Deja Vu---It's "Wait 'Til Next Year" All Over Again

Well, the handkerchief dropped, and funeral consumers were again frustrated as House Bill 495, sponsored by Rep. Don Brown, failed to pass in the final hectic hours of the 2003 session of the Florida Legislature. Senate Bill 2016, sponsored by Sen. Ken Pruitt had passed the Senate unanimously (!!), and was waiting to be taken up and passed the House Committee on State Administration unanimously, and was on the "Special Order" calendar of the House as the hours counted down toward "sine die." Twice on the afternoon of May 2, the final day of session, the House took up the bill only to "temporarily pass the bill," which means lay it aside to take up something else.

This year saw the emergence of an impressive coalition supporting the creation of a single, unified, and more effective regulatory structure for the death care industry in Florida. Florida Funeral and Cemetery Consumer Advocacy joined with The Independent Funeral Directors of Florida, The Florida Morticians Association, and the The Florida Monument Builders. In the final two weeks of session this coalition was broadened to include The Florida Funeral Directors Association and The Florida Cemetery Association. The emergence of this consensus was quite remarkable in the experience of old hands in the professions. But, in the end, it wasn't quite strong enough to get the job done.

The post mortem consensus is that "our" legislation got caught in the crossfire between the two chambers of the Legislature over the budget debacle. In particular, Sen. Pruitt, who chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, wasn't very popular with his colleagues in the House. There were also some well-placed opponents in the House who effectively blocked the bill.

If one looks for a silver lining, it may be that we now have legislation which has wide backing in the industry, and overwhelming support from informed consumers. Next year's effort should be easier to mount, because there should be far less bickering over the details of the bills to be filed. Sponsors should be able to file identical bills in both chambers and move them smoothly through the process.

BUT--for those of us who put in the time, energy, and shoe leather, and got SO close there is no denying the disappointment. We know that our cause is just. We will persist. And we will eventually prevail.