Bill > SB0715

This bill makes several significant changes to Tennessee's cemetery regulations, focusing on improving transparency, fairness, and administrative processes for cemetery companies and consumers. The bill modifies how improvement care trust fund values are calculated by allowing distributions based on a three-year average fair market value. It establishes clear guidelines for memorial care and installation fees, limiting cemetery companies to charging no more than 75 cents per square inch for these services and mandating that fees cannot exceed installation charges. The bill introduces a new process for handling abandoned interment rights, where rights can be reclaimed by a cemetery company after 75 years of no contact, provided they conduct a reasonable search and follow specific notification procedures. Additionally, the bill updates administrative fees for cemetery registration renewals, standardizing the state administrative fee to $20 per pre-need sales contract and clarifying that only one fee can be charged for multiple contracts. The legislation also makes various technical amendments, such as replacing references to "lot owner" with "interment right owner" and establishing definitions for terms like community columbarium and community mausoleum. These changes aim to provide more protection and clarity for consumers while giving cemetery companies more structured guidelines for their operations. The bill is set to take effect on January 1, 2026.

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https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0715&ga=114