A Brief History

Just prior to the 2001 Session of the Florida Legislature, Florida Funeral and Cemetery Consumer Advocacy, Inc. was formed to bring consumer groups together to lobby the legislature for the protection of prepaid funeral arrangements.

Under current law at the time, the Florida Statutes permitted the withdrawal of funds prepaid for funeral arrangements that had been placed in trust, and allowed for the substitution of surety bonds for these funds. Eventually, many other public service organizations and significant elements of the industry joined to support the effort to remedy this situation. We were successful in getting legislation passed to remove the surety bond option from the Florida Statutes, this by unanimous vote in both chambers of the legislature, without a single negative vote in House and Senate committee or on the floor of either chamber!

After this initial success, in the fall of 2001 FFCCA began to circulate a proposal that a single, unified, and more effective regulatory structure for funeral and cemetery services be established in Florida. This was well before the recent cemetery "scandals" surfaced in the media. Legislation was filed in the 2002 regular session by Senator Ken Pruitt and Representative Nancy Detert. This legislation passed the Senate unanimously, but was never heard in committee or on the Floor of the House.

Similar legislation was filed in the 2003 session, with similar results. The Senate passed "our" legislation unanimously, and the House never voted "our" legislation up or down, although it was debated on the floor of the House during the final, hectic hours of the 2003 session.

SO, here we are again!

Legislation has been filed for the 2004 session of the Florida Legislature to establish by statute a single, unified, and more effective regulatory structure for funeral and cemetery services in Florida. Senator Pruitt has filed SB 528, and Representative Brown has filed HB 323. If passed, this legislation will establish a "Division of Funeral and Cemetery Services" in the Department of Financial Sevices, under the oversight of a cabinet official elected state-wide, the Chief Financial Officer. FFCCA believes that this is a significant reform, and we whole-heartedly support this legislation.

These two bills both incorporate other statutory and regulatory reforms. FFCCA also supports these. But we believe that the merger provision is the MOST important aspect for reform, from the viewpoint of Florida's citizens. There may be other legislation proposed to correct abuses that have received sensational media coverage. We do not oppose these efforts. BUT. . . just remember that the single, most important issue for Florida's citizens is to establish a single, unified, and more effective structure for regulating funeral and cemetery services in Florida. Any proposed legislation that does not contain the merger provision is "second best."

The BIG difference this time around is that we now have the backing of 95+ per cent of the industry. We keep preaching that "What's good for consumers is good for the industry," and-it appears-on this issue we have been persuasive. The 2004 session of the Florida Legislature may well be a landmark in the protection of Florida's citizens in the sensitive marketplace for funeral and cemetery services.

Let's pass this legislation!!