131961 Resource 116217 116314 116314 1151203095023 1152144848228 Controlled Distressed Cemetery Legislation, Assembly Bill 2973

Apparently there is no Détente between cemeteries and funeral homes in New Jersey?

The Executive Director of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association said “I’m probably not the most popular guy among New Jersey Cemeterians,” Why?   For some reason New Jersey Funeral Directors feel that they are in a battle to keep New Jersey Cemeteries out of the funeral business. The recent funeral director battle reverences have to do with the recent Assembly Bill 2973 introduced by Assemblymen <PERSONNAME w:st="on">Wilfredo Caraballo</PERSONNAME>. The Bill if enacted would again permit cemeteries to sell cemetery memorials, monuments and private mausoleums; products they used to sell until 1971 when legislation lobbied for and pushed by funeral directors prevented cemeteries from further selling these products.   For the last thirty-five years the not-for-profit cemeteries in <STATE w:st="on"><PLACE w:st="on">New Jersey</PLACE></STATE> have seen lost surplus revenues turn profits for every other provider of these products. Had the cemeteries held their ability to sell these products, many cemeteries would not be in dire financial straights they are in today.   However, Assembly Bill 2973 is not about the surplus for cemeteries or the profits for funeral homes. The Bill is about protecting the heritage of <STATE w:st="on"><PLACE w:st="on">New Jersey</PLACE></STATE> cemeteries. The Bill if enacted would give New Jersey cemeteries the opportunity to sell these products and place a  percentage of the revenues into the cemetery Permanent Maintenance and Preservation trust funds as well as a new Distressed Cemetery Fund established to support financially burdened cemeteries and administered by the New Jersey State Cemetery Board   What reasonable person would argue the merits of a Bill that would help <PLACE w:st="on"><STATE w:st="on">New Jersey</STATE></PLACE> cemeteries?   The answer has to rest in the thought that <STATE w:st="on"><PLACE w:st="on">New Jersey</PLACE></STATE> funeral directors, burial vault manufacturer's and monument company’s want to maintain the status quo of minimizing any competition for these products and in the end keep the money for their for-profit businesses.   So what are the battle lines today that funeral directors say exist between them and cemeteries? What is it that would cause one-hundred-ten funeral directors to show up in mass, fifty plus monument and burial vault companies’s and spend thousands of dollars lobbying against Assembly Bill 2973? Is it the money?   I am at a loss to understand the reasoning. Funeral Directors are not permitted to sell memorials, monuments or private mausoleums today. Both business professions provide serves and products to <STATE w:st="on"><PLACE w:st="on">New Jersey</PLACE></STATE> families. Funeral directors serve families for the few days immediately following a death. Cemeteries serve families not for a few days; they are entrusted the responsibility to provide care forever… If the cemetery provides care forever, why would anyone oppose cemeteries selling products and earning a surplus on those products that are placed to rest in a cemetery and that they will have to care for forever.   Is it the money?   The New Jersey Cemetery Association just wants the opportunity to earn a little surplus so that they can perform their services forever. Interestingly, the New Jersey Cemetery Association also feels that the increased competition will lower cost to <STATE w:st="on"><PLACE w:st="on">New Jersey</PLACE></STATE> citizens. 10 application/xml false Assembly Bill 2973 Assemblymen Wilfredo Caraballo Burial Vault Manufacturers Funeral Directors Monument Company's New Jersey State Funeral Association Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 WebMaster false true false false true 116217 blog blogsite/CMSMidAtlantic/web