Public Workshop Examining Potential Amendments to the Funeral Rule, 33011-33013 [2023-10815]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Proposed Rules
Issued under authority provided by 49
U.S.C. 106(f), 44701(a)(5), and 44703(a) in
Washington, DC.
Wesley L. Mooty,
Acting Deputy Executive Director, Flight
Standards Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–10182 Filed 5–22–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 453
RIN 3084–AB55
Public Workshop Examining Potential
Amendments to the Funeral Rule
Federal Trade Commission.
Public workshop; request for
public comment.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Federal Trade
Commission (‘‘FTC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’)
will hold an in-person public workshop
relating to its November 2, 2022,
advance notice of proposed rulemaking
(‘‘2022 ANPR’’) on the Trade Regulation
Rule entitled the ‘‘Funeral Industry
Practices Rule’’ (‘‘Funeral Rule’’ or
‘‘Rule’’). The workshop will explore
issues relating to the Funeral Rule’s
General Price List (‘‘GPL’’)
requirements, including whether and
how funeral providers should be
required to provide price lists
electronically or online, and other
issues raised in the comments received
in response to the 2022 ANPR.
DATES: The public workshop will be
held on September 7, 2023, from 9:30
a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the Constitution
Center Conference Center, located at 400
7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024.
The workshop will also be available for
viewing via live webcast. Requests to
participate as a panelist must be
received by June 19, 2023. Any written
comments related to the issues
discussed at the workshop must be
received by October 10, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a
comment or a request to participate as
a panelist online or on paper, by
following the instructions in the Filing
Comments and Requests to Participate
as a Panelist part (Section IV) of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below. Write ‘‘Funeral Rule Workshop,
Project No. P034410’’ on your comment
or request to participate as a panelist.
File your comment through https://
www.regulations.gov. File your request
to participate as a panelist by email to:
funeralrule@ftc.gov. If you prefer to file
your comment or request to participate
on paper, write ‘‘Funeral Rule
Workshop, Project No. P034410’’ on
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SUMMARY:
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your comment or request to participate,
and on the envelope, and mail your
comment or request to participate to the
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Suite CC–5610 (Annex F),
Washington, DC 20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Melissa Dickey, Division of Marketing
Practices, Bureau of Consumer
Protection, Federal Trade Commission,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326–2662;
and Samantha Denny, Midwest Region,
Federal Trade Commission, 230 S.
Dearborn, Suite 3030, Chicago, IL
60604, (312) 960–5623.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The Commission issued the Funeral
Rule on September 24, 1982, and it
became fully effective on April 30,
1984.1 The Funeral Rule’s goals are to
lower barriers to price competition in
the funeral goods and services market
and to facilitate informed consumer
choice.2 The Rule helps to achieve these
goals by ensuring that: (1) consumers
have access to sufficient information to
permit them to make informed
decisions; (2) consumers are not
required to purchase goods and services
they do not want and are not required
to purchase by law; and (3)
misrepresentations are not used to
influence consumers’ decisions.3
Among other things, the Rule
specifies it is an unfair or deceptive act
or practice for a funeral provider to: (1)
fail to furnish accurate price
information to the purchaser disclosing
the cost for each of the specific funeral
goods or services used in connection
with the disposition of deceased human
remains; 4 (2) condition the furnishing
of any funeral good or funeral service
upon the purchase of any other funeral
good or funeral service, or charge a fee
as a condition for furnishing any goods
or services (e.g., a ‘‘casket handling’’ fee
1 Portions of the Rule became effective on January
1, 1984, and others became effective on April 30,
1984. See 48 FR 45537, 45538 (Oct. 6, 1983); 49 FR
564 (Jan. 5, 1984). Several funeral providers
challenged the Rule, but it was upheld by the
Fourth Circuit. Harry and Bryant Co. v. FTC, 726
F.2d 993 (4th Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 820
(1984). The Rule was amended on July 19, 1994 (59
FR 1592 (Jan. 11, 1994)), and the Third Circuit
upheld the amended Rule following a challenge.
See Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Ass’n, Inc. v.
FTC, 41 F.3d 81, 83 (3rd Cir. 1994). On March 14,
2008, the Commission completed a regulatory
review and concluded the Rule was still needed
and should be retained. See 73 FR 13740, 13742
(Mar. 14, 2008).
2 See Original Funeral Rule Statement of Basis
and Purpose, 47 FR 42260, 42260 (Sept. 24, 1982).
3 See id.
4 16 CFR 453.2(a).
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33011
to consumers who provide their own
casket); 5 or (3) embalm the deceased for
a fee without authorization when
embalming is not required by law.6 The
Rule also specifies it is an unfair or
deceptive act or practice for a funeral
provider to misrepresent certain legal or
cemetery requirements, including those
for embalming, caskets or burial
containers, or any other funeral good or
service.7
The Rule sets forth preventative
requirements in the form of itemized
price and information disclosures to
ensure funeral providers do not engage
in the unfair or deceptive acts or
practices described in the foregoing
paragraph. First, the Rule requires
funeral providers to provide persons
inquiring in-person about funeral goods
or services with a GPL, which lists the
goods and services they offer and their
itemized prices, along with specific
disclosures.8 Second, the Rule requires
funeral providers to show persons
inquiring in-person a Casket Price List
(‘‘CPL’’) identifying the caskets and
alternative containers they offer, and an
Outer Burial Container Price List
(‘‘OBCPL’’) listing the vaults and grave
liners they offer, along with specific
disclosures.9 Third, funeral providers
are required to tell persons ‘‘who ask by
telephone about the funeral provider’s
offerings or prices . . . any accurate
information’’ from the GPL, CPL, or
OBCPL, ‘‘and any other readily available
information that reasonably answers the
question.’’ 10 Fourth, the Rule requires
that, at the conclusion of the discussion
of arrangements, funeral providers
provide consumers with an itemized
statement showing all the items selected
by the customer and the itemized and
total costs for those goods and services,
along with other specific disclosures.11
On February 14, 2020, the
Commission initiated a review of the
Rule as part of its periodic review of its
rules and guides, and solicited
comments on, among other issues, the
continued usefulness of the Rule.12 In
response to its request for comments,
the Commission received 785 comments
from a diverse group of respondents.
Most commenters supported the
retention of the Rule, with many
5 16
CFR 453.4(b)(1).
CFR 453.5(a).
7 See 16 CFR 453.3–453.5 (listing additional
unfair or deceptive acts or practices and
preventative requirements).
8 16 CFR. 453.2(b)(4).
9 16 CFR 453.2(b)(2)–(3).
10 16 CFR 453.2(b)(1).
11 16 CFR 453.2(b)(5).
12 85 FR 8490 (Feb. 14, 2020).
6 16
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Proposed Rules
commenters proposing changes to its
requirements.
On November 2, 2022, the
Commission published an advance
notice of proposed rulemaking
(‘‘ANPR’’) in the Federal Register,
announcing the Commission was
considering several potential
amendments to the Rule.13 The
Commission sought comment about
seven topic areas: (1) whether and how
funeral providers should be required to
display or distribute their price
information online or through electronic
media; (2) whether funeral providers
should be required to disclose third
party crematory or other fees on the
GPL; (3) whether the Rule’s
requirements regarding reduced basic
services fees should be amended; (4)
whether the Rule should be amended to
account for new forms of disposition of
human remains; (5) whether the Rule’s
embalming disclosure requirements
should be amended; (6) whether the
Rule should be changed to improve the
readability of the price lists; and (7)
whether changes should be made to the
Rule to avoid negatively impacting
underserved communities.14 The
comment period, as extended, closed on
January 17, 2023.15 In response to the
ANPR, the Commission received over
663 comments, including comments
from consumers, consumer advocates,
funeral homes, and industry advocates.
II. Issues for Discussion at the
Workshop
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As part of its rulemaking, the FTC is
hosting an in-person public workshop to
seek information about the potential
amendments described in the 2022
ANPR. The workshop may cover such
topics as:
(1) Online or electronic disclosures of
price information;
(2) New forms of disposition of
human remains; and
(3) The GPL, including the readability
of the GPL, the Rule’s embalming
disclosure requirement and other
mandatory disclosures, whether thirdparty crematory fees and other thirdparty fees should be disclosed in the
GPL, and whether funeral providers
should be required or permitted to give
out GPLs in languages other than
English in any circumstances.
13 87
FR 66096 (Nov. 2, 2022).
id. at 66111–14.
15 See Press Release, FTC, FTC Extends Public
Comment Period on Potential Funeral Rule Changes
to January 17, 2023 (Dec. 21, 2022), https://
www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/
12/ftc-extends-public-comment-period-potentialfuneral-rule-changes-january-17-2023.
14 See
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16:36 May 22, 2023
Jkt 259001
A more detailed agenda will be
published at a later date, in advance of
the scheduled workshop.
III. Public Participation Information
A. Workshop Attendance
The in-person workshop, which is
free and open to the public, will be
conducted in a roundtable format and
will be held at the Constitution Center,
400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC
20024. For admittance to the
Constitution Center, all attendees must
show valid government-issued photo
identification, such as a driver’s license.
Please arrive early enough to allow
adequate time for this process. The
workshop will also be available for
viewing via live webcast on the FTC’s
website at https://www.ftc.gov/newsevents/events/2023/09/funeral-ruleworkshop.
A court reporter will be present to
record the proceedings so a
transcription can be made for the public
record. This event may also be
photographed, videotaped, webcast, or
otherwise recorded. By participating in
this event, you are agreeing that your
image—and anything you say or
submit—may be posted indefinitely at
https://www.ftc.gov or on one of the
Commission’s publicly available social
media sites.
B. Requests To Participate as a Panelist
The workshop will be organized into
one or more panels, which will address
the designated topics. Panelists will be
selected by FTC staff. Other attendees
will have an opportunity to comment
and ask questions. The Commission will
place a transcript of the proceeding on
the public record. Requests to
participate as a panelist must be
received on or before June 19, 2023, as
explained in Section IV below. Persons
selected as panelists will be notified on
or before August 16, 2023.
Disclosing funding sources promotes
transparency, ensures objectivity, and
maintains the public’s trust. If chosen,
prospective panelists will be required to
disclose the source of any support they
received in connection with their
participation in the workshop. This
information will be included in the
published panelist bios as part of the
workshop record.
C. Electronic and Paper Comments
The submission of comments is not
required for participation in the
workshop. If a person wishes to submit
paper or electronic comments related to
the issues discussed at the workshop,
such comments should be filed as
prescribed in Section IV of this
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document and must be received on or
before October 10, 2023. The
Commission invites comments only on
the specific issues discussed at the
workshop.
IV. Filing Comments and Requests To
Participate as a Panelist
You can file a comment online or on
paper. For the Commission to consider
your comment, we must receive it on or
before October 10, 2023. Write ‘‘Funeral
Rule Workshop, Project No. P034410’’
on your comment. Your comment—
including your name and your state—
will be placed on the public record of
this proceeding, including, to the extent
practicable, on the publicly available
website, https://www.regulations.gov.
Postal mail addressed to the
Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a
result, we encourage you to submit your
comments online, or to send them to the
Commission by overnight service. To
make sure the Commission considers
your online comment, you must file it
through the https://www.regulations.gov
website by following the instructions on
the web-based form provided.
Because your comment will be placed
on the public record, you are solely
responsible for making sure your
comment does not include any sensitive
or confidential information. In
particular, your comment should not
include any sensitive personal
information, such as your or anyone
else’s Social Security number; date of
birth; driver’s license number or other
state identification number, or foreign
country equivalent; passport number,
financial account number, or credit or
debit card number. You are also solely
responsible for making sure your
comment does not include any sensitive
health information, such as medical
records or other individually
identifiable health information. In
addition, your comment should not
include any ‘‘trade secret or any
commercial or financial information
which . . . is privileged or
confidential’’—as provided by Section
6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and
FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—
including, in particular, competitively
sensitive information, such as costs,
sales statistics, inventories, formulas,
patterns, devices, manufacturing
processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for
which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form,
must be clearly labeled ‘‘Confidential,’’
and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c).
In particular, the written request for
confidential treatment that accompanies
the comment must include the factual
E:\FR\FM\23MYP1.SGM
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lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Proposed Rules
and legal basis for the request and must
identify the specific portions of the
comments to be withheld from the
public record.16 Your comment will be
kept confidential only if the General
Counsel grants your request in
accordance with the law and the public
interest. Once your comment has been
posted on the https://
www.regulations.gov website, we cannot
redact or remove your comment, unless
you submit a confidentiality request that
meets the requirements for such
treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and
the General Counsel grants that request.
Requests to participate as a panelist at
the workshop should be submitted
electronically to funeralrule@ftc.gov, or,
if mailed, should be submitted in the
manner detailed below. For the
Commission to consider your request to
participate as a panelist, we must
receive it by June 19, 2023. Parties are
asked to include in their requests a brief
statement setting forth their expertise in
or knowledge of the issues on which the
workshop will focus, as well as their
contact information, including a
telephone number and email address (if
available), to enable FTC staff to notify
them if they are selected.
If you file request to participate on
paper, write ‘‘Funeral Rule Workshop,
Project No. P034410’’ on your request to
participate, and on the envelope, and
mail your request to participate to the
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Suite CC–5610 (Annex F),
Washington, DC 20580. If possible,
submit your request to participate to the
Commission by overnight service.
Visit the Commission website at
https://www.ftc.gov to read this
document and the news release
describing it. The FTC Act and other
laws the Commission administers
permit the collection of public
comments to consider and use in this
proceeding as appropriate. The
Commission will consider all timely
and responsive public comments it
receives on or before October 10, 2023.
The Commission will consider all
timely requests to participate as a
panelist in the workshop it receives by
June 19, 2023. For information on the
Commission’s privacy policy, including
routine uses permitted by the Privacy
Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/siteinformation/privacy-policy.
By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023–10815 Filed 5–22–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750–01–P
16 See
16 CFR 4.9(c).
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16:36 May 22, 2023
Jkt 259001
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
28 CFR Part 16
[CPCLO Order No. 002–2023]
Privacy Act of 1974; Implementation
Office of Privacy and Civil
Liberties, United States Department of
Justice.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
AGENCY:
In the notice section of
today’s Federal Register, the Office of
Privacy and Civil Liberties (hereinafter
OPCL), a component within the United
States Department of Justice (DOJ or
Department), has published a notice of
a new system of records, Data Protection
Review Court Records System,
JUSTICE/OPCL–001. In this notice of
proposed rulemaking, the OPCL
proposes to exempt this system of
records from certain provisions of the
Privacy Act to protect national security
and law enforcement sensitive
information, preserve judicial
independence, and ensure the integrity
of adjudicatory records in cases before
the Data Protection Review Court
(‘‘DPRC’’). For the reasons provided
below, the Department proposes to
amend its Privacy Act regulations by
establishing an exemption for records in
this system from certain provisions of
the Privacy Act. Public comment is
invited.
SUMMARY:
Comments must be received by
June 22, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments by
any of the following methods:
• Email: privacy.compliance@
usdoj.gov. To ensure proper handling,
please reference the CPCLO Order No.
in the subject line of the message.
• Fax: 202–307–0693.
• Mail: United States Department of
Justice, Office of Privacy and Civil
Liberties, ATTN: Privacy Analyst, 145 N
St. NE, Washington, DC 20530. All
comments sent via regular or express
mail will be considered timely if
postmarked on the day the comment
period closes. To ensure proper
handling, please reference the CPCLO
Order No. in your correspondence.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. When
submitting comments electronically,
you must include the CPCLO Order No.
in the subject box. Please note that the
Department is requesting that electronic
comments be submitted before midnight
Eastern Time on the day the comment
period closes because https://
www.regulations.gov terminates the
public’s ability to submit comments at
that time. Commenters in time zones
DATES:
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33013
other than Eastern Time may want to
consider this so that their electronic
comments are received.
Posting of Public Comments: Please
note that all comments received are
considered part of the public record and
made available for public inspection
online at https://www.regulations.gov
and in the Department’s public docket.
Such information includes personally
identifying information (such as your
name, address, etc.) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter. If you
want to submit personal identifying
information (such as your name,
address, etc.) as part of your comment,
but do not want it to be posted online
or made available in the public docket,
you must include the phrase
‘‘PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE
INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph
of your comment. You must also place
all personally identifiable information
that you do not want posted online or
made available in the public docket in
the first paragraph of your comment and
identify what information you want
redacted.
If you want to submit confidential
business information as part of your
comment, but do not want it to be
posted online or made available in the
public docket, you must include the
phrase ‘‘CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS
INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph
of your comment. You must also
prominently identify confidential
business information to be redacted
within the comment. If a comment has
so much confidential business
information that it cannot be effectively
redacted, all or part of that comment
may not be posted online or made
available in the public docket.
Personally identifiable information
and confidential business information
identified and located as set forth above
will be redacted and the comment, in
redacted form, may be posted online
and placed in the Department’s public
docket file. Please note that the Freedom
of Information Act applies to all
comments received. If you wish to
inspect the agency’s public docket file
in person by appointment, please see
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Katherine Harman-Stokes, Director
(Acting), Office of Privacy and Civil
Liberties, U.S. Department of Justice,
Two Constitution Square, 145 N St. NE,
Suite 8W–300, Washington, DC 20530;
email: privacy.compliance@usdoj.gov;
telephone: (202) 514–0208; facsimile:
(202) 307–0693.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33011-33013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10815]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 453
RIN 3084-AB55
Public Workshop Examining Potential Amendments to the Funeral
Rule
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Public workshop; request for public comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') will
hold an in-person public workshop relating to its November 2, 2022,
advance notice of proposed rulemaking (``2022 ANPR'') on the Trade
Regulation Rule entitled the ``Funeral Industry Practices Rule''
(``Funeral Rule'' or ``Rule''). The workshop will explore issues
relating to the Funeral Rule's General Price List (``GPL'')
requirements, including whether and how funeral providers should be
required to provide price lists electronically or online, and other
issues raised in the comments received in response to the 2022 ANPR.
DATES: The public workshop will be held on September 7, 2023, from 9:30
a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the Constitution Center Conference Center,
located at 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. The workshop will
also be available for viewing via live webcast. Requests to participate
as a panelist must be received by June 19, 2023. Any written comments
related to the issues discussed at the workshop must be received by
October 10, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment or a request to
participate as a panelist online or on paper, by following the
instructions in the Filing Comments and Requests to Participate as a
Panelist part (Section IV) of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below. Write ``Funeral Rule Workshop, Project No. P034410'' on your
comment or request to participate as a panelist. File your comment
through https://www.regulations.gov. File your request to participate
as a panelist by email to: [email protected]. If you prefer to file
your comment or request to participate on paper, write ``Funeral Rule
Workshop, Project No. P034410'' on your comment or request to
participate, and on the envelope, and mail your comment or request to
participate to the Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite CC-5610 (Annex F), Washington, DC
20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Dickey, Division of Marketing
Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2662; and
Samantha Denny, Midwest Region, Federal Trade Commission, 230 S.
Dearborn, Suite 3030, Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 960-5623.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The Commission issued the Funeral Rule on September 24, 1982, and
it became fully effective on April 30, 1984.\1\ The Funeral Rule's
goals are to lower barriers to price competition in the funeral goods
and services market and to facilitate informed consumer choice.\2\ The
Rule helps to achieve these goals by ensuring that: (1) consumers have
access to sufficient information to permit them to make informed
decisions; (2) consumers are not required to purchase goods and
services they do not want and are not required to purchase by law; and
(3) misrepresentations are not used to influence consumers'
decisions.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Portions of the Rule became effective on January 1, 1984,
and others became effective on April 30, 1984. See 48 FR 45537,
45538 (Oct. 6, 1983); 49 FR 564 (Jan. 5, 1984). Several funeral
providers challenged the Rule, but it was upheld by the Fourth
Circuit. Harry and Bryant Co. v. FTC, 726 F.2d 993 (4th Cir. 1984),
cert. denied, 469 U.S. 820 (1984). The Rule was amended on July 19,
1994 (59 FR 1592 (Jan. 11, 1994)), and the Third Circuit upheld the
amended Rule following a challenge. See Pennsylvania Funeral
Directors Ass'n, Inc. v. FTC, 41 F.3d 81, 83 (3rd Cir. 1994). On
March 14, 2008, the Commission completed a regulatory review and
concluded the Rule was still needed and should be retained. See 73
FR 13740, 13742 (Mar. 14, 2008).
\2\ See Original Funeral Rule Statement of Basis and Purpose, 47
FR 42260, 42260 (Sept. 24, 1982).
\3\ See id.
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Among other things, the Rule specifies it is an unfair or deceptive
act or practice for a funeral provider to: (1) fail to furnish accurate
price information to the purchaser disclosing the cost for each of the
specific funeral goods or services used in connection with the
disposition of deceased human remains; \4\ (2) condition the furnishing
of any funeral good or funeral service upon the purchase of any other
funeral good or funeral service, or charge a fee as a condition for
furnishing any goods or services (e.g., a ``casket handling'' fee to
consumers who provide their own casket); \5\ or (3) embalm the deceased
for a fee without authorization when embalming is not required by
law.\6\ The Rule also specifies it is an unfair or deceptive act or
practice for a funeral provider to misrepresent certain legal or
cemetery requirements, including those for embalming, caskets or burial
containers, or any other funeral good or service.\7\
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\4\ 16 CFR 453.2(a).
\5\ 16 CFR 453.4(b)(1).
\6\ 16 CFR 453.5(a).
\7\ See 16 CFR 453.3-453.5 (listing additional unfair or
deceptive acts or practices and preventative requirements).
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The Rule sets forth preventative requirements in the form of
itemized price and information disclosures to ensure funeral providers
do not engage in the unfair or deceptive acts or practices described in
the foregoing paragraph. First, the Rule requires funeral providers to
provide persons inquiring in-person about funeral goods or services
with a GPL, which lists the goods and services they offer and their
itemized prices, along with specific disclosures.\8\ Second, the Rule
requires funeral providers to show persons inquiring in-person a Casket
Price List (``CPL'') identifying the caskets and alternative containers
they offer, and an Outer Burial Container Price List (``OBCPL'')
listing the vaults and grave liners they offer, along with specific
disclosures.\9\ Third, funeral providers are required to tell persons
``who ask by telephone about the funeral provider's offerings or prices
. . . any accurate information'' from the GPL, CPL, or OBCPL, ``and any
other readily available information that reasonably answers the
question.'' \10\ Fourth, the Rule requires that, at the conclusion of
the discussion of arrangements, funeral providers provide consumers
with an itemized statement showing all the items selected by the
customer and the itemized and total costs for those goods and services,
along with other specific disclosures.\11\
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\8\ 16 CFR. 453.2(b)(4).
\9\ 16 CFR 453.2(b)(2)-(3).
\10\ 16 CFR 453.2(b)(1).
\11\ 16 CFR 453.2(b)(5).
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On February 14, 2020, the Commission initiated a review of the Rule
as part of its periodic review of its rules and guides, and solicited
comments on, among other issues, the continued usefulness of the
Rule.\12\ In response to its request for comments, the Commission
received 785 comments from a diverse group of respondents. Most
commenters supported the retention of the Rule, with many
[[Page 33012]]
commenters proposing changes to its requirements.
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\12\ 85 FR 8490 (Feb. 14, 2020).
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On November 2, 2022, the Commission published an advance notice of
proposed rulemaking (``ANPR'') in the Federal Register, announcing the
Commission was considering several potential amendments to the
Rule.\13\ The Commission sought comment about seven topic areas: (1)
whether and how funeral providers should be required to display or
distribute their price information online or through electronic media;
(2) whether funeral providers should be required to disclose third
party crematory or other fees on the GPL; (3) whether the Rule's
requirements regarding reduced basic services fees should be amended;
(4) whether the Rule should be amended to account for new forms of
disposition of human remains; (5) whether the Rule's embalming
disclosure requirements should be amended; (6) whether the Rule should
be changed to improve the readability of the price lists; and (7)
whether changes should be made to the Rule to avoid negatively
impacting underserved communities.\14\ The comment period, as extended,
closed on January 17, 2023.\15\ In response to the ANPR, the Commission
received over 663 comments, including comments from consumers, consumer
advocates, funeral homes, and industry advocates.
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\13\ 87 FR 66096 (Nov. 2, 2022).
\14\ See id. at 66111-14.
\15\ See Press Release, FTC, FTC Extends Public Comment Period
on Potential Funeral Rule Changes to January 17, 2023 (Dec. 21,
2022), https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/12/ftc-extends-public-comment-period-potential-funeral-rule-changes-january-17-2023.
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II. Issues for Discussion at the Workshop
As part of its rulemaking, the FTC is hosting an in-person public
workshop to seek information about the potential amendments described
in the 2022 ANPR. The workshop may cover such topics as:
(1) Online or electronic disclosures of price information;
(2) New forms of disposition of human remains; and
(3) The GPL, including the readability of the GPL, the Rule's
embalming disclosure requirement and other mandatory disclosures,
whether third-party crematory fees and other third-party fees should be
disclosed in the GPL, and whether funeral providers should be required
or permitted to give out GPLs in languages other than English in any
circumstances.
A more detailed agenda will be published at a later date, in
advance of the scheduled workshop.
III. Public Participation Information
A. Workshop Attendance
The in-person workshop, which is free and open to the public, will
be conducted in a roundtable format and will be held at the
Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. For
admittance to the Constitution Center, all attendees must show valid
government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license.
Please arrive early enough to allow adequate time for this process. The
workshop will also be available for viewing via live webcast on the
FTC's website at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events/2023/09/funeral-rule-workshop.
A court reporter will be present to record the proceedings so a
transcription can be made for the public record. This event may also be
photographed, videotaped, webcast, or otherwise recorded. By
participating in this event, you are agreeing that your image--and
anything you say or submit--may be posted indefinitely at https://www.ftc.gov or on one of the Commission's publicly available social
media sites.
B. Requests To Participate as a Panelist
The workshop will be organized into one or more panels, which will
address the designated topics. Panelists will be selected by FTC staff.
Other attendees will have an opportunity to comment and ask questions.
The Commission will place a transcript of the proceeding on the public
record. Requests to participate as a panelist must be received on or
before June 19, 2023, as explained in Section IV below. Persons
selected as panelists will be notified on or before August 16, 2023.
Disclosing funding sources promotes transparency, ensures
objectivity, and maintains the public's trust. If chosen, prospective
panelists will be required to disclose the source of any support they
received in connection with their participation in the workshop. This
information will be included in the published panelist bios as part of
the workshop record.
C. Electronic and Paper Comments
The submission of comments is not required for participation in the
workshop. If a person wishes to submit paper or electronic comments
related to the issues discussed at the workshop, such comments should
be filed as prescribed in Section IV of this document and must be
received on or before October 10, 2023. The Commission invites comments
only on the specific issues discussed at the workshop.
IV. Filing Comments and Requests To Participate as a Panelist
You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before October 10,
2023. Write ``Funeral Rule Workshop, Project No. P034410'' on your
comment. Your comment--including your name and your state--will be
placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the
extent practicable, on the publicly available website, https://www.regulations.gov.
Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit
your comments online, or to send them to the Commission by overnight
service. To make sure the Commission considers your online comment, you
must file it through the https://www.regulations.gov website by
following the instructions on the web-based form provided.
Because your comment will be placed on the public record, you are
solely responsible for making sure your comment does not include any
sensitive or confidential information. In particular, your comment
should not include any sensitive personal information, such as your or
anyone else's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license
number or other state identification number, or foreign country
equivalent; passport number, financial account number, or credit or
debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure your
comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as
medical records or other individually identifiable health information.
In addition, your comment should not include any ``trade secret or any
commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or
confidential''--as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C.
46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--including, in
particular, competitively sensitive information, such as costs, sales
statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing
processes, or customer names.
Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is
requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular,
the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the
comment must include the factual
[[Page 33013]]
and legal basis for the request and must identify the specific portions
of the comments to be withheld from the public record.\16\ Your comment
will be kept confidential only if the General Counsel grants your
request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your
comment has been posted on the https://www.regulations.gov website, we
cannot redact or remove your comment, unless you submit a
confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such treatment
under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that request.
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\16\ See 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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Requests to participate as a panelist at the workshop should be
submitted electronically to [email protected], or, if mailed, should
be submitted in the manner detailed below. For the Commission to
consider your request to participate as a panelist, we must receive it
by June 19, 2023. Parties are asked to include in their requests a
brief statement setting forth their expertise in or knowledge of the
issues on which the workshop will focus, as well as their contact
information, including a telephone number and email address (if
available), to enable FTC staff to notify them if they are selected.
If you file request to participate on paper, write ``Funeral Rule
Workshop, Project No. P034410'' on your request to participate, and on
the envelope, and mail your request to participate to the Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite
CC-5610 (Annex F), Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your
request to participate to the Commission by overnight service.
Visit the Commission website at https://www.ftc.gov to read this
document and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws
the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to
consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will
consider all timely and responsive public comments it receives on or
before October 10, 2023. The Commission will consider all timely
requests to participate as a panelist in the workshop it receives by
June 19, 2023. For information on the Commission's privacy policy,
including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.
By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-10815 Filed 5-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P