Preneed: A Pandora's Box of Problems
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…
With Governor Parson withdrawing all four of his Missouri Funeral Board appointments, the industry is asking what will happen next. The Governor’s office had been watching the festering dispute between the Division and the State Board, but was unsure whether the industry cared. While the MFDEA’s support for the Division acting director was undeniable,…
In an earlier post we reported how the acting director for the Division of Professional Registration advised the Governor that State Board changes were needed to be made “to increase efficiency and fiscal responsibility.” Improvements were needed, “especially with inspections and financial examinations”, and that there could be potential cost savings of $200,000. In a…
An issue lost in the debate whether to confirm the Gubernatorial appointments of Sheila Solon and four members to the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors is the autonomy granted to state boards by the Missouri Legislature through RSMo. Section 324.001.11. Through subsections (3) and (4) the Legislature limits the Division of Professional Registration’s…
This past August we received an email from the Gottcha Board asking about availability to attend a closed meeting call. Anticipating a client was in trouble, we responded that we would accommodate the Board’s request. However, the Board’s purpose for the call was to make an inquiry about representation to resolve the dispute with the…
This past Friday morning, news outlets across the country picked up an Associated Press story regarding Governor Parson’s October ouster of Missouri’s Gottcha Board. (For those not familiar with the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, the tag “Gottcha Board” was first given to the Board in 2020 by the Missouri Funeral…
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…
During the summer following NPS’ collapse, the Missouri Division of Professional Registration provided crucial leadership to building the consensus required for Senate Bill No. 1. Rushed efforts to re-write the Missouri preneed law had failed, and the Legislature then turned to the Division. Represented by Connie Clarkson, Becky Dunn and Kim Grinston, the Division prepared…
Three years ago we asked that question with regard to the power struggle occurring between the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors and the Missouri Division of Professional Registration staff. That post was influenced by our experiences with preneed regulators from other states, who range from elected politicians to the revolving door bureaucrat.
The new era of preneed exams and audits got off to a slow start in Missouri, but now there are indications the process is picking up speed. The first notices of preneed financial examinations went out to sellers last January, and some are now going through on-site examinations. A second wave of examination notices has gone out, and the State Board has begun preparations for…