(815 ILCS 318/1)
Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may
be cited as the Companion Animal Cremation Act.
(Source: P.A. 92-287, eff. 1-1-02.)
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(815 ILCS 318/5)
Sec. 5. Definitions. For the purposes
of this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise:
"Companion animal" or "animal" means
a deceased animal that had a companion or pet relationship with
an owner at the time of the animal's death.
"Provider of companion animal
cremation services" or "provider" means a person,
company, or other entity engaging in the business of cremating
deceased companion animals in Illinois.
"Cremation remains" means
the material remaining after the cremation of an animal, which
may include ashes, skeletal remains, and other residue resulting
from the incineration process, and may be pulverized or otherwise
processed by the provider of cremation services.
"Individually partitioned
cremation" means a cremation process in which either (i)
only one companion animal at a time is cremated in the incinerator
or (ii) more than one companion animal is cremated in the incinerator
at the same time, but each of the animals is completely separated
from the others by partitions during the cremation process; and
in which the commingling of significant amounts of cremation
remains from different animals is unlikely to occur.
"Communal cremation" means
a cremation process in which companion animals are cremated together
without effective partitions or separation during the cremation
process, and in which the commingling of significant amounts
of cremation remains from different animals is likely or certain
to occur.
"Commingling of significant
amounts of cremation remains from different animals" means
that specific cremation remains cannot be attributed to a particular
animal, or that the cremation remains attributed to one companion
animal contain more than 1% by weight of cremation remains from
one or more other companion animals. The presence, in the cremation
remains of a companion animal, of the remains of any creature
that was contained within the body of that animal at the time
of cremation (including parasites, insects, and food or creatures
eaten by that companion animal) does not constitute "commingling" for
the purposes of this Act.
A person or business entity is
deemed to refer animal owners or bring business to a provider "on
a regular basis" if the person or entity (i) has an ongoing
contractual or agency relationship with the provider relating
to the cremation of companion animals, (ii) receives any compensation
or consideration from the provider or animal owners relating
to the cremation of companion animals by the provider, or (iii)
refers or brings to the provider the business of more than 5
animal owners in an average month.
(Source: P.A. 92-287, eff. 1-1-02.)
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(815 ILCS 318/10)
Sec. 10. Written explanation of
services.
(a) A provider of companion animal
cremation services must prepare a written explanation of the
services offered, which may but need not be in the form of a
brochure.
The written explanation of services
must include a detailed explanation of each service offered.
For each type or level of cremation service offered, the written
explanation of services shall disclose the specific services
to be provided.
If any part of the deceased companion
animal will be removed, used, or sold by the provider before
or after the cremation, the written explanation of services must
disclose that fact.
(b) The written explanation of
services must not include any false or misleading information.
A written explanation of services is misleading if:
(1) it
fails to include a detailed explanation of
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the cremation services offered or fails
to include, for each type or level of cremation
service offered, any of the disclosures required
under subsection (a);
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(2)
it uses the term "private" or "individual" with
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respect to any communal cremation procedure
or with respect to an individually partitioned
cremation procedure that will cremate more than
one companion animal at the same time;
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(3)
it uses the term "individually partitioned" or
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"separate" with respect to
a communal cremation process; or
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(4)
it includes any text, picture, illustration, or
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combination thereof, or uses any layout,
typography, or color scheme, in a way that is likely
to lead a person of normal intelligence to misunderstand
the nature of the services to be provided or to
fail to read or understand certain parts of the
written explanation of services.
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(c) A provider
of companion animal cremation services shall provide the
written explanation of services, without charge:
(1) to
the owner of each deceased animal with whom
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the provider agrees to provide cremation
services, or the person making cremation arrangements
on the owner's behalf;
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(2)
to all veterinarians, pet shops, and other
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persons or entities known to the provider
who refer animal owners or bring deceased animals
to the provider on a regular basis, in quantities
sufficient for distribution by those persons or
entities to the animal owners whose business is
being referred or brought to the provider;
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(3)
to the Office of the Attorney General, at least
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(4)
to any other person upon request.
(d) The preparation or distribution
by a provider of a written explanation of services that the provider
knows or should know to be false or misleading constitutes a business
offense, punishable by a fine of at least $1,001 but not more than
$1,500 for a first offense and at least $2,000 but not more than
$2,500 for each subsequent offense.
A knowing failure to prepare or
distribute a written explanation of services as required by this
Section constitutes a business offense, punishable by a fine of
at least $1,001 but not more than $1,500 for a first offense and
at least $2,000 but not more than $2,500 for each subsequent offense.
(Source: P.A. 92-287, eff. 1-1-02.)
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(815 ILCS 318/15)
Sec. 15. Persons referring or bringing
business to a provider.
(a) A veterinarian, pet shop, or
other person or business entity that refers owners of deceased
animals, or persons making arrangements on an owner's behalf,
to a provider on a regular basis shall make available a copy
of the provider's written explanation of services to the animal
owner, or person making arrangements on the owner's behalf, at
the time of the referral.
(b) A veterinarian, pet shop, or
other person or business entity that accepts deceased companion
animals for cremation through services obtained from a provider
on a regular basis shall make available a copy of the provider's
written explanation of services to each animal owner, or person
making arrangements on the owner's behalf, from whom a deceased
companion animal is accepted.
(c) It is sufficient for compliance
with this Section that a copy of the written explanation of services
is given to the animal owner, or the person making arrangements
on the owner's behalf, at the time the services are offered.
(d) Publishing or otherwise disseminating
advertising for a provider of companion animal cremation services
does not, in itself, constitute referring or bringing business
to that provider for the purposes of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 92-287, eff. 1-1-02.)
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(815 ILCS 318/20)
Sec. 20. Certification; penalty
for false certification.
(a) Whenever a provider of companion
animal cremation services undertakes to provide services that
include the return of the cremation remains of the cremated animal,
the provider shall include a certification along with the returned
cremation remains, declaring to the best of the provider's knowledge
and belief that, except as otherwise specifically indicated in
the certificate, the cremation and any other services specified
were provided in accordance with the representations of the provider
in the applicable portions of the provider's written explanation
of services.
(b) To knowingly make a false certification
under subsection (a) is a business offense, punishable by a fine
of at least $1,001 but not more than $1,500 for a first offense
and at least $2,000 but not more than $2,500 for each subsequent
offense.
(Source: P.A. 92-287, eff. 1-1-02.)
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(815 ILCS 318/95)
Sec. 95. (Amendatory provisions;
text omitted).
(Source: P.A. 92-287, eff. 1-1-02; text
omitted.)
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