(a) The commissioner may refuse to issue or renew, and may revoke or suspend, the registration of any cemetery registered pursuant to this chapter or corresponding provisions of prior law for any one (1) or more of the following reasons:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 46-1-306

  • Cemetery: means any land or structure in this state dedicated to and used, or intended to be used, for interment of human remains. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Cemetery company: means an individual, partnership, corporation, or association, now or hereafter organized, owning or controlling cemetery lands or property and conducting the business of a cemetery. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Cemetery operator: means any owner, director, principal, manager, member, stockholder with a majority ownership interest, or other person who has any ownership interest in, or has any control over, the financial operations of a cemetery company. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of commerce and insurance. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Improvement care: means the continual maintenance of the cemetery grounds and graves in keeping with a properly maintained cemetery, including cutting of grass, raking and cleaning of cemetery plots at reasonable intervals, and pruning of shrubs and trees. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Interment: means any lawful disposition of the remains of a deceased person as provided by law. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Interment right: means the right to inter human remains in a particular space in a cemetery, including, but not limited to a grave space, mausoleum crypt, niche, memorial bench, or scattering garden. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Pre-need: means the time prior to death when the use of cemetery merchandise or services is not actually required. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Services: means acts performed by a cemetery company on its premises in the final interment of human remains or the installation of cemetery merchandise used in connection with final interment. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Fraud or deceit on the part of a cemetery operator in application for registration;
(2) Cancellation, revocation, suspension or refusal to renew the registration of a cemetery for disciplinary reasons taken against the cemetery operator in any other state for any cause;
(3) Failure on the part of a cemetery operator to maintain compliance with the requirements for issuance or renewal of the registration;
(4) Revocation or suspension of the right of any cemetery operator to practice before any state or federal agency;
(5) Dishonesty, fraud, or gross negligence on the part of a cemetery company or any cemetery operator in the performance of any services regulated by this chapter or chapter 2 of this title;
(6) Violation, on the part of a cemetery operator of any provision of this chapter or chapter 2 of this title, or rule promulgated by the commissioner under this chapter or chapter 2 of this title;
(7) Violation, on the part of a cemetery company or any cemetery operator of any rule of professional conduct promulgated by the commissioner;
(8) Conviction on the part of a cemetery company or any cemetery operator of a felony, or of any crime an element of which is dishonesty or fraud, under the laws of the United States, of this state, or of any other state or country, if the acts involved would have constituted a crime under the laws of this state;
(9) Performance on the part of a cemetery company or any cemetery operator of any fraudulent act while holding an interest in a registered cemetery issued under this chapter or prior law;
(10) Failure on the part of a cemetery company or any cemetery operator, or on the part of the trustee or any officer of the trustee, to timely and completely file the reports required by this chapter;
(11) Failure on the part of a cemetery company or any cemetery operator to set up and fully fund the improvement care trust fund required by this chapter;
(12) Failure on the part of a cemetery company or any cemetery operator to set up and fully fund the pre-need merchandise and services trust fund required by this chapter;
(13) Failure on the part of a cemetery company or any cemetery operator to maintain the cemetery grounds as set forth at § 46-1-304, and in any rule promulgated for the administration or enforcement of this chapter;
(14) Making any false or misleading statement or verification in support of an application for a registration filed by another;
(15) Violation on the part of a cemetery company or any cemetery operator of the terms of any lawful order entered by the commissioner; and
(16) Selling an interment site or interment right that the cemetery or cemetery operator knew or should have known had been purchased previously by another consumer. This subdivision (a)(16) shall not be construed to prohibit a cemetery company or cemetery operator from selling an interment site that has been determined to have escheated to the cemetery company pursuant to §§ 46-2-103 – 46-2-105. This subdivision (a)(16) shall not be construed to prohibit a consumer who has purchased an interment site from selling or disposing of the interment site in the discretion of that consumer, if the disposition is otherwise in accordance with applicable law.
(b) In addition to or in lieu of any other lawful disciplinary action, the commissioner may assess civil penalties in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each separate violation of a law, rule or order pertaining to this chapter. Each day of continued violation constitutes a separate violation.
(c) The commissioner is authorized to assess a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) against the trustee of any trust fund authorized or required by this chapter, for each separate violation of this chapter or of any rule promulgated for the administration or enforcement of this chapter, including, but not limited to, improperly making disbursements from such funds. Each day of continued violation constitutes a separate violation.
(d) In addition to or in lieu of any disciplinary action specifically provided for in subsection (a), (b) or (c), the commissioner may order the following action against any cemetery company found to be in violation of this chapter or any rule promulgated under this chapter:

(1) A compliance examination of the cemetery by the commissioner or the commissioner’s duly authorized representatives, to be funded by the cemetery company;
(2) An independent audit of the cemetery performed by a certified public accountant, to be funded by the cemetery company.
(e) In addition to or in lieu of any disciplinary action against a cemetery company found to be in violation of this chapter or any rule promulgated under this chapter, the commissioner may:

(1) Direct the trustee of a cemetery’s improvement care trust fund to withhold earnings and disbursements if the fund is not fully funded in accordance with this chapter; and
(2) Direct the trustee of a cemetery’s merchandise and services trust fund to withhold earnings and disbursements if the fund is not fully funded in accordance with this chapter.
(f)

(1) The commissioner or the commissioner’s duly authorized representatives are authorized to issue citations, following an on-site inspection, against cemetery companies for failure to maintain the cemetery grounds as set forth at § 46-1-304.
(2) Each citation shall be in writing and shall describe with particularity the basis of the citation.
(3) Each citation shall contain an order to cease all violations of this chapter and an assessment of a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(4) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to specify those conditions necessary to the issuance of a citation, and the range of penalties for violations of this chapter.
(g) In any proceeding in which discipline provided by subsection (a), (b), (c) or (d) is imposed, the commissioner may also require the respondent cemetery company to pay all costs of the proceeding.
(h) The Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, governs all matters and procedures respecting the hearing and judicial review of any contested case arising under this chapter or chapter 2 of this title.
(i) In any case where the commissioner renders a decision imposing discipline against a cemetery company under this section, the commissioner shall examine the commissioner’s records to determine whether the cemetery company holds a registration or a permit in any other state. If so, the commissioner shall notify the cemetery regulatory authority of the other state of its decision, by mail, within forty-five (45) days of rendering the decision. The commissioner may also furnish information relating to proceedings resulting in disciplinary action to other public authorities and to private professional organizations having a disciplinary interest in the registrant. Where a petition for review has been filed pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, the notification and furnishing of information provided for in this subsection (i) shall await the resolution of the review and, if resolution is in favor of the cemetery, no notification or furnishing of information shall be made.
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