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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 14, 2023
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 546 By: Montgomery of the Senate
and
Sneed of the House
An Act relating to the Cemetery Merchandi se Trust
Act; amending 36 O.S. 2021, Sect ions 7125, 7127,
7128, 7131, and 7133, which relate to permit
application, surety bond, annual reporting, and
violations; requiring certain application s and fees
to be submitted and paid electr onically; adding
certain report to documents required for issu ance of
permit; requiring renewal fee prior to reinstatement
of certain permit; modifying renewal procedure s for
expired permits; requiring certain report from
expired permit holders; conforming language;
requiring certain updates to permit holder
information by certain date; requiring certain permit
holder to respond to certain inquiries by certain
date; requiring surety to provide notice to Insurance
Commissioner by certain date; requiring annual report
to be filed electronically; removing minimum amount
for certain civil penalty assessed for certain
violation; conforming language; updating statutory
language; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 36 O.S. 2021, Section 7125, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 7125. A. Each organization desiring to acc ept money or
anything of value for prepaid cemetery merchandise shall file an
application for a permit with the Insura nce Commissioner, and shall
at the time of filing the application pay one initial filing fee of
Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), along with any transaction or other
applicable fees. All applications shall be filed and the fee shall
be paid electronically in a form and manner prescr ibed by the
Commissioner. The Commissioner shall issue a permit upon the
receipt of the application, the annual report in accordance wit h
Section 7128 of this title, and payment of the filing fee fees, and
upon making a finding that the applicant has complied with the
Cemetery Merchandise Trust Act and the rules as may be established
pursuant to the Cemetery Merchandise Trust Act by th e Commissioner.
All applications shall be signed by the organization requesting the
permit, and shall contain a statement that the applicant will comply
with all the requirements as established pursuant t o the Cemetery
Merchandise Trust Act. All permits shall expire on March 15 of t he
year following the year the permit is first issued, unless renewed .
Permits shall be renew ed for a period not to exceed the succeeding
March 15 upon the payment of a renewa l fee of Two Hundred Dollars
($200.00). Late application for renewal of a permi t shall require a
fee of double the renewal fee. No application for renewal of a
permit shall be accepted after April 15 of each year. Late
applicants shall be required to re apply as if they were a new
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applicant, and pay an a pplication fee equal to an am ount that is
double the renewal fee in addition to any fines that may have been
imposed with respect to an expired permit The renewal application
shall be filed and the fee shall be paid electronically in a form
and manner prescribed by t he Commissioner. A permit that expires
for failure to submit a renewal application may be reinstated within
ninety (90) days after the expiration date by electronically
submitting a fee in an amount that is double the renewal fee in a
form and manner prescribed by the Commissioner an d any other
transaction or fees deemed necessary by the Co mmissioner. The
Insurance Commissioner shall require a permit holder whose permit
has been expired for more than nine ty (90) days to reapply as if a
new applicant and pay an application fee equal t o an amount that is
double the renewal fee, in addition to any fines imposed. All
applications received more than ninety (90) days following the
expiration of a permit shall include a detailed report of services
provided in this state during the period of the permit expiration.
B. The Commissioner may cancel a permit or refuse to issue a
permit or refuse to issue a renewal of a permit for failure to
comply with any provisions of the Cemetery Merchandise Trust Act or
any rules promulgated thereto by the Commissioner, after reasonable
notice to the permittee and o pportunity for hearing bef ore the
Commissioner in accordance with Article II of the Administrative
Procedures Act.
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C. No organization shall be entitled to a new permit after
cancellation, or refusa l by the Commissioner to renew a permit, but
shall thereafter be issued a new permit upon satisfactory proof of
compliance with the Cemetery Merchandise Trust Act and rules
promulgated by the Commissioner.
D. Any person or org anization aggrieved by the ac tions of the
Commissioner may appeal therefrom t o the Oklahoma Insurance
Department as provided by the Administrative Procedures Act.
E. Each permit holder shall electronically submit, in a form
and manner prescribed by the Commissioner, any change of legal
business name, “doing business as” or assumed name, address, or
contact email address, and any necessary fees within thirty (30)
days after the change occurred. Any submission of a change under
this subsection that is received more than thirty (30) days after
the change occurred shall be accompanied by a fee of Fifty Dollars
($50.00).
F. Upon receipt of any inquiry from the Insurance Com missioner,
a permit holder shall furnish the Commissioner with an adequate
response to the inquiry within twenty (20) days from the date of
receipt of the inquiry.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 36 O.S. 2021, Section 7127, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 7127. A. As an alternative to the trust requirements
of Section 7126 of this title, an organ ization may purchase a surety
bond in an amount not less t han the minimum funding requ irement.
B. The surety bond shall be made payable to the State of
Oklahoma for the benefit of the Insurance Commissioner and all
purchasers of prepaid cemetery merchandi se. The bond shall be
approved by the Commissioner.
C. The Commissioner may establis h by rule the requirements and
guidelines for the surety bonds required pursuant to this sec tion.
D. A surety bond maintained under the provis ions of this
section or Section 7124 of this title may be cancelled canceled or
terminated by the surety only by providing notice to the
Commissioner, no later than ninety (90) thirty (30) days before the
effective date of the cancellation or termination. Notwiths tanding
the cancellation, termination, or expiration of a bond maintained
under this section or Section 7124 of t his title, the surety shall
remain liable for obligations arising during the term of the bon d
and prior to the termination, cancellation or exp iration.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 3 6 O.S. 2021, Section 7128, is
amended to read as follow s:
Section 7128. Each organization shall electronically file an
annual report with the Insu rance Commissioner on or before March 15
of each year in a the manner and form as the Commissioner may
require, showing the nam e of the financial institut ion holding the
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cemetery merchandise trust fund and the amount of the trust fund
under each contract o n the preceding December 31, and also showing
the method of determination of t he wholesale costs made pursuant to
Section 7126 of this title. The total r equired deposits to the
cemetery merchandise trust fund during the year shall also be
reported. Each cemetery is responsible for maintaining satisfactor y
books and records, which will adequately justify all information
contained in the annual report requi red by this section. Any
organization which has discontinued the sale of prepaid cemetery
merchandise, but which still has funds deposited in a cemetery
merchandise trust fund or surety, shall not be required to obtain a
renewal of its permit, but it shal l continue to make annual reports
to the Commissioner until al l the funds have been disbursed pursuant
to the Cemetery Merchandise Trust Act. A filing f ee of Two Hundred
Dollars ($200.00), and any transaction or other applicable fees,
shall accompany each report. If any officer of any organization
fails or refuses to file an annual report, or fails or refuses to
cause it to be filed within thi rty (30) days after the org anization
has been notified by the Commissioner that the rep ort is due and has
not been received, the officer shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and
shall be punished as prescribed in Section 7134 of this title.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 36 O.S. 2021, Section 7131, is
amended to read as follows:
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Section 7131. A. The Insurance Commissioner, may, after notice
and an opportunity for hearing, initiate an action t o recover
payments required to be redeposited to th e cemetery merchandise
trust pursuant to the Cemetery Merchandise Trust Act or to recover
other monies received or disbursed in violation of the Cemetery
Merchandise Trust Act.
B. The Commissioner may, af ter an opportunity for hearing,
censure a permittee or may suspend or revoke a permit for violation
of any provision of the Cemetery Merch andise Trust Act or any rules
promulgated by the Commissioner. In addition to, or in lieu of, any
censure, suspension or revocation, a permittee may be subject to a
civil penalty of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor
more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per occurrence or
violation.
SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 36 O.S. 2021, Section 7 133, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 7133. Whenever any officer of an y organization refuses
to submit the books, records, papers a nd instruments of an
organization to the examination and inspection of the assistants or
examiners of the Insurance Commissioner, or refuses or neglects to
establish or maintain a cemetery mercha ndise trust fund in
accordance with the requirements of the C emetery Merchandise Trust
Act within ninety (90) days after a written demand to establish or
maintain a cemetery merch andise trust fund is made by the
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Commissioner, or in any manner obstructs or interferes with the
examination of its cemetery merchandise t rust fund, or refuses to be
examined on oath concerning any of the affairs of its cemetery
merchandise trust fund, the Commissioner may make application for
receivership in the manner of a domest ic insurer pursuant to
Sections 1901 through 1920 of Title 36 of the Oklahoma Statutes , in
addition to the penalties and other enforcement provisions of the
Cemetery Merchandise Trust Act.
SECTION 6. This act shall become effective Novembe r 1, 2023.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON RETIREMENT AND INSURANCE
February 14, 2023 - DO PASS AS AMENDED BY CS