There is a State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors in the Department.
The Board consists of 11 members.
Of the 11 Board members:
6 shall be licensed morticians or licensed funeral directors; and
5 shall be consumer members.
All Board members shall be residents of the State.
The Governor shall appoint each member with the advice of the Secretary, and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The Board may not have more than one member who is employed by or affiliated with, directly or indirectly, the same corporation, professional association, or other entity, that owns, directly or through a subsidiary corporation, professional association, or other entity, one or more funeral homes.
Each mortician member shall:
Be a licensed mortician whose license is in good standing with the Board; and
Have practiced mortuary science actively for at least 5 years immediately before appointment.
In this subsection, “good standing” means that the Board has not reprimanded the licensee, suspended, or revoked the mortician’s license or placed the licensee on probation within 5 years’ time prior to or after confirmation to the Board.
To qualify for appointment to the Board, the licensee must meet all other qualifications required for renewal of a mortician license under this title.
Each funeral director member shall:
Be a licensed funeral director whose license is in good standing with the Board; and
Have practiced funeral direction actively for at least 5 years immediately before appointment.
In this subsection, “good standing” means that the Board has not reprimanded the licensee, suspended, or revoked the funeral director’s license or placed the licensee on probation within 5 years’ time prior to or after confirmation to the Board.
To qualify for appointment to the Board, the licensee must meet all other qualifications required for renewal of a funeral director license under this title.
For each licensed mortician or licensed funeral director vacancy, the Board shall send by electronic mail or regular mail a notice of the vacancy to:
Each mortician and funeral director licensed by the Board; and
Each professional association that represents morticians and funeral directors in the State and requests that the Board send it solicitations for nominations to fill vacancies.
A notice sent under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include:
The type of member vacancy;
The qualifications for the member vacancy; and
A detailed explanation of the process for applying for the member vacancy.
Each consumer member of the Board:
Shall be a member of the general public;
May not be or ever have been a mortician, funeral director, or apprentice;
May not have a household member who is a mortician, funeral director, or apprentice;
May not participate or ever have participated in a commercial or professional field related to the practice of mortuary science;
May not have a household member who participates in a commercial or professional field related to the practice of mortuary science; and
May not have had within 2 years before appointment a substantial financial interest in a person regulated by the Board.
While a member of the Board, a consumer member may not have a substantial financial interest in a person regulated by the Board.
Before taking office, each member of the Board shall take the oath required by Article I, § 9 of the Maryland Constitution.
The term of an appointed member is 4 years, except that the initial term of 1 of the consumer members is 3 years.
The terms of appointed members are staggered as required by the terms provided for members of the Board on July 1, 1981.
At the end of a term, an appointed member continues to serve until a successor is appointed and qualifies.
A member who is appointed after a term has begun serves only for the rest of the term and until a successor is appointed and qualifies.
To the extent practicable, the Governor shall fill any vacancy on the Board occurring during the term of an appointed member within 60 days of the date of the vacancy.
A member may not serve more than 2 consecutive full terms.
The Governor may remove an appointed member:
For incompetence or misconduct;
Who, because of events that occur after the member’s appointment or reappointment to the Board, causes the Board to be in violation of the prohibition set forth in subsection (a)(5) of this section;
For repeated and unexplained absences; or
For any just and reasonable cause.
From among its members, the Board shall elect a president, a first vice president, and a second vice president.
The Board shall determine:
The manner of election of officers;
The term of office of each officer; and
The duties of each officer.
A majority of the then–serving appointed members of the Board is a quorum to do business.
The Board shall meet at least once a year, at the times and places that it sets in its bylaws and rules and regulations.
The Board shall hold special meetings that:
It considers necessary; or
The Secretary directs.
Each appointed member of the Board is entitled to:
Compensation in accordance with the budget of the Board for each meeting that the member attends; and
Reimbursement for expenses at a rate determined by the Board.
The Board may appoint a Board secretary, who may be a member of the Board.
The Board may employ inspectors and other staff in accordance with the budget of the Board.
An action may be taken by a simple majority vote of the quorum.
In addition to the powers and duties set forth elsewhere in this title, the Board has the following powers and duties:
To adopt bylaws, rules, and regulations to carry out the provisions of this title;
To adopt a seal;
To establish procedures for licensing apprentices;
To keep a list of all individuals currently licensed by the Board;
To investigate any alleged violation of this title;
To enforce this title;
To adopt rules and regulations regarding false and misleading advertising and misrepresentation;
To inspect licensed funeral establishments;
On receipt of a written and signed complaint, including a referral from the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, to conduct an unannounced inspection of the funeral establishment to determine compliance at that funeral establishment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines on universal precautions;
To establish standards for the practice of mortuary science; and
To establish standards for sanitation and waste disposal in connection with the practice of mortuary science.
The Board may conduct an audit of a licensee that:
Receives pre-need funds;
Places pre-need funds in a trust; or
Enters into a pre-need contract.
The Board shall:
Establish a process for regulating crematories and reduction facilities that provides for:
Registration of crematory operators and reduction operators or issuance of permits for operating crematories and reduction facilities, and renewal;
Applications, including certification of ownership and identification of individuals who will perform cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, or natural organic reduction;
Registration or permit fees;
Inspections and oversight;
Grounds for discipline and penalties; and
Complaints and hearings;
Adopt regulations that:
Implement item (1) of this subsection;
Ensure public health and safety;
Require a registered reduction operator to notify the authorizing agent in writing and before initiating natural organic reduction that a person who uses or disposes of soil remains is subject to § 5–514 of the Health – General Article;
Require a reduction facility to monitor and record written verification that the temperature during each instance of a natural organic reduction process attains a specified minimum internal equipment temperature for a specified minimum period of time;
Establish appropriate standards for training and experience for the registration of reduction operators;
Prohibit the use of natural organic reduction in any instance in which the human remains are known, or reasonably suspected, to be embalmed or to have an infection, disease, or biological condition that renders the process of natural organic reduction or the resulting soil remains unreasonably unsafe, including:
Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease or other prion disease;
Ebola virus infection;
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection;
The presence of diagnostic or therapeutic radioisotopes; or
Any other infection, disease, or biological condition identified by the Board based on the reasonable recommendation of a federal, State, or local health authority;
Establish a mandatory contamination testing program for reduction facilities to ensure the safety of soil remains produced, including the following minimum program elements:
Collecting routine material samples from soil remains for analysis using:
A reliable sampling methodology; and
An appropriate frequency of sampling, as recommended or approved by the U.S. Composting Council or another reliable scientific advisory authority;
Recording and retaining the results of an analysis of samples from the soil remains conducted by an independent third–party laboratory to identify the presence of heavy metals or microbial pathogens according to the appropriate contamination parameters for biosolids specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Title 40 C.F.R. Part 503, Chapter I, Subchapter O;
Conducting an analysis for each production of soil remains to ensure that the soil remains contain less than 0.01 mg/kg dry weight of specific physical contaminants, which may include intact bone, dental fillings, and medical implants;
Ensuring that no soil remains are released until the soil remains comply with each of the applicable contamination testing parameters; and
Periodic reporting of testing results to appropriate State and local health authorities that have requested the results; and
Establish any other reasonable prohibition, rule, or requirement the Board determines is necessary to protect the public health and safety during the process of natural organic reduction; and
Adopt a code of ethics for engaging in the operation of a crematory or reduction facility.
There is a State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors Fund.
The Board may set reasonable fees for its services.
The fees charged shall be set so as to approximate the cost of maintaining the Board.
Funds to cover the compensation and expenses of the Board members shall be generated by fees set under this section.
The Board may not assess a crematory a per–occurrence cremation fee.
The Board shall pay all funds collected under this title to the Comptroller of the State.
The Comptroller shall distribute the fees to the State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors Fund.
The Fund shall be used to cover the actual documented direct and indirect costs of fulfilling the statutory and regulatory duties of the Board as provided by the provisions of this article.
The Fund is a continuing, nonlapsing fund, not subject to § 7–302 of the State Finance and Procurement Article.
Any unspent portions of the Fund may not be transferred or revert to the General Fund of the State, but shall remain in the Fund to be used for the purposes specified in this article.
No other State money may be used to support the Fund.
A designee of the Board shall administer the Fund.
Money in the Fund may be expended only for any lawful purpose authorized under the provisions of this article.
The Legislative Auditor shall audit the accounts and transactions of the Fund as provided in § 2–1220 of the State Government Article.
A person shall have the immunity from liability described under § 5-707 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article for giving information to the Board or otherwise participating in its activities.
The Board may require an applicant or licensee to submit to a mental or physical examination by a health care practitioner designated by the Board, if:
When investigating an allegation brought against an applicant or licensee under this title, the Board finds reasonable evidence indicating that the applicant or licensee cannot practice mortuary science or funeral direction competently;
The Board:
Makes a written request for the applicant or licensee to submit to the examination;
Provides the applicant or licensee with a list of three health care practitioners from which the applicant may choose a health care practitioner to conduct the examination; and
Pays the cost of the examination in accordance with subsection (c) of this section; and
The applicant or licensee:
Consents to submit to the examination; and
Waives any claim or privilege as to the examination report.
An evaluation report of a health care practitioner designated by the Board is confidential except as to contested case proceedings as defined by the Administrative Procedure Act.
Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, an applicant who does not hold a valid license with the Board shall pay the reasonable cost of any examination made under this section.
If the applicant is deemed competent to practice mortuary science or funeral direction as a result of the evaluation, the Board shall reimburse the applicant for the reasonable cost of the evaluation that was performed.
The Board shall pay the reasonable cost of an examination made under this section for a licensee of the Board.