Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 32 > Chapter 12 - Funeral Industry Professionals

• Accredited: means being recognized or authorized by the American board of funeral service education. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Administrative costs and expenses: means the cost of copies, transcripts, court reporter and witness fees, reimbursement for mileage and office of administrative hearings costs. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Adult: means a person who has attained eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Alkaline hydrolysis: means a form of final disposition that includes all of the following:

  (a) Reducing a dead human body to essential elements through a water-based dissolution process using alkaline chemicals, heat, agitation and pressure to accelerate natural decomposition. See Arizona Laws 32-1301

• Alkaline hydrolysis facility: means a building or structure containing one or more alkaline hydrolysis vessels for alkaline hydrolysis. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Alkaline hydrolysis operator: means a person who is trained to carry out the process of alkaline hydrolysis. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Alkaline hydrolysis vessel: means the container in which alkaline hydrolysis is performed. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Alternative container: means any unfinished wood box or other nonmetal receptacle or enclosure, without ornamentation or a fixed interior lining, that is designed for encasing human remains. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authorizing agent: means a person who is legally entitled to order the cremation, disinterment or embalming of human remains pursuant to Section 32-1365. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Beneficiary: means a person whose future funeral arrangements will be handled by a funeral establishment pursuant to a prearranged funeral agreement. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Board: means the Arizona early childhood development and health board established by this chapter. See Arizona Laws 8-1152
• Bribe: means anything of value or advantage, present or prospective, asked, offered, given, accepted or promised with a corrupt intent to influence, unlawfully, the person to whom it is given in that person's action, vote or opinion, in any public or official capacity. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Business entity: includes any corporation, association, limited liability company, professional corporation, partnership, limited partnership, sole proprietorship, business trust, trust, joint venture and other business entity. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Casket: means a rigid container that is designed to permanently encase human remains and that is usually constructed of wood, metal or synthetic substances and ornamented and lined with fabric. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Change of ownership: means a transfer of a controlling legal or equitable interest in a licensed funeral establishment or crematory resulting from a sale or merger. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conviction: means a criminal adjudication or conviction by any state or federal court of competent jurisdiction, including a judgment based on a no contest plea, without regard to whether civil rights have been restored. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Cremated remains: means the remaining bone fragments after cremation. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Cremation: means the heating process that reduces human remains to bone fragments by combustion and evaporation. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Cremation container: means a leak and spill resistant, rigid, combustible, closed receptacle into which human remains are placed before cremation. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Cremationist: means a person who operates a crematory retort, who performs the actual cremation of human remains and who may be licensed pursuant to article 6 of this chapter. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Crematory: means a building or portion of a building that is licensed pursuant to article 6 of this chapter and that houses a retort in which only human remains are cremated. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Department: means the department of health services. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Department: means the department of child safety. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• Director: means the director of the department. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Director: means the director of the department. See Arizona Laws 8-201
• Disciplinary action: means an action taken to revoke or suspend a license, to impose probationary requirements or civil penalties or to issue a letter of censure or reprimand to any person who is subject to this chapter and who violates any provision of this chapter or rules. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Early childhood development and health programs: means programs and services provided to children prior to kindergarten and their families for the purpose of assisting child development by providing education and other support, including parent and family support programs, child care, preschool, health screenings and access to preventive health services. See Arizona Laws 8-1152
• Embalmer: means a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter and who is engaged in embalming. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Embalming: means the implementation of reconstructive procedures and the process of disinfecting and preserving a dead human body to retard organic decomposition by treating the body to reduce the presence and growth of organisms. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Federal poverty guidelines: means the poverty guidelines as updated annually in the federal register by the United States department of health and human services. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Financial institution: means a bank, savings and loan association, trust company or credit union that is lawfully doing business in this state and that is not affiliated with a funeral establishment. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fixed price prearranged funeral agreement funded by trust: means any agreement or combination of agreements that establishes a fixed price for funeral goods and services, that requires a funeral establishment to provide those funeral goods and services at the price levels in effect at the time of the execution of the agreement and that requires the purchaser to convey all or a portion of the accrued interest to the funeral establishment at the time that the funeral goods and services are actually provided. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Funded by insurance: means that monies for a prearranged funeral agreement are paid directly to an insurance company licensed pursuant to title 20 on behalf of the beneficiary of the agreement. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Funeral directing: means arranging, directing or providing a service in the disposition of dead human bodies for compensation. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Funeral director: means a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter and who is engaged in funeral directing. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Funeral establishment: means a business at a specific location that is licensed pursuant to this chapter and that is devoted to the care, storage or preparation for final disposition or transportation of dead human bodies. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Holding facility: means a designated area for retaining human remains. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Human remains: means a lifeless human body or parts of a human body that allow a reasonable inference that death occurred. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• License: means a written authorization that is issued by the department and that entitles a person to act as a funeral director or embalmer or to operate a funeral establishment, crematory or alkaline hydrolysis facility in this state. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Licensee: means a person to whom the department has issued a license under this chapter. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Manage: means :

  (a) That a responsible funeral director exercises control and oversight over all employees of a funeral establishment and over funeral transactions, including caring for dead human bodies, funeral services and activities and documenting and retaining records. See Arizona Laws 32-1301

• National board examination: means the test or tests given by the international conference of funeral service examining boards to determine the entry level knowledge and skills of a person regarding funeral directing and embalming. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Net interest: means interest earned on a prearranged funeral trust account minus applicable taxes, reasonable and necessary charges made by the financial institution and the annual service fee allowed to be deducted by the funeral establishment according to Section 32-1391. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes an affirmation or declaration. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Outer burial container: means a container that is designed for placement in a grave around a casket, including burial vaults, grave boxes and grave liners. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Person legally responsible: means the person responsible for burying a dead body as determined in section 36-831. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action and evidences of debt. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Population: means the population according to the most recent United States decennial census. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Prearranged funeral agreement: means any agreement or combination of agreements under which a payment is made before the death of the intended beneficiary for funeral goods and services to be delivered or performed after the death of the beneficiary. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Prearranged funeral trust account: means a trust account that is established at a financial institution and into which all monies paid on behalf of a beneficiary pursuant to a prearranged funeral agreement are deposited. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Preparation: means washing, shaving, dressing or arranging hair on, applying cosmetics to or positioning bodily features on a dead human body and placing the dead human body in a casket. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Processed cremated remains: means cremated remains after they are pulverized and cleaned, leaving primarily small bone fragments. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Provisionally accredited: means being granted candidacy status by the American board of funeral service education. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Responsible cremationist: means a licensed cremationist who manages a crematory. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Responsible funeral director: means a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter, who is engaged in funeral directing and who manages and is accountable for a funeral establishment. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Retort: means an enclosed space within which cremation takes place. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• supervision: means that a licensed embalmer has responsibility for and is within sight and sound of a person who is embalming a dead human body or assisting in embalming a dead human body. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Temporary container: means a receptacle that is usually made of cardboard, rigid plastic or another similar material and that is designed to hold processed cremated remains until they are placed in an urn or another permanent container. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transportation protection agreement: means an agreement that primarily provides or arranges for services that are related to preparing human remains or cremated remains for the purpose of transportation and such subsequent transportation. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Trust funds: means all monies that are deposited on behalf of a beneficiary of a prearranged funeral agreement funded by trust and all accrued net interest. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Universal precautions: means the universal blood and fluid precautions recommended by the centers for disease control of the United States public health service to prevent the transmission of bloodborne and bodily fluid-borne infectious diseases. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Unprofessional conduct: includes the following acts, whether occurring in this state or elsewhere:

  (a) Committing a class 1 or 2 felony. See Arizona Laws 32-1301

• Urn: means a receptacle into which processed cremated remains are placed for disposition. See Arizona Laws 32-1301
• Wilfully: means , with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that the person's conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. See Arizona Laws 1-215