Title 10

(a) A determination of the Attorney General to not include or to remove from the directory a brand family or tobacco product manufacturer shall be subject to review in the manner prescribed by Article 1 of Chapter 13 of Title 50, known as the “Georgia Administrative Procedure Act…

As used in this chapter, the term: (1) “Brand family” means all styles of cigarettes sold under the same trademark and differentiated from one another by means of additional modifiers or descriptors, including, but not limited to, “menthol,” “lights,” “kings,” and “100s,” and incl…

(a) Every tobacco product manufacturer whose cigarettes are sold in this state, whether directly or through a distributor, retailer, or similar intermediary or intermediaries, shall execute and deliver in the manner prescribed by the Attorney General a certification to the commiss…

(a) The Attorney General shall develop and make available for public inspection on its website a directory, as defined in paragraph (5) of Code Section 10-13A-2. (b) The Attorney General shall not include or retain in such directory the name or brand families of any nonparticipati…

(f) A violation of Code Section 10-13A-5 shall constitute an unfair and deceptive act or practice under Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of this title, the “Fair Business Practices Act of 1975.” (g) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly submit any false information required…

(a) Any nonresident or foreign nonparticipating manufacturer or importer that has not registered to do business in this state as a foreign corporation or business entity shall, as a condition precedent to having its brand families included or retained in the directory, appoint an…

(a) All nonparticipating manufacturers shall post a bond for the benefit of the state which is subject to execution under subsection (c) of this Code section. The bond shall be posted by a corporate surety located within the United States. The bond shall be posted and evidence of …

(a) Not later than ten calendar days after the end of each calendar month, and more frequently if so directed by the Attorney General, each distributor shall submit such information as the Attorney General requires to facilitate compliance with this chapter, including, but not li…

(a) In addition to or in lieu of any other civil or criminal remedy provided by law, upon a determination that a stamping agent has violated Code Section 10-13A-5 or any regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter, the commissioner may revoke or suspend the dealer or distributor’…

The General Assembly finds that: (1) There is an opioid epidemic occurring in the United States, and the State of Georgia has been greatly impacted; (2) State-wide coordination surrounding and managing opioid addiction and related disorders is critical to the health and safety of …

As used in this chapter, the term: (1) “Governmental entity” means: (A) This state and each of its departments, agencies, divisions, boards, commissions, authorities, and instrumentalities; and (B) A political subdivision or creation of this state, including a county, municipalit…

(a) Entry into a state-wide opioid settlement agreement shall serve to bar any and all past, present, or future claims on behalf of any governmental entity seeking to recover against any business or person that is a released entity under the terms of the relevant settlement. Such…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Georgia Cemetery and Funeral Services Act of 2000.” History. Code 1981, § 44-3-130, enacted by Ga. L. 1983, p. 1508, § 1; Code 1981, § 1014-1, as redesignated by Ga. L. 2000, p. 882, § 1; Ga. L. 2024, p. 1052, § 2(65)/SB 448, e…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section, every cemetery initially registered according to the provisions of this chapter on or after July 1, 1998, shall consist of not less than ten acres of land. (b) The following cemeteries shall not be …

(a) The Secretary of State may issue a stop order denying effectiveness to, or suspending or revoking the effectiveness of, any registration and shall give notice of such issuance pursuant to Code Section 10-14-23 if he or she finds that the order is in the public interest and tha…

(a) Each registrant under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b), or both, of Code Section 10-14-4 shall establish and maintain a separate and distinct account for the perpetual care trust fund for each cemetery and for the preneed escrow account. There shall be no commingling, c…

For the purposes of venue for any civil or criminal action under this chapter, any violation of this chapter or of any rule, regulation, or order promulgated under this chapter shall be considered to have been committed in any county in which any act was performed in furtherance …

(a) The administration of the provisions of this chapter shall be vested in the Secretary of State. (b) The Secretary of State shall keep a record of all proceedings related to his or her duties under this chapter and shall keep records in which shall be entered the names of all …

(a) The Secretary of State, at his or her discretion: (1) May make such public or private investigations or examinations inside or outside this state as he or she deems necessary to determine whether any person has violated or is about to violate any provision of this chapter or …

(a) The owner of every cemetery may make, adopt, and enforce rules and regulations for the use, care, control, management, restriction, and protection of such cemetery and of all parts and subdivisions thereof; for restricting, limiting, and regulating the use of all property wit…

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person: (1) To sell or offer to sell any burial rights, burial or funeral services, or burial or funeral merchandise by means of any oral or written untrue statement of a material fact or any omission to state a material fact necessary in order to…

(a) A registrant offering to provide burial rights, burial or funeral merchandise, or burial or funeral services to the public shall: (1) Provide by telephone, upon request, accurate information regarding the retail prices of burial or funeral merchandise and services offered for…

(a) Whenever it may appear to the Secretary of State that any person has engaged in, or is engaging in, or is about to engage in any act or practice or transaction which is prohibited by this chapter or by any rule, regulation, or order of the Secretary of State promulgated or is…

(a) The legislature recognizes that purchasers of preneed burial rights, funeral or burial merchandise, or funeral services or burial services may suffer serious economic harm if purchase money is not set aside for future use as intended by the purchaser and that the failure to m…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, any person who shall willfully violate any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or imprisonment not to…

(a) Any person who violates any provision of subsection (a) of Code Section 10-14-17 shall be liable to the person buying such burial lot, burial right, burial merchandise, or burial service; and such buyer may bring action in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover the co…

(a)(1) An appeal may be taken from any order of the Secretary of State resulting from a hearing held in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 10-14-23 by any person adversely affected thereby to the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, by serving on the Secretary of…

(a) Where the Secretary of State has issued any order forbidding the sale of burial lots, burial rights, burial merchandise, or burial services under any provision of this chapter, he or she shall promptly send to the cemetery owner, cemetery company, burial or funeral merchandis…

When consent to service of process is required under this chapter, such consent to service of process shall be in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State, shall be irrevocable, and shall provide that actions brought by the State of Georgia arising out of or founded upon the…

Any condition, stipulation, or provision binding any person acquiring any burial lot, burial right, burial merchandise, or burial services to waive: (1) Compliance with any provision of this chapter or of the rules and regulations promulgated under this chapter; (2) Any rights pr…

For any action taken or any proceeding had under the provisions of this chapter or under color of the law, the Secretary of State shall be immune from liability and action to the same extent that any judge of any court of general jurisdiction in this state would be immune. Histor…

(a) Prior law exclusively governs all actions, prosecutions, or proceedings which are pending or may be initiated on the basis of facts or circumstances occurring before July 1, 2000, except that no civil action may be maintained to enforce any liability under prior law unless br…

(a) A cemetery company shall start construction of that section of a mausoleum or columbarium in which sales, contracts for sales, reservations for sales, or agreements for sales are being made within four years after the date of the first such sale or 50 percent of the mausoleum …

As used in this chapter, the term: (1) “Affiliate” means a person who directly or indirectly owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with another person. Solely for purposes of this definition, the terms “owns,” “is owned,” and “ownersh…

As provided in this Code section, the boards may have all administrative powers and other powers necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including the authority to promulgate rules and regulations, and the Secretary of State may delegate to the boards all such duti…

The Secretary of State, by rule, may adopt minimum standards for interment of human remains, including, without limitation, standards for depth of burial, composition of vaults, caskets, and other containers, siting and marking of burial lots, and minimum standards for constructi…

(a)(1) Unless exempt under this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to offer for sale or to sell any cemetery burial rights, mausoleum interment rights, columbarium inurnment rights, grave spaces, or other physical locations for the final disposition of human remains in t…

(a) All individuals who offer preneed contracts to the public, or who execute preneed contracts on behalf of any entity required to be registered as a preneed dealer, and all individuals who offer, sell, or sign contracts for the preneed sale of burial rights shall be registered …

Any individual engaged in the sale of life insurance shall not use the name of any funeral establishment or any price list which identifies the funeral establishment or any reference to a funeral establishment or crematory in connection with the sale of life insurance without the …

(a) As used in this Code section, the term “income” means: (1) The net income, including the collected dividends, interest, net realized gains, and other income of the trust reduced by any expenses, including, but not limited to, taxes on income, fees, commissions, and costs; or …

(a)(1) Each preneed dealer which sells burial or funeral merchandise on a preneed basis or preneed burial or funeral services, other than preneed funeral services described in Code Section 10-14-7.1, shall establish and maintain a trust fund or a preneed escrow account. (2) With …

(a) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in Chapter 1 of Title 7, the “Financial Institutions Code of Georgia,” or in any other provision of law, a preneed dealer registered or deemed registered pursuant to Code Section 10-14-5 who provides funeral services sha…

(a) The Secretary of State, by order, may prohibit a person who is an employee, officer, independent contractor, or other agent directly involved in the sale of burial rights, burial or funeral merchandise, or burial or funeral services from employment or other association with a…

(a) A registration application may be amended by filing with the Secretary of State an amended application signed by the persons required to sign the original application under Code Section 10-14-4 or 10-14-5. (b) Every applicant registered pursuant to Code Section 10-14-4 or 10-1…

As used in this chapter, the term: (1) “Attorney General” means the Attorney General or his or her designee. (2) “Business” means a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, or other group, however organized and whether or not organized to operate at a profit. Th…

A business may not discard a record containing personal information unless it: (1) Shreds the customer’s record before discarding the record; (2) Erases the personal information contained in the customer’s record before discarding the record; (3) Modifies the customer’s record to …