The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a three-year extension of its OMB clearance for the Funeral Industry Practice Rule. The notice was published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2026. The deadline is May 31, 2026.
This is not routine paperwork. The OMB clearance is what authorizes the FTC to require itemized price disclosures -- the General Price List, casket price list, and outer burial container price list, plus the statement of funeral goods and services. If the clearance is renewed, those requirements continue unchanged for three more years. The comment period is the formal mechanism for the industry to put concerns about enforcement priorities, compliance burden, and rulemaking direction on the record.
One related item to keep separate from this:
A different FTC Federal Register notice published on January 23, 2026, concerned the FTC's shared enforcement authority with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the CFPB's Regulation O (the Mortgage Acts and Practices Rule). That notice was corrected on February 6, 2026 because it accidentally referenced the Funeral Rule -- the correction explicitly removed the Funeral Rule reference. CFPB shared enforcement does not currently extend to the Funeral Rule. We are flagging this only because the two notices were published three days apart and have been confused in trade-press coverage. The Funeral Rule is enforced by the FTC alone.
What to do:
1. Pull your General Price List today. The July 2024 Funeral Rule amendments added new pricing transparency requirements. If your GPL has not been reviewed since mid-2024, do it this week.
2. If your state association (NYSFDA) is not already planning a public comment on the OMB extension, ask them to file one. A coordinated association comment carries far more weight with OMB than individual submissions. The deadline is May 31.
3. If you want to file your own comment, the notice is searchable on regulations.gov as the FTC Funeral Rule information collection extension. Comments are public record.
No funeral-specific bills moved this week. The state budget crossed its April 1 deadline without passage. That is not unusual -- Albany's budget has been late in most recent years, sometimes by days, sometimes by weeks.
What the delay means for your bills:
The Health and Finance committees remain occupied with budget negotiations. Standalone legislation does not move until the budget is signed. Based on the current calendar, expect the legislative sprint to begin around mid-April.
The bill that matters most right now: S7690 (Residency Overhaul, Senate version), sponsored by Senator Michael Gianaris (D-Queens). It cleared the Health Committee and is now in Finance. Finance spent the last six weeks on budget work. When it returns to standalone bills, S7690 is positioned near the top of the calendar.
This bill would restructure NY's funeral director residency requirements. If it passes Finance and reaches the floor, it could move fast. The spring session runs through June. There are roughly eight weeks of active session left once the budget clears.
What to do:
1. If you have opinions on the residency overhaul, contact your state senator now -- before the sprint begins. Legislators pay more attention to constituent input before a bill is calendared for a vote.
2. Watch the NYSFDA for any action alerts. They track committee movements in real time and will sound the alarm if a bill comes up for a vote.
| Bill | Title | Status | Committee | Last Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S9112 | Licensed Funeral Arranger Act | In Senate Committee | Health | Referred to Health (Feb 3) |
| A10095 | Licensed Funeral Arranger Act (Assembly) | In Assembly Committee | Health | Referred to Health (Jan 30) |
| S8152 | 4-Year Apprenticeship (Senate) | STRICKEN | -- | Enacting clause stricken (Jun 9, 2025) |
| A5172 | 4-Year Apprenticeship (Assembly) | In Assembly Committee | Health | Referred to Health (Jan 7) |
| A7630 | Residency Overhaul (Assembly) | In Assembly Committee | Health | Referred to Health (Jan 7) |
| S7690 | Residency Overhaul (Senate) | In Senate Committee | Finance | Reported and committed to Finance (Feb 24) |
S8152 is dead. The Senate apprenticeship bill had its enacting clause stricken in June 2025 and will not become law. The Assembly companion, A5172 (Marianne Buttenschon), is still active in the Assembly Health Committee. If the four-year apprenticeship pathway matters to your hiring, A5172 is what to watch.
The Funeral Director's Brief is a weekly regulatory briefing for New York funeral directors. Questions? Reply to this email.
Subscribe: funeraldirectorsbrief.com
Free during our launch period. Join funeral directors across New York.