(1) The Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services is created within the Department of Financial Services and shall consist of 10 members, 9 of whom shall be appointed by the Governor from nominations made by the Chief Financial Officer and confirmed by the Senate. The Chief Financial Officer shall nominate three persons for each of the nine vacancies on the board, and the Governor shall fill each vacancy on the board by appointing one of the three persons nominated by the Chief Financial Officer to fill that vacancy. If the Governor objects to each of the three nominations for a vacancy, she or he shall inform the Chief Financial Officer in writing. Upon notification of an objection by the Governor, the Chief Financial Officer shall submit three additional nominations for that vacancy until the vacancy is filled. One member must be the State Health Officer or her or his designee.

(2) Two members of the board shall be funeral directors licensed under part III of this chapter who are associated with a funeral establishment. One member of the board shall be a funeral director licensed under part III of this chapter who is associated with a funeral establishment licensed under part III of this chapter that has a valid preneed license issued pursuant to this chapter and who owns or operates a cinerator facility approved under chapter 403 and licensed under part VI of this chapter. Two members of the board shall be persons whose primary occupation is associated with a cemetery company licensed pursuant to this chapter. Three members of the board shall be consumers who are residents of the state, have never been licensed as funeral directors or embalmers, are not connected with a cemetery or cemetery company licensed pursuant to this chapter, and are not connected with the death care industry or the practice of embalming, funeral directing, or direct disposition. One of the consumer members shall be at least 60 years of age, and one shall be licensed as a certified public accountant under chapter 473. One member of the board shall be a principal of a monument establishment licensed under this chapter as a monument builder. One member shall be the State Health Officer or her or his designee. There shall not be two or more board members who are principals or employees of the same company or partnership or group of companies or partnerships under common control.

(3) Board members shall be appointed for terms of 4 years, and the State Health Officer shall serve as long as that person holds that office. The designee of the State Health Officer shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. When the terms of the initial board members expire, the Chief Financial Officer shall stagger the terms of the successor members as follows: one funeral director, one cemetery representative, the monument builder, and one consumer member shall be appointed for terms of 2 years, and the remaining members shall be appointed for terms of 4 years. All subsequent terms shall be for 4 years.

(4) The Governor may suspend and the Senate may remove any board member for malfeasance or misfeasance, neglect of duty, incompetence, substantial inability to perform official duties, commission of a crime, or other substantial cause as determined by the Governor or Senate, as applicable, to evidence a lack of fitness to sit on the board. A board member shall be deemed to have resigned her or his board membership, and that position shall be deemed vacant, upon the failure of the member to attend three consecutive meetings of the board or at least half of the meetings of the board during any 12-month period, unless the Chief Financial Officer determines that there was good and adequate justification for the absences and that such absences are not likely to continue.

(5) A current or former board member is exempt from any civil liability for any act or omission when acting in good faith in her or his official capacity, and the Department of Legal Affairs and the Division of Risk Management shall defend such board member in any civil action against such person arising from any such act or omission.

(6) The headquarters and records of the board shall be in the Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services of the Department of Financial Services in the City of Tallahassee. The board may be contacted through the Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services of the Department of Financial Services in the City of Tallahassee. The Chief Financial Officer shall annually appoint from among the board members a chair and vice chair of the board. The board shall meet at least every 6 months, and more often as necessary. Special meetings of the board shall be convened upon the direction of the Chief Financial Officer. A quorum is necessary for the conduct of business by the board. Unless otherwise provided by law, six board members shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of the board’s business.

(7) A board member shall be compensated $50 for each day the member attends an official meeting and each day the member participates at the request of the board’s executive director in any other business involving the board. To the extent authorized by s. 112.061, a board member is entitled to reimbursement for expenses incurred in connection with official duties. Out-of-state travel by board members on official business shall, in each specific instance, require the advance approval of the board’s executive director in order for the travel to be eligible for reimbursement of expenses.

(8) The department shall adopt rules establishing forms by which persons may apply for membership on the board and procedures for applying for such membership. Such forms shall require disclosure of the existence and nature of all current and past employments by or contracts with, and direct or indirect affiliations or interests in, any entity or business that at any time was licensed by the board or by the former Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services or the former Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers or that is or was otherwise involved in the death care industry, as specified by department rule.

History.—s. 41, ch. 93-399; s. 5, ch. 96-400; s. 1143, ch. 97-103; s. 551, ch. 2003-261; s. 7, ch. 2004-301; s. 3, ch. 2005-155; s. 1, ch. 2007-55; s. 2, ch. 2010-125.