SB 518

Currently, in order to be eligible for a funeral director license, an individual

must, in addition to satisfying other requirements, have 1) completed a funeral

director apprenticeship; 2) completed two academic years of instruction in a

recognized college or university; and 3) completed nine months or more instruction

in a prescribed course in mortuary science. Current law requires that the nine

months of mortuary science be completed after completing a 16-hour certification

class, which is a prerequisite to beginning the apprenticeship.

This bill 1) requires 24 semester credits of education, instead of two years, in

order to be granted a funeral director license; and 2) eliminates the requirement that

the nine months of instruction in mortuary science be completed after completing a

16-hour certification class. The bill further provides that if an individual completes

the nine months of instruction in mortuary science before beginning an

apprenticeship, the 16-hour certification class is not required to begin the

apprenticeship.

The bill also makes various nonsubstantive organizational changes to the laws

governing funeral directors.