Title of Regulation: 18VAC65-20. Regulations of the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers (amending 18VAC65-20-151).

Statutory Authority: § 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.

Public Hearing Information: No public hearings are scheduled.

Public Comment Deadline: February 22, 2017.

Effective Date: March 9, 2017.

Agency Contact: Corie Tillman Wolf, Executive Director, Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Richmond, VA 23233, telephone (804) 367-4479, FAX (804) 527-4471, or email fanbd@dhp.virginia.gov.

Basis: Section 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia authorizes the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers to promulgate regulations to administer the regulatory system with a specific mandate enacted by Chapter 82 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly to include provisions for the satisfaction of board-required continuing education through the delivery of health care services, without compensation, to low-income individuals receiving health services through a local health department or a free clinic organized in whole or primarily for the delivery of those health services.

Purpose: The purpose of the amended regulation is to comply with the mandate of the General Assembly and provide an incentive for licensees to volunteer professional services to free clinics or public health centers. While a licensee can satisfy up to one hour of continuing education with one hour of volunteer service, he is still required to have four hours of approved continuing education necessary to acquire new knowledge and skills. Therefore, the public health is served by a potential increase in badly needed volunteer service for health professional services, but public safety is not sacrificed by eliminating most or all of the continuing education hours required for renewal.

Rationale for Using Fast-Track Rulemaking Process: The allowance of hours for volunteer service to be counted towards the continuing education requirement is a mandate of the General Assembly. A licensee is not required to provide volunteer service but may be credited with continuing education hours for doing so. The provisions are permissive and not controversial.

Substance: The board has adopted amended regulations to allow funeral service licensees, funeral directors, and embalmers to count one hour of the five hours required for annual renewal to be satisfied through delivery of professional services, without compensation, to low-income individuals receiving health services through a local health department or a free clinic organized in whole or primarily for the delivery of those services. One hour of continuing education may be credited for one hour of providing such volunteer services, as documented by the health department or free clinic.

Issues: The advantage to the public is the incentive given for funeral service licensees, funeral directors, and embalmers to volunteer their services in exchange for credit towards meeting continuing education requirements. There are no disadvantages to the public. There are no advantages or disadvantages to the agency or the Commonwealth.

Department of Planning and Budget's Economic Impact Analysis:

Summary of the Proposed Amendments to Regulation. Pursuant to Chapter 82 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly,¹ the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers (Board) proposes to allow one hour of volunteer work to be substituted for one hour of continuing education annually for funeral service licensees, funeral directors, and embalmers.

Result of Analysis. The benefits likely exceed the costs for all proposed changes.

Estimated Economic Impact. Chapter 82 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly requires all health boards to promulgate regulations to accept volunteer work provided to low-income individuals through local health departments or free clinics in lieu of the required continuing education. Pursuant to the legislative mandate, the Board proposes to accept one hour of volunteer work in satisfaction of one hour of continuing education from funeral service licensees, funeral directors, and embalmers. The limit on the continuing education hours that can be satisfied by volunteer work is one hour per year. Currently, funeral service licensees, funeral directors, and embalmers are required to take five hours of continuing education per year for annual renewal of their licenses.

The proposed change will allow affected practitioners to substitute volunteer work for continuing education. The educational value of volunteer services may vary depending on each person's experience. In addition, the area of expertise of the affected practitioners may not be directly related to the services needed at local health departments or free clinics.

Also, it is not clear whether the ratio of required one hour of volunteer work per continuing education hour is sufficient by itself to provide additional incentives to offer volunteer service. Spending one hour acquiring continuing education would take the same amount of time providing one hour of free services. The proposed regulation will however help those licensees, directors, and embalmers if they have already been providing volunteer services at the qualified locations by allowing them to earn continuing education credit for their charity work.

In any event, the proposed regulation allows substitution of volunteer work for continuing education, but does not mandate it. A service licensee, a director, or an embalmer choosing to do volunteer work in lieu of the continuing education reveals that he or she benefits more from doing so.

Businesses and Entities Affected. Currently, there are 1,533 funeral service providers, 43 funeral directors, and 2 embalmers licensed in Virginia. According to data provided by the Virginia Employment Commission, there are 349 funeral home and service establishments in Virginia. All of the establishments satisfy the small business criteria. The number of continuing education providers is not known.

Localities Particularly Affected. The proposed changes apply statewide.

Projected Impact on Employment. The proposed regulation may lead to a decrease in demand for continuing education services. However, the one-hour limit on the continuing education hours that can be gained through this method should not produce a significant negative impact. In addition, the substitution of voluntary work for continuing education hours is voluntary and may not be exercised by all affected practitioners.

Effects on the Use and Value of Private Property. The potential impact on the asset value of continuing education providers is not known with certainty, but appears to be small.

Real Estate Development Costs. No impact on real estate development costs is expected.

Small Businesses:

Definition. Pursuant to § 2.2-4007.04 of the Code of Virginia, small business is defined as "a business entity, including its affiliates, that (i) is independently owned and operated and (ii) employs fewer than 500 full-time employees or has gross annual sales of less than $6 million."

Costs and Other Effects. All of the affected establishments are small businesses. The proposed amendments do not impose costs on them. Most providers of continuing education services are probably small businesses as well. The proposed regulation may decrease the demand for their services by a small amount.

Alternative Method that Minimizes Adverse Impact. There is no known alternative that minimizes the potential small adverse impact on providers of continuing education services while achieving the same goals.

Adverse Impacts:

Businesses. The proposed amendments do not have an adverse impact on non-small businesses.

Localities. The proposed amendments will not adversely affect localities.

Other Entities. The proposed amendments will not adversely affect other entities.

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¹ http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?161+ful+CHAP0082

Agency Response to Economic Impact Analysis: The Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers concurs with the analysis of the Department of Planning and Budget.

Summary:

Pursuant to Chapter 82 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly, the amendments allow funeral service licensees, funeral directors, and embalmers to substitute one hour of volunteer work for one hour of continuing education annually.

18VAC65-20-151. Continued competency requirements for renewal of an active license.

A. Funeral service licensees, funeral directors or funeral embalmers shall be required to have completed a minimum of five hours per year of continuing education offered by a board-approved sponsor for licensure renewal in courses that emphasize the ethics, standards of practice, preneed contracts and funding, or federal or state laws and regulations governing the profession of funeral service. One hour per year shall cover compliance with laws and regulations governing the profession, and at least one hour per year shall cover preneed funeral arrangements. One hour of the five hours required for annual renewal may be satisfied through delivery of professional services, without compensation, to low-income individuals receiving health services through a local health department or a free clinic organized in whole or primarily for the delivery of those services. One hour of continuing education may be credited for one hour of providing such volunteer services, as documented by the health department or free clinic. For the purposes of continuing education credit for volunteer service, an approved sponsor shall be a local health department or free clinic.

B. Courses must be directly related to the scope of practice of funeral service. Courses for which the principal purpose is to promote, sell or offer goods, products or services to funeral homes are not acceptable for the purpose of credit toward renewal.

C. The board may grant an extension for good cause of up to one year for the completion of continuing education requirements upon written request from the licensee prior to the renewal date. Such extension shall not relieve the licensee of the continuing education requirement.

D. The board may grant an exemption for all or part of the continuing education requirements for one renewal cycle due to circumstances determined by the board to be beyond the control of the licensee.