Home Funeral Voices Heard in Senate Committee

Opponents to HB1202 had the first opportunity to voice their concerns in the Senate Committee on Business, Technology, and Labor on Wednesday, April 22, 2009.  The opportunity to do this when the bill was in the House slipped by when it came up with very little time to make it to the Capitol for testimony.  Unlike our experience in the House, the Senate sponsor, Joyce Foster, did inform us of the bill's schedule and this enabled us to contact others in opposition to the bill who were then able to testify.

Represented in person were NT and  Prairie Wilderness Cemeteries.  Citizen expert on end-of-life issues and author, Bart Windrum presented his views on preserving choice around funeral provision, and two former client families shared their stories about how much they valued the education and support given by Natural Transitions.

A funeral director from Colorado Springs who was against the bill informed the committee that he foresaw higher prices and saw the bill as an attempt to control who enters the industry, which would result in less choice for consumers.  He contended that regulations and standards were in existence to protect the consumer.

Senator Heath and Senator Tochtrop stated their intention to support the bill on condition that they could include an amendment - the Tochtrop/Heath amendment, that would explicitly preserve the right of families to use providers who are not conventionally-trained,  according to the mortuary philosophy, who would then be able to offer continued support to home funeral families.

Colorado is a state where many citizens have an "I'm going to do it my way" kind of attitude. Avoiding what are the "unintended consequences" of this bill by explicitly stating the consumers right to choose, will help preserve the right of Coloradoans to care for their dead in their own way and to receive assistance from organizations like NT. 

Though an amendment is in the works, it is imperative that when it comes to a vote, Senators are informed of where we stand on the bill and how we would like them to vote.  Our thanks go to the many hundreds of people who have spoken out.

Reason for Hope. Bill sent back to committee

On Friday, April 2, 2009, the members of the Colorado House of Representatives' Appropriations Committee sent House Bill 1202 on funeral regulation back to the first committee - the House Business and Labor committee.  The members of this committee had passed the bill unanimously, and yet this was at a time when opponents of the bill had not been alerted to its nature.  As the bill was drafted with exclusive input from vested corporate funeral industry lobbyists, there was no testimony from consumer representatives and alternative funeral providers and opponents from within the funeral industry.

This is a big opportunity to educate and influence the members of this committee.  We must not be complacent and we must phone and email the members of this committee to let them know the implications of this legislation if it is passed.

The list of members is posted on our website at www.naturaltransitions.org - on the Funeral Bill Action page.  We really hope that people will go the extra mile and spend time to do voice their opinions.  It is encouraging that our voices are able to reach those in the corridors of power, even though we are not a well-funded, industry machine.