows:
(a) Misrepresentation in the conduct of business or in obtaining a license.
(b) Fraudulent or dishonest conduct, when the conduct bears a demonstrable relationship to funeral service practice, embalming practice or the operation of cemeteries or crematoriums.
(c) Except as provided in this paragraph, solicitation of human dead bodies by the licensee or any agent, assistant or employee of the licensee, either before or after death. This paragraph does not apply to:
(A) Activities permissible under ORS 97.923 to 97.949; or
(B) The sale, in accordance with provisions of the Insurance Code, of prearranged funeral or cemetery merchandise or services, or any combination thereof, to be funded by the contemporaneous or subsequent assignment of a life insurance policy or an annuity contract.
(d) Offensive treatment of dead human bodies or a body in the person’s custody has been disposed of in violation of ORS chapter 432 or rules adopted pursuant thereto.
(e) Aiding or abetting a person who is not a licensee or an apprentice in any act involving the disposition of dead human bodies before the bodies undergo cremation, entombment or burial or before the bodies are transported out of the State of Oregon.
(f) Sale or reuse of any casket or body container that has been previously utilized for the placement of a deceased human body. This does not include use of a rental cover as defined in ORS 692.010.
(g) Violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or any rules adopted under this chapter.
(h) Violation of any provision of ORS 97.929 or 97.937 or regulations adopted by the Federal Trade Commission regulating funeral industry practices.
(i) Conviction of a crime, when the crime bears a demonstrable relationship to funeral service practice, embalming practice or the operation of cemeteries or crematoriums. A copy of the record of the conviction certified to by the clerk of the court entering the conviction shall be conclusive evidence of the conviction.
(j) Violation of ORS chapter 97 as it relates to disposition of human bodies and to cemeteries.
(k) Refusing to surrender promptly the custody of a dead human body, upon the express order of the person lawfully entitled to the custody of the body.
(L) Acting as the legal representative of any deceased person for whom the licensee has rendered services governed by this chapter. This subsection does not prohibit a licensee from acting as the legal representative of a deceased relative or a deceased licensee if the deceased licensee was a partner, employee or employer in the licensee’s practice.
(m) Failure to pay any civil penalty imposed by the board within 10 days after the order is entered or, if appealed, within 10 days after the order is sustained on appeal.
(2) All amounts recovered under this section shall be deposited in accordance with ORS 692.375.
(3) Civil penalties under this section shall be imposed as provided in ORS 183.745.
(4) Upon receipt of a complaint, the board shall conduct an investigation as described under ORS 676.165.
(5) Information that the board obtains as part of an investigation into licensee or applicant conduct or as part of a contested case proceeding, consent order or stipulated agreement involving licensee or applicant conduct is confidential as provided under ORS 676.175. [Amended by 1971 c.115 §12; 1983 c.810 §16; 1985 c.207 §12; 1987 c.252 §8; 1987 c.813 §10; 1991 c.734 §82; 1995 c.326 §1; 1995 c.696 §45; 1997 c.791 §53; 1999 c.59 §207; 2001 c.796 §21]
Section: Previous 692.144 692.146 692.148 692.150 692.160 692.165 692.170 692.180 692.190 692.200 692.210 692.220 692.230 692.240 692.250 NextLast modified: August 7, 2008