Tennessee § 62-5-307 - Application for embalmer's license — Apprenticeship.

§ 62-5-307. Application for embalmer's license — Apprenticeship.

No person shall be granted a license to engage in the practice of embalming dead human bodies within this state unless the person makes application to the board for the license, along with a nonrefundable fee as set by the board. The application shall contain the name of the applicant, showing that the applicant: Has attained eighteen (18) years of age; Is a citizen of the United States or an individual enumerated in 8 U.S.C. § 1622(b); Is of good moral character; Is properly protected against communicable disease, either through immunization or education; Has graduated from a high school or has earned a GED(R) recognized by a state education department; Has obtained an associate degree by successfully completing a mortuary science program consisting of not less than sixty (60) semester hours, ninety (90) quarter hours or the equivalent, with a program accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education and evidenced by an official transcript; and Has completed one (1) year of apprenticeship in the presence of and under the direction and supervision of a licensed embalmer. Acts 1951, ch. 13, § 11 (Williams, § 7140.11); Acts 1973, ch. 36, § 1; 1973, ch. 39, § 1; 1980, ch. 554, § 7; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 62-514; Acts 1985, ch. 354, § 9; 1989, ch. 523, § 152; 2001, ch. 188, §§ 10, 11; 2007, ch. 297, § 3; 2019, ch. 161, §§ 1, 2. Amendments. The 2019 amendment added “or an individual enumerated in 8 U.S.C. S 1622(b)” at the end of (b)(2); and substituted “associate degree” for “associate of arts degree” in (b)(6). Effective Dates. Acts 2019, ch. 161, § 3. April 18, 2019. Law Reviews. Tennessee Civil Disabilities: A Systemic Approach (Neil P. Cohen), 41 Tenn. L. Rev. 253. Attorney General Opinions. The Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act (EVEA) can be read in harmony with laws requiring licensure applicants to be U.S. citizens or U.S. citizens or resident aliens and therefore did not impliedly repeal those laws. State laws requiring licensure applicants to be U.S. citizens are preempted to the extent they conflict with a federal law that limits States’ authority to determine alien eligibility for state public benefits, including professional and commercial licenses. State laws requiring licensure applicants to be U.S. citizens also violate the Equal Protection Clause because they discriminate based on alienage and would not satisfy strict scrutiny. State laws requiring licensure applicants to be U.S. citizens or resident aliens are preempted to the extent they conflict with a federal law that limits States’ authority to determine alien eligibility for state public benefits, including professional and commercial licenses. Laws requiring licensure applicants to be U.S. citizens or resident aliens do not violate the Equal Protection Clause, however, because they discriminate only against unlawful aliens and lawful aliens who are not permanent residents. Those categories of aliens are not a suspect class, and the laws at issue would likely satisfy rational basis review. The Department of Commerce and Insurance is not required to enforce the requirements that an applicant for licensure, registration, or certification be a “citizen of the United States” or a “citizen of the United States or resident alien.” OAG 18-42, 2018 Tenn. AG LEXIS 42 (9/13/2018).