A few weeks ago we posted about HB596, the legislative bill that would shake up the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors by replacing two industry members with two public members. Funeral directors worried about that bill will have further cause for concern when they visit the State Board’s membership page. The
Legislation
Nebraska Preneed Legislation – Clarifying Trust Liability
By Bill Stalter on
On January 30th, the Nebraska Legislature will conduct a hearing on a bill to fix a problem with the state’s preneed funeral law. The Burial Pre-Need Sale Act was originally passed in 1986, when preneed trusts invested almost exclusively in government bonds. The intent of the Nebraska law was to require the preneed…
Death Care Legislation: Not Without a Consensus
By Bill Stalter on
The reversal of the Heffner decision generated a wide range of comments, but those made by Wilson Beebe resonated most with our initial review of the decision. The lower court decision was based on a challenge that the Pennsylvania Funeral Law was unconstitutional on its face. A law can also be challenged as unconstitutional because…
Cemetery Care Fund Requirements: Clarifying the Math
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Care Funds, Legislation
Legislation was introduced this week in the Kansas Legislature, and one of the bill’s changes seeks to clarify how cemetery care fund requirements can be computed. We have found this a source of confusion for cemeteries and regulators in many states. Depending upon the type of interment right purchased, the care fund requirement is often…
Legislative Impasse: Frustration in the Badger State
By Bill Stalter on
A few weeks ago, we posted on the Wisconsin Master Trust and the smaller operator’s need for legislation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this past week that the Association filed a motion with the court seeking to suspend the investment returns promised to consumers. The Association is quoted as having told the court that the…
Nebraska’s Push to Market
By Bill Stalter on
The Nebraska Department of Insurance released its legislative proposal for revising the preneed law that has been in effect since 1987. Written during a time when interest rates were high, the Nebraska law imposed a CPI accrual but allowed income in excess of that accrual to be distributed to the preneed seller. The law also…
The One Ton Gorilla: SCI’s Acquisition of Stewart
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Legislation
SCI stewart acquisition legislation death care preneed cemeteries laws regulatory…
Continue Reading The One Ton Gorilla: SCI’s Acquisition of Stewart
The NPS Recovery Plan: Grounded!
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Legislation, NPS/Lincoln
In our prior post, we commented on the lack of detail provided by the Consumer Funeral Assurance group regarding their NPS recovery plan. We have obtained a copy of the plan, and redacted from the document correspondence that reflect names and/or contact information of recipient organizations or legislators. What is left includes a summary …
Addressing the NPS aftermath: a hard sell
By Bill Stalter on
Per capita, Missouri funeral directors were hit hardest by the collapse of National Prearranged Services. And those funeral directors who suffered the greatest losses continue to demand help from the State of Missouri. Although Missouri re-wrote its preneed law just 3 years ago, the Legislature begins hearings today on whether more legislation is …
Being Hung out to Dry: The Pennsylvania Board of Funeral Directors
By Bill Stalter on
Federal Judge John Jones III has teed off (again) on the Pennsylvania Board of Funeral Directors. Awarding attorneys fees of more than a million dollars and issuing a permanent injunction against the State Board, Judge Jones rebuked Board members for their failure to show initiative towards a legislative fix to a Truman era problem. And…