Missouri’s new State Board will have its first meeting this week, and one week after the State was sued by a former State Board employee. The lawsuit alleges that the Division of Professional Registration usurped State Board authority to fire employees who had defied Division Director warnings to stand down. What we now know through
Reform
One Question For the Appointee: Will You Honor the Autonomy We Gave the State Board?
By Bill Stalter on
Dear Senator Schatz,
We appreciate that your Senate Appointment Committee has a packed hearing date for April 20th. So, the Missouri funeral industry not represented by the Missouri Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association requests a single question be asked of Ms. Solon:
If confirmed as executive director of the Division of Professional Registration…
Missouri’s Division of Professional Registration: Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire
By Bill Stalter on
The State of Missouri seems hell-bent on creating work for Jefferson City attorneys. As we reported earlier this summer (You were Warned!), the Division of Professional Registration blundered in its first move to control how the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors conducts inspections of funeral homes. Since then, the Division has…
Rulemaking Procedures: The Due Diligence Factor
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Legislation, Reform
Because, that is our Policy.
The death care industry is hearing that more frequently these days. Last July, an Illinois client was advised by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services that his preneed contract would have to be revised to comply with the Department’s new policy about excess preneed funds. A few clients in…
Missouri’s Preneed Reform: the 2015 Factor.
By Bill Stalter on
On January 14th, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon will be sworn in for his second term, and we are wondering whether the Governor’s plans for 2015 are influencing the direction of Missouri’s preneed reform. With commentary such as that published by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the Governor may have his eyes on a 2015…
Informing the Consumer (and the Industry)
By Bill Stalter on
The need for better preneed oversight is obvious, but regulators often lack resources and expertise. The state of Connecticut made headlines recently for the decision to make budget cuts by de-regulating the death care industry*. Connecticut funeral directors challenged the decision, and the state issued a ‘clarification’ and withdrew the plan. (That’s correct, the…
Kansas Cemetery Legislation: a second bite at the apple
By Bill Stalter on
It is a bit of déjà vu for Kansas cemeteries. Legislation to increase preneed trusting and to require monthly reporting was introduced in the Kansas House. But HB 2240 will look familiar to those cemetery corporations that participated in 2009 and 2010 cemetery legislative meetings conducted by the Kansas Secretary of State.
Not your typical Christmas wish list: Missouri legislation
By Bill Stalter on
Triggered by the NPS collapse, preneed reform rolled out of the Missouri legislature like a tsunami. When the funeral industry was slow to organize and respond to the situation, legislators worked with state officials to imposed sweeping changes. While SB1 does reflect input provided to the State Board by the industry, the law has flaws…
Will there be an Exhibitor’s hall?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Reform
Conventions and seminars provide trade associations and trade journals important sources of revenue. Accordingly, the death care industry has plenty of ‘retreat opportunities’ to choose from. However, there will be a death care convention held in Montgomery Alabama this weekend that will be off limits to funeral directors, cemeterians and their legions of industry vendors.
Death care …
The Preneed Tax
By Bill Stalter on
Several states have passed laws in the past few years mandating greater preneed oversight. But with state budgets in decline after the 2008 market crash, regulators are hard pressed to find a way to pay for consumer protection.
Colorado’s new law simply states that the contract seller shall bear the cost of its examination.
In…