(a) There is established within the state general fund a cemetery consumer protection account. All funds received by the commissioner under this section shall be deposited into the account and held solely for the purposes of this section.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 46-1-105

  • 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 merchandise: means personal property sold by a cemetery company, such as foundations, markers, memorials, memorial bases, monuments, urns, vases, and lawn and mausoleum crypts. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of commerce and insurance. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • General fund: means the sum total of specific funds placed in a single fund. See Tennessee Code 46-1-102
  • 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
  • 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
(b) Moneys within the account shall be invested by the state treasurer in accordance with § 9-4-603 for the sole benefit of the account.
(c) No renewal of a certificate of registration shall be issued unless the applicant pays, in addition to the renewal fee, a consumer protection fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) for every pre-need sales contract entered into during the preceding renewal period, except that the applicant shall not have to pay the consumer protection fee on any pre-need sales contract entered into that was subsequently cancelled prior to the applicant’s request for renewal of a certificate of registration. If the pre-need sales contract covers both cemetery merchandise and funeral merchandise as defined in § 62-5-403, then the cemetery company shall pay only one (1) consumer protection fee for the contract, which shall be credited to the cemetery consumer protection account.
(d) One-half (½) of the funds received pursuant to this section shall be used to fund the cemetery registration program, and one-half (½) of the funds received pursuant to this section shall be used to fund any receivership action initiated by the commissioner against a cemetery due to a deficiency in the cemetery’s improvement care or pre-need merchandise and services trust fund.
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