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ICFA News: 2003 GAO Report on Industry
Sen. Dodd Releases GAO Report on State Death Care Regulation and Enforcement
by Robert M. Fells, Esq., ICFA External Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel
(SEPT. 11, 2003) The long-awaited investigative report by the U.S. General Accounting Office,
the investigative arm of Congress, was released today by Sen. Christopher
Dodd (D-CT). To nobody's surprise, the 62-page report found that "states vary
in their approach to regulating the various segments of the death care
industry.... The majority of states regulate funeral homes, crematories,
cemeteries, and preneed sales of funeral plans, although the specific
licensing requirements vary across the states. Fewer states regulate third
party sales of funeral goods," which the GAO interpreted as including those
made by monument retailers. In addition, the GAO stated, "Most states also
require inspections of funeral homes and crematories, but fewer states
require inspection of cemeteries."
With regard to enforcement actions, the GAO report states that since January
1, 2000, "a majority of states have taken enforcement actions against funeral
homes, funeral directors, or embalmers for violations of a variety of state
rules or regulations. Fewer states, however, have taken such action against
other industry segments." The GAO points out that "not all cemeteries are
regulated....cemeteries operated by municipalities or religious organizations
are exempt from regulation in many states."
The following GAO findings are of particular importance to industry
professionals: 1) "It must be noted that a low number of enforcement actions
taken by a state may not be indicative of lax enforcement efforts, but rather
could be reflective of a general lack of problems involving the death care
industry in that state"; and 2) "Today, a growing number of consumers who
purchase funeral and cemetery goods and services have shopped around in
advance."
The report includes nine appendices that compare regulation in six key
states: California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, New York and Texas. Other
appendices discuss the consolidation of the death care industry, the
interstate transit of human remains and resources available to assist
consumers in death care transactions. Among the several organizations listed
as offering information resources, only the ICFA was identified as providing
consumer complaint mediation services, through the Cemetery Consumer Service
Council.
Sen. Dodd was quoted by the Associated Press as stating that the GAO report
"helps shine a light on an industry that impacts millions of Americans, and
will hopefully weed out [the] bad apples." The AP story can be viewed on the
ICFA Web site at http://www.icfa.org/GAO_report_2003.htm
ICFA Vice President of Industry Relations Paul M. Elvig stated, "The ICFA
publicly called for a GAO investigation early last year, and its report
confirms the status of regulation in the states that we reported on four
years ago in our own survey. The GAO report also confirms the custom nature
of state regulation as each state responds to problems unique in its own area
and is consistent with the testimony we have provided in the past to the
Federal Trade Commission and to the Senate Special Committee on Aging. After
reading the GAO report from cover to cover, I concluded that some states need
to do a better job but I saw no mandate for the federal oversight of our
industry."
To download a complete copy of the report, visit the special section of the ICFA Web site at
http://www.icfa.org/GAO_report_2003.htm
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