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Tennessee funeral board adopts clerical rule updates, narrows civil-penalty chart to $250–$1,000
Summary
At a June 10 meeting in Nashville the Tennessee Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers held a public rulemaking hearing and voted to adopt a package of amendments that replace obsolete references, accept high‑school equivalency in place of GED, clarify continuing‑education standards and set the board's civil penalty range at $250 to $1,000.
The Tennessee Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers on June 10 adopted a set of proposed rule amendments intended primarily to update wording, remove obsolete continuing‑education media and clarify administrative procedures, including a single civil‑penalty range of $250 to $1,000.
The changes were presented at a public rulemaking hearing held at the Davy Crockett Tower in Nashville and streamed via Microsoft Teams. The board voted, by roll call, to adopt each amended rule after staff read the proposed language into the record and confirmed that no written or oral public comments had been received before or during the hearing.
The adopted package covers several discrete updates. Staff attorney Mr. Bridal, staff attorney, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Division of Regulatory Boards, said the amendments: replace references to GED with "high school equivalency" in apprentice and funeral director rules; remove obsolete media such as cassette and certain audio‑visual references from qualifying continuing education rules; clarify that qualifying continuing education must include a continuous two‑way transfer of information between presenter and licensee; delete specific URL links to avoid outdated web addresses; implement a succession procedure to receive examination grades if the executive director position is vacant; and replace a detailed civil‑penalty chart with language stating a civil‑penalty range of $250 to $1,000.
Board members asked clarifying questions during the hearing about notice and how the amendments track statute. Mr. Bridal read statutory authority and the notice process into the record, including the requirement that rules remain in the Secretary of State's office for 90 days before becoming effective. No members of the public who had registered to speak were present or offered oral comments during the hearing.
Each individual rule motion was introduced and carried by roll call. Motions to adopt the amended language for the board's general provisions, exam grading procedures, apprentice education language, funeral director provisions, civil penalty language, continuing education requirements, and qualifying continuing education programs all passed. The board also adopted the regulatory flexibility addendum and the required impact and joint‑committee materials before closing the hearing.
The board's staff confirmed that the proposed amendments had been posted in advance on the board's web page and were published in the Tennessee Administrative Register on April 22, 2025. Staff said e‑mail notifications had been sent to interested parties and to professional organizations the agency identified as likely affected.
The board's staff will submit the adopted rules to the governor's office and then to the attorney general for legal review. If the attorney general approves, the rules will be filed with the Secretary of State and typically become effective 90 days after filing and a positive recommendation from the Joint Government Operations Committee.
The changes are clerical or clarifying in nature, the board found, and staff recommended they would not impose additional requirements on small businesses.
