SECTIONS 9725-9737 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 9725-9737

9725. Upon grounds provided in this article and the other articles
of this act, the license of any cemetery licensee and the certificate
of authority of any cemetery corporation may be revoked or suspended
in accordance with the provisions of this article.

9725.1. Unprofessional conduct by any licensee or registrant or by
any agent or employee of a licensee or registrant constitutes grounds
for disciplinary action. Unprofessional conduct includes, but is not
limited to, the following:
(a) Violating or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly, or
assisting in or abetting the violation of this chapter and any
regulation adopted thereunder, or of any federal or state law or
regulation governing the disposition of human remains, operation of
cemeteries or crematories, the sale of cemetery property, or the sale
of crematory services or commodities.
(b) Negligence in performing any act related to the operation of a
cemetery or crematory.

9726. The bureau may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon the
verified complaint in writing of any person, investigate the actions
of any person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a
cemetery licensee, and may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke
a license at any time where the licensee, within the immediately
preceding three years, while a cemetery licensee in performing or
attempting to perform any of the acts specified in this act, has been
guilty of any of the following:
(a) Making any substantial misrepresentation.
(b) Making any false statement of a character likely to influence
or persuade.
(c) A continued and flagrant course of misrepresentation or making
of false promises through cemetery agents or salespersons.
(d) Acting for more than one party in a transaction without the
knowledge or consent of all parties thereto.
(e) Commingling the money or other property of his or her
principal with his or her own.
(f) The practice of claiming or demanding a fee, compensation or
commission under any exclusive agreement authorizing or employing a
licensee to sell, buy or exchange cemetery property for compensation
or commission where such agreement does not contain a definite,
specified date of final and complete termination.
(g) The claiming or taking by a licensee of any secret or
undisclosed amount of compensation, commission or profit or the
failure of a licensee to reveal to the employer of such licensee the
full amount of such licensee's compensation, commission or profit
under any agreement authorizing or employing such licensee to sell,
buy or exchange cemetery property for compensation or commission
prior to or coincident with the signing of such agreement evidencing
the meeting of the minds of the contracting parties, regardless of
the form of such agreement, whether evidenced by documents in an
escrow or by any other or different procedure.
(h) The use by a licensee of any provision allowing the licensee
an option to purchase in an agreement authorizing or employing such
licensee to sell, buy, or exchange cemetery property for compensation
or commission, except when such licensee prior to or coincident with
election to exercise such option to purchase reveals in writing to
the employer the full amount of licensee's profit and obtains the
written consent of the employer approving the amount of such profit.
(i) Any other conduct, whether of the same or a different
character than specified in this section, which constitutes fraud or
dishonest dealing.
The misrepresentations and false statements mentioned in this
section include also misrepresentation and false statements as to
other property than that which the cemetery licensee may be selling
or attempting to sell.

9727. The bureau may suspend or revoke the license of any cemetery
licensee who, within the immediately preceding three years, has done
any of the following:
(a) Been convicted of a crime substantially related to the
qualifications, functions and duties of such licensee. The record of
conviction, or a certified copy thereof, shall be conclusive evidence
of such conviction.
(b) Knowingly authorized, directed, connived at or aided in the
publication, advertisement, distribution, or circulation of any
material false statement or representation concerning his or her
business or any cemetery property offered for sale.
(c) Willfully disregarded or violated any of the provisions of
this act relating to cemetery brokerage.
(d) Acted or conducted himself or herself in a manner which would
have warranted the denial of his or her application for a cemetery
license, or for a renewal thereof.

9727.1. The bureau may suspend or revoke the license of any
cemetery licensee who procures a cemetery license, for himself or
herself or any salesperson, by fraud, misrepresentation or deceit. An
action to suspend or revoke a license for a violation of the
provisions of this section shall be commenced within three years
after the discovery by the bureau of that violation.

9727.2. A plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a
plea of nolo contendere is deemed to be a conviction within the
meaning of this article. The bureau may order the license suspended
or revoked, or may decline to issue a license, when the time for
appeal has elapsed, or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed
on appeal or when an order granting probation is made suspending the
imposition of sentence, irrespective of a subsequent order under the
provisions of Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code allowing such person
to withdraw his or her plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not
guilty, or setting aside the verdict of guilty, or dismissing the
accusation, information or indictment.

9728. When any salesperson is discharged by his or her employer for
a violation of any of the provisions of this article prescribing a
ground for disciplinary action, a verified written statement of the
facts with reference thereto shall be filed forthwith with the bureau
by the employer and, if the employer fails to notify the bureau as
required by this section, the bureau may temporarily suspend or
permanently revoke the cemetery license of the employer in accordance
with the provisions of this act.

9729. The bureau may deny, suspend or revoke the cemetery license
of a corporation as to any officer or agent acting under its cemetery
license, and the cemetery license of a copartnership as to any
member acting under its cemetery license, without revoking the
cemetery license of the corporation or of the copartnership.

9730. The fees for cemetery licenses at all periods of the fiscal
year is the same as provided in this article. All cemetery license
fees are payable in advance of issuing the licenses and at the time
of filing the application. All licenses shall be issued for the
fiscal year and shall expire on June 30th of each fiscal year at
midnight.

9731. If a person fails to apply for a license renewal, no renewal
license shall be issued except upon payment of the delinquent renewal
fee required under Section 9750.5.
No person who fails to renew his or her license within one year of
the expiration date can engage in any of the activities authorized
by a license unless he or she first files the application required
for an original license, pays the original license fee, and otherwise
complies with all of the provisions of this act pertaining to the
issuance of an original license.

9732. The definitions contained in this article are solely for the
purposes of this article.

9733. An original cemetery broker's license is a cemetery license
issued to a person who did not have a cemetery broker's license on
June 30th of the fiscal year previous to the fiscal year for which
the license is issued.

9734. A renewal cemetery broker's license is a cemetery license
issued to a person who had a cemetery broker's license unrevoked and
unsuspended on June 30th of the fiscal year previous to the fiscal
year for which the renewal cemetery license is issued.

9735. An original cemetery salesperson's license is a cemetery
license issued to a person who did not have a cemetery salesperson's
or a broker's license either individually or as an officer of a
corporation, or as a member of a copartnership, on June 30th of the
fiscal year previous to the fiscal year for which the salesperson's
license is issued.

9736. A renewal cemetery salesperson's license is a cemetery
license issued to a person who had a cemetery salesperson's or a
broker's license either individually or as an officer of a
corporation, or as a member of a copartnership, on June 30th of the
fiscal year previous to the fiscal year for which the salesperson's
license is issued.

9737. The proceedings under this article shall be conducted in
accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the bureau shall
have all the powers granted therein.