[§441-22.7]  Further additional charges or fees for perpetual care prohibited; unfair or deceptive act or practice; penalty.  (a)  Subsequent to the execution of a valid written contract for the sale of cemetery property, interment services, funeral services, and related commodities by a mortuary, cemetery, or pre-need funeral authority to a purchaser in accordance with this chapter, further additional charges or fees for perpetual care shall be prohibited beyond those originally agreed upon in the contract and no such charges or fees shall be charged or collected by the seller for any purpose and upon any occasion; provided that a reasonable fee may be charged for administrative costs related to the transfer of ownership rights, including the cost of research, document and file preparation, photocopying, notary fees, records transfer and storage, and any other costs directly related to the transfer of ownership rights.

     (b)  A mortuary, cemetery, or pre-need funeral authority who violates subsection (a) is guilty of engaging in an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 480-2, and shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than $10,000 for each violation.  The penalties provided in this subsection are cumulative to the remedies or penalties available under all other laws of this State. [L 1998, c 232, §1]