Arlington, Va.—Last week, Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed HB 1029, which would have renewed the Oklahoma Funeral Board and kept protectionist legislation in place making it illegal for anyone in the state to sell caskets without a funeral director’s license. The Institute for Justice (IJ), which has a long history of providing legal and legislative support for opening up casket sales to the free market and removing unnecessary and burdensome licensure requirements, applauds the move and urges the legislature to provide free market reforms for the industry.

“Creating artificial barriers to selling caskets is akin to creating a death tax for all Oklahomans,” said IJ Legislative Counsel Sam Hooper. “Restricting supply drives up prices. In an industry which everyone will eventually encounter, Oklahomans shouldn’t have to pay more when they say their final goodbyes to their loved ones.”

Dying can be expensive in Oklahoma, with the average funeral cost averaging over $800 (or close to 20%) more than in neighboring states. Many of these costs can be attributed to the licensure requirements for funeral directors and the fact that only licensed funeral directors can sell caskets, one of the largest costs in a funeral.

Most states have already removed that requirement, including in Louisiana where IJ represented the brothers of Saint Joseph Abbey, a Benedictine monastery, who wanted to sell caskets to support their work.

Consumer choice is more than just about aesthetic choices when it comes to funerals. It’s also about religious freedom. Cutting people off from working with religious institutions such as Saint Joseph Abbey infringes as much on religious beliefs as it cuts into their wallet.

However, there is still time for the Oklahoma Legislature to come together and work on a compromise.

SB 559 would provide exactly that, allowing those without a funeral director’s license to sell caskets directly to the public, cutting costs and providing greater choice for Oklahomans.

“The time to act is now,” added Sam Hooper. “The legislature and the Governor can come together and give the people of Oklahoma what they deserve. The two bodies of government have a track record of helping drive down costs and providing greater consumer choice. It’s time Oklahomans get that same treatment when it comes to laying their loved ones to rest.”    

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To arrange interviews on this subject, journalists may contact Phillip Suderman, IJ’s Communications Project Manager, at psuderman@staging.ij.org or (850) 376-4110. More information on IJ’s previous work litigating for Oklahoma casket sellers is available at: https://staging.ij.org/case/powers-v-harris/