PAC Chair Cheryl Lankford Goes to D.C. to Represent Florida Funeral Directors

Cheryl Lankford of DeLand, FL, Robin Giddons Shepard of Jacksonville, FL, and Tom Ralph of Plantation, along with a few others, were your representatives for the Florida Senate and Representatives.

We met with the aids of Sen. Ashley Moody, Sen. Rick Scott, Rep. Maxwell Frost, and Rep John Rutherford to discuss this year’s concerns.

1. Funeral Coverage Act; This deals with the Health Savings Account. Individuals can make tax-free contributions to an HSA or through an employer on their own. In short, the bill we presented was now these monies must go to a beneficiary at the time of death. (OUR RESPONSE) We are asking for the funds to be able to be transferred to a funeral home to pay funeral expenses, bypassing the beneficiary. The thought for this is that there may be times when they do not have the funds, and this will assist in funeral expenses. The Rep. that is sponsoring this bill is Rep. Kevin Hern (R- OK) Committee Jurisdiction is the House Ways and Means

2. Prevent the trafficking of Human Bodies and Body Parts. Consensual Donation and Research Integrity Act; WE all understand this one, and it is with hope that the bill is not killed!! This is a budget-neutral item where every company must register with the HHS (Human Health Services) and pay a fee to be licensed to handle remains. They must have a chain of custody, labeling, and processing, and the result of the return of remains for accountability to the families. Sponsors for this bill are Thorn Tillis (r-NC) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) . The committee Jurisdiction is House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Subcommittee on Health) Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee. Learn more at www.NFDA.org/BodyBrokerBill. If you want to be more involved, contact Lesley Witter, NFDA Senior VP and lobbyist for NFDA at LWitter@NFDA.org or 202-236-4926.

3. Veteran Funeral and Burial Legislation Supported by the NFDA. This bill was a bipartisan bill to permanently expand VA burial benefits. The legislation will allow the VA to provide memorial headstones or markers for veterans, their spouses, and dependent children, regardless of when they passed away, ensuring that military families are properly honored together. This bill is just a clean up item and not one we have to do anything about.

4. Death Tax Repeal Act of 2025: This is one to watch!!! Rick Scott is totally behind this bill and others too many to name. The Death Tax Repeal Act would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The legislation, which enjoys support from more than 230 organizations, including the MFDA would permanently repeal the death tax, which imposes an unfair and costly tax on the transfer of

property, land, and other assets from a deceased family member to heirs of family farms and all small businesses, such as funeral homes!!! This is a win-win if it passes, as an owner would not have to cover costly key man insurance to be able to pay for family members taking over the business!!! Senator Rick Scott, Rep. Gus M. Bilrakis, Rep. Scott Franklin, Rep. John Rutherford, Rep. Cory Mills, Rep. Mike Haridopolos, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, Rep. Neal P. Dunn and Rep. Brian J. Mast are all the Florida Reps. And Senators that our group would have to contact about the sponsoring of this bill.

5. No IRIS Act of 2025; This bill deals with the use of formaldehyde amounts in certain products that affect EPA risks. Funeral directors are not involved in this, as the percentage of Formaldehyde in our products and fluids is classified under the recommended standard for protection. This was also a clean-up bill!! Not much to report on this.

AS USUAL, CALL AND OR EMAIL THOSE REPRESENTATIVES IN YOUR AREA TO TELL THEM WE ARE WITH THE IFDF AND STAND WITH THE NFDA ON THESE BILLS.

THANKS,

CHERYL LANKFORD