The 68th meeting of the Montana Legislature has come to a close. This session was action-packed and very successful for the MFDA. The MFDA had two priority bills that we proactively carried, and I am pleased to announce that both made it through the House and Senate and to the Governor’s desk.
The first bill HB 505, carried by Representative Nelly Nicol of Billings, increased the initial policy insurance limit for funeral insurance from $15,000 to $25,000. This will allow all Montanans the ability to purchase insurance at a higher level to provide funeral services for their loved ones. It has been officially signed by the Governor.
The second bill that the MFDA carried is SB 244, sponsored by Senator Mike Cuffe of Eureka. Again, I am happy to report that this bill made its way through the process and is now at the Governor’s desk. We had a bill signing ceremony with the Governor on this bill to help commemorate the hard work that the MFDA put into getting it through the process. SB 244 revises the internship requirements to obtain a license so that a student who is currently enrolled or has already graduated from the program may be granted an intern mortician’s license to practice mortuary science under the supervision of a licensed mortician. The bill will go into effect on July 1.
The MFDA also worked on several other bills this session that would affect the MFDA membership. HB 40 pertained to fetal, infant, child, and maternal mortality review teams. This was a bill that we were monitoring to ensure that there were no unintended consequences if passed. The bill passed out of committee but died on the house floor prior to the transmittal date.
HB 87 was brought forth by the Lieutenant Governor and the Department of Labor as one of the Governor’s Red Tape Initiative bills. This bill looked to change the makeup of several of the licensing boards across the state. It drew a lot of stakeholder input from all licensing boards and presented several issues that would have affected MFDA. After much effort and a number of amendments, the bill was something that the MFDA supported. We were able to initiate changes to address the issues that would have affected the board negatively. Our time and effort with meetings and testimony was impactful and now this is a bill that we can all be proud of.
HB 152 is another bill brought by the Lieutenant Governor and the Department of Labor as one of the Governor’s Red Tape Initiative bills. This bill also looked to drastically change licensing boards in Montana. Again, the bill was amended in a way that MFDA was able to offer support. It failed in the Senate.
HB 183 revises the Crime Victim Compensation Act to increase reasonable funeral expenses for victims. The allowable expenses were increased from $3,500 to $10,000. This bill was carried by Representative Nelly Nicol and has been signed by the Governor.
HB 932 was sponsored by Representative Joe Read, after a suggestion from a constituent. It again was targeted at funeral services licensing and reporting laws. I was able to share the concerns of MFDA with Representative Read and am pleased to share that, following our conversation, he chose not to bring the bill forward to a hearing.
SB 39 was requested by DEQ as part of the Governor’s Red Tape Initiative. This bill changed the permitting requirements for incinerators and crematoriums to a registration program. It simplified the process and allowed for a 15-day comment period for the public. This bill has been signed by the Governor.
SR 36 is the confirmation of the Governor’s appointees to the Board of Funeral Services. MFDA supported the bill, and it has been signed by the Governor.
As you can see, MFDA was very busy this legislative session working on nine bills. When you step back and look at what was accomplished, the MFDA had a great session and is set up to be very successful for many years to come.
