By Chris Farmer, NFDA General Counsel

While NFDA was in Washington, D.C., for its Advocacy Summit, NFDA Board Members along with CEO Christine Pepper and myself met with the FTC at their offices. We discussed the ongoing review of the Funeral Rule, the Funeral Rule Offenders Program (FROP), the new FTC Junk Fee Rule, and the FTC’s upcoming rule on non-competes.

As you may know, the FTC has two new commissioners (spots which were vacant and recently filled). They are also dealing with many other pressing issues: privacy rights, big tech, and reviewing major business mergers. 

As a result, the FTC did not think they would be able to get the language of a proposed, revised Funeral Rule to the Commissioners for another two to four months. This means that we are looking at another probably, four to six months, or more, until a proposed, revised Rule is released. After that, we will have an opportunity to comment, and possibly another roundtable like the one NFDA attended last year. Based on this timetable, we will be getting close to the November elections and possible changes in the administration and Congress.

It was a very productive meeting. The FTC is always willing to listen to our comments and concerns on how regulation and proposed changes affect funeral service. While we do not always agree, it is important to keep the lines of communication open to make sure our members’ concerns are heard.