DENVER — Malpractice in the Colorado funeral industry has been a topic of discussion in recent years. Lawmakers credit much of the criminal activity to the lack of requiring licenses in the field, but that could soon change.
"We are the only state that doesn’t require licensure for funeral home operators," Republican Representative Matt Soper told 9NEWS.
Two bipartisan bills are set to be introduced that pertain to funeral industry operations.
One would require funeral home directors, morticians and crematorium operators to adhere to standards other states already have in place.
"Operators will have to understand funeral home ethics, the science of decaying bodies, they’ll have to know how to work with families better," Soper shared. "They will have continuing education, they will understand the current laws of how mortuary science is, such as, you need coolers for bodies, there’s certain ways you handle bodies with respect that honors the families and all that is going to be included."
The call for new regulations has more urgency, as the director of Apollo Funeral and Cremation Services in Jefferson County is facing charges of abuse of a corpse, forgery and theft.
"It causes you to say, 'I never want to hear this again,'" Soper said. "What can we do to finally stop this? Because we’re not seeing this in any other state. We’re not hearing these same horror stories elsewhere."
Soper said this law could save other Coloradans from the heartbreak and headache so many in the state are facing allegedly at the hands of funeral directors.
"I hope by requiring licensures, we will never hear stories like Apollo or Return to Nature or Sunset Mesa that those cases coming out of Denver, Penrose and Montrose will be a thing of the past," Soper said. "That’s our goal."
Soper said the bill will be introduced after another bill that continues previous business operation requirements, like paying taxes and death certificate fees. The sunset bill is set to be introduced Wednesday.
Soper said it's possible the licensure bill could be introduced within seven to ten days.
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