A bill that would strengthen regulations governing the operation of funeral homes cleared an Arkansas Senate committee Friday.
House Bill 1711 by Rep. Brent Talley, D-Hope, was developed partly as a response to a Jacksonville funeral home that was shut down earlier this year over allegations that it violated state regulations regarding the storage of bodies.
Among other things, it would allow the state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors to issue emergency orders and require funeral homes to carry general liability insurance, "hopefully to keep this from happening again," said Amy Goode, the board's executive secretary.
Arkansas Funeral Home voluntarily surrendered its license during a Jan. 23 meeting with the state board after a series of mid-January inspections at the business reportedly found several violations. Arkansas Funeral Care's founder and funeral director LeRoy Wood also surrendered his license during the meeting, along with the funeral home's crematory license.
The surrender of the licenses effectively closed the business, which opened in 2006. Wood and the funeral home were also fined a total of $10,000.
Metro on 03/28/2015