Section 43-18-5. Unlawful acts; exemption

   (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation or any officer, agent, or employee of such person, firm, or corporation to practice or hold out to the public that such person, firm, or corporation as practicing embalming or funeral directing, or to act as an embalmer or funeral director, or to assist in so doing as an apprentice, without having complied with this article, or to practice embalming or funeral directing without having paid the fee for license renewal prior to the expiration of that license as provided for in this article.

(b) Any person, firm, or corporation who has control of a funeral establishment or crematory and fails to obtain licensure as required by this article, upon conviction thereof, may be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00 for each violation. Each day that the funeral establishment or crematory is operated in violation of this article shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct offense.

(c) Any persons representing themselves as an embalmer or funeral director without having first complied with this article shall be deemed and considered guilty of practicing without a license and the use of these terms shall be prima-facie evidence of guilt.

(d) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation or any officer, agent, or employee of such person, firm, or corporation engaged in the funeral or crematory business to give, or contract to give, either directly or indirectly, any reward, commission, compensation, or anything of value to any person, firm, or corporation for the purpose of, or as an inducement to, such person, firm, or corporation to persuade or induce any person to use or employ such funeral director or embalmer in or about the preparation for burial or conducting the burial of any deceased person.

(e) It shall be unlawful for any funeral director, embalmer, firm, or corporation, or any officer, agent, or employee of such person, firm, or corporation engaged in the funeral business for compensation or otherwise to influence, or attempt to influence, by persuasion, argument, or suggestion, the family or friends of any deceased person as to where the body should or should not be buried.

(f) It shall be unlawful for any funeral establishment, funeral director, or embalmer to refuse to release a dead human body to a legally authorized person upon request of that person, but the release of such body shall not constitute a release of any indebtedness or other claim owed for any services performed on that body by the person or entity releasing that body.

(g) Accredited colleges of funeral service and those otherwise approved by the board are authorized to perform on-campus embalming operations subject to satisfying inspection standards as established by the board. Nothing in this article shall require any person who is currently enrolled full time or part time in a program at an accredited college of funeral service or such other college as provided by rule to be licensed or registered as provided in this article when obtaining practical training in embalming or funeral directing under the supervision of a licensed embalmer, funeral director, or both, at such college or at a funeral establishment; provided, however, that any licensed embalmer, funeral director, or both, who supervise such student shall be responsible for the acts of such student.

Code 1981, § 43-18-5, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1372, § 1.