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Committee approves removing embalmer requirement for funeral director in charge
Summary
House Bill 43-22 passed after the sponsor said it would allow small, rural funeral homes to operate without requiring the funeral director in charge to hold an embalmer license; Representative Blansett raised safety and curriculum questions about embalming training.
Representative Kendricks presented House Bill 43-22, saying the bill "removes the requirement that a funeral director in charge must be dually licensed, not only as a funeral director, but also as an embalmer." Kendricks said the change is intended for small, rural communities that typically contract embalming to outside firms — for example, "in Altus, all of the embalming activity is being done by a funeral home in Lawton," he said.
Representative Blansett asked whether the proposal would reduce safety or change curriculum requirements, noting that the University of Central Oklahoma requires embalming as part of its funeral-director curriculum. Kendricks replied that the bill does not change curriculum requirements; it removes the requirement that the funeral director in charge obtain an embalmer license when the funeral home contracts embalming services to a licensed embalmer. The sponsor characterized the prior dual-license requirement as effectively protectionist and pointed to staffing shortages in small communities.
After questions and no extended debate, the committee opened the vote queue and advanced the bill. The transcript records the chair declaring the bill to have passed. The committee did not record further technical edits or implementation details in the hearing record.
