BILL NUMBER: S7690
SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the requirements
for licensure of funeral directors
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would increase the value and quality of the residency program
which must be completed for an individual to become a fully licensed
funeral director. It would do so by setting forth specific heightened
requirements for the resident to complete as well as increasing the
accountability of the program for both the resident and the preceptor
charged with supervising the student.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends subdivision (k) and adds subdivision (m)
to 3400 of the public health law to define "Preceptor".
Section two of the bill amends subdivision one of 3401 of the public
health law to clarify that the commissioner of health may issue rules
and regulations in furtherance of the implementation of this bill with
respect to residency and preceptor standards.
Section three of the bill amends 3421 of the public health law to
provide for the completion of a "discernment period" as part of the
mortuary science curriculum, as well as provide specific requirements
for each mortuary science student to complete as part of his or her
one-year residency period.
Section four of the bill adds 3421-a and 3421-b of the public health law
outlining the requirements for students serving a discernment and
preceptors.
Section five of the bill provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The NYS Funeral Directors Association's (NYSFDA) "Task Force on Reform-
ing Funeral Service Education" was created to study and identify oppor-
tunities for elevating the practice of funeral directing by strengthen-
ing certain areas of the profession's educational requirements. The area
receiving the most attention as ripe for improvement was the Registered
Residency program. Each person seeking a career in funeral service must
serve a one-year residency program in a funeral home prior to becoming
fully licensed to practice as a funeral director in New York State.
While the residency program should continue to serve as an invaluable
and necessary step towards licensure, the Task Force's consensus is that
it could be improved by defining and further requiring that a resident
perform specific, broad-based tasks to ensure that they are better
prepared to become a fully licensed funeral director. In addition, the
bill would require a resident to complete a "discernment period" with a
licensed funeral firm before the start of the third semester of mortuary
school. The real-world exposure to funeral directing that this discern-
ment period provides would allow the resident to decide whether to
continue to pursue a career in funeral service. NYSFDA's members have
found that many students are yet undecided about this career, even after
enrollment in school, but do not know that until they start working in a
funeral home - well after they have completed their education and taken
the required national and state tests.
Finally, the bill would strengthen the State's residency program by
increasing levels of accountability on both the aspiring funeral direc-
tor resident and the person supervising him or her ("preceptor"). This
legislation is largely modeled after Iowa's highly successful funeral
service "internship" program and would better prepare the next gener-
ation of funeral directors to serve the State's population at their
times of need in the near future. As such, its enactment will not only
improve New York State's funeral service sector for the future, but also
ensure that our citizens continue to receive only the best service at
their greatest time of need. This proposal also incorporates recommenda-
tions from NYSFDA's "Funeral Service 2020" Task Force.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Negligible
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
180 days. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal
of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act
on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or
before such effective date.

Statutes affected:
S7690: 3400 public health law, 3401 public health law, 3401(1) public health law