(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.

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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