[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 5, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24250-24253]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11260]



[[Page 24249]]

_______________________________________________________________________

Part IV





Federal Trade Commission





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16 CFR Part 453



Request for Comments Concerning Trade Regulation Rule on Funeral 
Industry Practices; Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 5, 1999 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 24250]]



FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 453


Request for Comments Concerning Trade Regulation Rule on Funeral 
Industry Practices

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'') is 
requesting public comments on its Trade Regulation Rule on Funeral 
Industry Practices (``the Funeral Rule'' or ``the Rule''). The 
Commission requests comments about the overall costs and benefits of 
the Rule and its overall regulatory and economic impact as a part of 
its systematic review of all current Commission regulations and guides. 
Also requested are comments on whether the Rule should be modified to 
broaden its scope to include non-traditional providers of funeral goods 
or services; revise or clarify the prohibition on casket handling fees; 
or prohibit non-declinable funeral fees. All interested persons are 
hereby given notice of the opportunity to submit written data, views 
and arguments concerning the Rule.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted until July 12, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be identified as ``16 CFR Part 453'' 
and submitted to: Secretary, Federal Trade Commission, Room H-159, 600 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20580. The Commission requests 
that commenters submit the original plus five copies, if feasible. To 
enable prompt review and public access, all written comments should 
also be submitted, if possible, in electronic form. To submit in 
electronic form, provide the comment on either a 5\1/4\'' or a 3\1/2\'' 
computer disk. The disk should be labeled with the commenter's name and 
the name and version of the word processing program used to create the 
document. (Programs based on DOS or Windows are preferred. Files from 
other operating systems should be submitted in ASCII text format). 
Alternatively, the Commission will also accept comments submitted to 
the following E-Mail address: ``[email protected].'' Individual members 
of the public who will be filing comments need not submit multiple 
copies and need not submit their comments in electronic form.
    All comments will be placed on the public record and will be 
available for public inspection in accordance with the Freedom of 
Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, and the Commission's Rules of Practice, 
16 CFR 4.11, during normal business days from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 
the Public Reference Room, Room 130, Federal Trade Commission, 6th 
Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580. In addition, 
comments will be posted on the Internet at the FTC's web site: 
``www.ftc.gov''.
    Notification of interest in the Public Workshop-Conference should 
be submitted in writing to Mercedes Kelley, Division of Marketing 
Practices, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myra Howard, (202) 326-2047, or 
Mercedes Kelley, (202) 326-3665, Division of Marketing Practices, 
Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 
20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The current request for comments on the 
Funeral Rule is part of the Commission's regulatory review program 
which has been implemented to review Rules and guides periodically. The 
regulatory review program seeks information about the costs and 
benefits of the Commission's Rules and guides and their regulatory and 
economic impact. The information obtained will assist the Commission in 
identifying Rules and guides that warrant modification or rescission.

A. Background

    The Commission adopted the Trade Regulation Rule entitled Funeral 
Industry Practices (the ``Funeral Rule'') on September 24, 1982. It 
became fully effective on April 30, 1984.1 The essential 
purposes of the Funeral Rule were to ensure that consumers receive 
information necessary to make informed purchasing decisions, and to 
lower existing barriers to price competition in the market for funeral 
goods and services.2 Subsequently, the Funeral Rule was 
amended as a result of a regulatory review and amendment proceeding 
that began on December 9, 1987.3 The Commission published 
the amended Funeral Rule on January 11, 1994.4 The 
amendments to the Rule took effect July 19, 1994.
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    \1\ The Rule had two effective dates. The portions of the Rule 
that prohibit certain oral or written representations became 
effective on January 1, 1984. 48 FR 45537. The remainder of the Rule 
(the portions imposing affirmative obligations on funeral providers) 
became effective on April 30, 1984.
    \2\ 47 FR 42260.
    \3\ 52 FR 46706.
    \4\ 59 FR 1592.
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    The Rule, as it stands today, specifies that it is an unfair or 
deceptive act or practice for a funeral provider to: (1) Fail to 
furnish consumers with accurate price information disclosing the costs 
of each funeral good or service used in connection with the disposition 
of dead bodies; (2) require consumers to purchase a casket for direct 
cremations; (3) condition the provision of any funeral good or service 
upon the purchase of any other funeral good or service; or (4) embalm 
the deceased for a fee without authorization. The Rule also specifies 
that it is a deceptive act or practice for funeral providers to 
misrepresent the legal or local cemetery requirements for: (1) 
Embalming; (2) caskets in direct cremations; (3) outer burial 
containers; or (4) any other funeral good or service, and to 
misrepresent that cash advance purchases are the same as the cost to 
the funeral provider when such is not the case. The Rule sets forth 
preventive requirements in the form of price and information 
disclosures to ensure funeral providers avoid engaging in the unfair or 
deceptive acts or practices described above.

B. Issues for Comment

    This review is part of a regularly scheduled review which generally 
seeks information about the costs and benefits of the Commission's 
rules and guides and their regulatory and economic impact. The 
information obtained will assist the Commission in identifying aspects 
of the Funeral Rule that warrant modification or rescission. 
Accordingly, the Commission is generally soliciting comments on, among 
other things, the economic impact of and the continuing need for the 
Funeral Rule; possible conflict between the Rule and state, local, or 
other federal laws; and the effect on the Rule of any technological, 
economic or other industry changes.
    There are a number of other material issues on which the Commission 
is also seeking comment. The Commission recognizes that change is 
occurring in the funeral industry at a rapid pace and that several 
issues have arisen since the Rule was amended in 1994 which may warrant 
additional modification or rescission of the Funeral Rule.
    First, the Funeral and Memorial Societies of America (``FAMSA''), 
has requested that the Commission consider making a number of 
amendments and additions to the Rule. Among these are: (1) The 
elimination of any non-declinable fee; (2) the addition of four items 
to the required itemization on the General Price List--namely, the 
price for private viewing without embalming, the price for body 
donation to a medical school, the price for the cremation process 
itself,\5\ and the price for rental

[[Page 24251]]

caskets; (3) a requirement that the cost of the cremation process be 
included in the charge for an immediate or ``direct'' cremation; (4) a 
requirement that any mark-up on cash advance items be disclosed with 
the actual amount to be charged; and (5) that the scope of the Rule be 
expanded to bring cemeteries, monument dealers, and casket sellers 
within coverage of the Rule.\6\
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    \5\ Despite the fact that Sec. 453.1(g) of the Rule defines 
``direct cremation'' as ``a disposition of human remains by 
cremation (i.e., `a heating process which incinerates human 
remains,' Sec. 453.1(e)), without formal viewing, visitation, or 
ceremony with the body present,'' FAMSA suggests that some funeral 
providers may charge a fee for the actual cremation of a body that 
may not be reflected on the General Price List item price for a 
``direct cremation'' under Sec. 453.2(b)(4)(ii)(C).
    \6\ September 24, 1997 FAMSA letter.
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    Second, members of Congress, industry representatives, and members 
of the general public have expressed concerns about the changing nature 
of the industry and the competition between traditional providers of 
funeral services and the non-traditional providers.

1. The Definition of ``Funeral Provider''

    The Funeral Rule applies only to ``funeral providers.'' \7\ The 
Rule defines a funeral provider as ``any person, partnership or 
corporation that sells or offers to sell funeral goods and funeral 
services to the public.'' \8\ Accordingly, persons that sell or offer 
to sell only funeral goods or only funeral services are not considered 
``funeral providers.'' In other words, the non-traditional members of 
the funeral industry, such as cemeteries and casket retailers, do not 
meet the definition of ``funeral provider'' and are thus not subject to 
the Rule's provisions. The Commission considered expanding the 
definition of funeral provider in the mandatory review that culminated 
in the 1994 amended Rule. At that time, the non-traditional sellers had 
only just begun to enter the market for funeral goods and services. 
Accordingly, the Commission determined not to expand coverage to other 
segments of the funeral industry at that time. Since then the 
Commission has stayed abreast of the increased entry of non-traditional 
entities into the sale of both funeral goods and services. As 
competition has been increasing in the sale of caskets and other 
funeral goods and services, the Commission believes that it is time to 
reconsider whether it would be in the public interest to expand the 
coverage of the Funeral Rule to include non-traditional providers of 
funeral goods and services. Therefore, the Commission solicits comments 
on whether it is now desirable to revise the Rule's definition of 
``funeral provider.''
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    \7\ 16 CFR 453.1(i).
    \8\ Id. (Emphasis added). Funeral goods are, ``the goods which 
are sold or offered for sale directly to the public for use in 
connection with funeral services.'' Funeral services are, ``any 
services which may be used to: (1) Care for and prepare deceased 
human bodies for burial, cremation or other final disposition; and 
(2) arrange, supervise or conduct the funeral ceremony or the final 
disposition of deceased human bodies.'' 16 CFR 453.(1)(h)&(j).
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2. Casket Handling Fees Clarification

    Section 453.4(b)(2)(i)(A) of the Rule mandates a specifically-
worded disclosure informing the consumer that ``(y)ou may choose only 
the items you desire.'' The general purpose of this provision is to 
make it possible for consumers to freely select funeral goods and 
services. In other words, consumers should pay for only those goods and 
services they select. Funeral providers are required to ``unbundle'' 
their offerings and allow for selection of individual funeral goods and 
services.
    When the Rule was amended in 1994, Sec. 453(b)(2)(i)(A) was 
augmented by the addition of Sec. 453.4(b)(1)(ii), which specifies that 
it is an unfair or deceptive practice for funeral providers to:

    Charge any fee as a condition to furnishing any funeral goods or 
funeral services to a person arranging a funeral, other than the 
fees for: (1) Services of funeral director and staff, permitted by 
Sec. 453.2(b)(4)(iii)(C); (2) other funeral services and funeral 
goods selected by the purchaser; and (3) other funeral goods or 
services required to be purchased, as explained on the itemized 
statement in accordance with Sec. 453.3(d)(2).

Therefore, funeral providers are prohibited from charging any fee that 
is not for the services of the funeral director, or the items selected 
by the consumer. Placing such a limitation on permissible fees was 
specifically intended, in part, to prohibit a funeral provider from 
charging consumers a fee for using a casket purchased from some source 
other than that funeral provider. The Commission, in amending the Rule, 
determined that ``substantial `casket handling fees' are imposed on 
consumers by a significant proportion of providers wherever third-party 
casket sellers exist, and, as a result, frustrate the Rule's 
`unbundling' requirements and result in the reduction of potential 
competition.'' 9 The Commission found that some providers 
implemented casket handling fees ``because of their competitive 
reluctance to shift overhead costs and profit from the casket mark-up 
to professional services fees,'' while other providers used handling 
fees as a ``direct response to third'party competition.'' 10 
The Commission determined that ``the Rule should require providers to 
recoup costs and profits lost to third-party casket sales in ways that 
do not violate the intent of the Rule's `unbundling' provision.'' 
11
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    \9\ 59 FR at 1604.
    \10\ Id.
    \11\ Id.
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    Since the amendment of the Rule, the Commission is aware that some 
funeral providers may employ certain practices that may undermine the 
benefit to consumers and to competition intended by the Rule's 
unbundling provisions. Although the Rule limits permissible fees, it 
does not regulate the prices that funeral providers may charge, nor 
does it prohibit the offering of funeral packages.12 Neither 
the Commission nor staff hitherto has interpreted the Rule to prohibit 
the offering of such packages at a discount--that is, offering 
combinations of funeral goods and services which, if purchased 
together, are offered at a lower price in aggregate than if the 
consumer was to purchase each good and service individually. Even 
though the Third Circuit has noted that the Commission, in drafting its 
casket handling fee prohibition, drew a distinction between a direct 
``fee'' and a ``discount,'' 13 as a practical matter, the 
distinction between a ``fee'' as it is used by the Rule, and a 
``discount'', as offered by funeral providers, may be blurred. For 
example, the prices of itemized goods and services (appearing on the 
General Price List) may in some instances be inflated to the point of 
fictitiousness. Thus, virtually all consumers would choose to purchase 
``discount packages,'' resulting in a situation where the discount 
package represents the de facto prices for the goods and services. Such 
a scenario may restrict consumer choice in a manner that frustrates the 
intended purpose of the Rule. Further, some members of the funeral 
industry have alleged that because such ``discount packages'' are often 
conditioned on the purchase of a casket, these packages are 
artificially constructed by certain funeral providers in order to 
eliminate competition in casket sales.
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    \12\ ``You [the funeral provider] may still offer funeral 
packages, as long as they are offered in addition to, not in place 
of, itemized prices.'' Complying with the Funeral Rule, a Business 
Guide Produced by the Federal Trade Commission (``Compliance 
Guide'') at p. 24.
    \13\ Pennsylvania Funeral Dirs. Ass'n., Inc. v. FTC, 41 F.3d 81, 
90 (3rd Cir. 1994) (noting that ``the FTC distinguishes direct 
handling fees from offering discounts to people who buy caskets from 
the funeral home'').
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    As a result of the differing views that have emerged in the funeral 
industry with respect to the reach of the casket handling fee 
prohibition and its effect on certain types of discount packaging, the 
Commission is concerned about the effectiveness of the casket handling 
fee prohibition. Even at the time of the 1994

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Funeral Rule amendment, the Commission staff report reflected a level 
of uncertainty regarding funeral packages as they relate to the casket 
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handling fee prohibition when it stated:

    Of course, enforcement issues might arise if, as a result of 
those package prices, consumers' choices were being restricted or 
additional fees above the itemized cost of caskets or services were 
being assessed.14

    \14\ Final Staff Report, at 39 n. 76.
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    Accordingly, the Commission specifically seeks comments on the 
casket handling fee prohibition, its effectiveness, and the impact it 
has had on consumers and funeral providers.

3. Non-declinable Fees Currently Allowed Under 
Sec. 453.2(b)(4)(iii)(C)(1) or (C)(2)

    As noted above, the only fee that funeral providers can require 
consumers to pay under the Funeral Rule is the fee for ``basic 
services.'' The ``basic services fee'' is defined as the charge for the 
services of the funeral director and staff.15 The effect of 
this definition is to permit funeral directors to charge one, and only 
one, non-declinable fee to cover the basic services of the funeral 
director and staff. The Commission solicits comments on the efficacy of 
this provision in ensuring consumers the greatest amount of choice with 
respect to goods and services. The Commission also seeks comment on the 
effect of this provision upon funeral providers, and upon competition 
among them. Revision of the ``General Price List''
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    \15\ 16 CFR 453,1(p). The Compliance Guide, at 15, explains, 
``this basic services fee should include services that are common to 
virtually all forms of disposition or arrangements (offered), such 
as conducting the arrangements and coordinating the arrangements 
with the cemetery, crematory, or other third parties. The basic 
services fee should not include charges related to other items that 
must be separately listed on the General Price List and that the 
customer may decline to purchase.''
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4. Revision of the ``General Price List''

    The Commission also seeks comments on revisions, additions or 
deletions that should be made to the required disclosures for the 
``General Price List'' (as described in Sec. 453.2(b)(4)), including 
those advanced by FAMSA, as described above.

C. Request for Comment

    The Commission is interested in receiving data, surveys and other 
empirical evidence to support comments submitted in response to this 
Notice. Without limiting the scope of issues it is seeking comment on, 
the Commission is particularly interested in receiving comments and 
supporting data on the following questions:
    (1) Is there a continuing need for the Funeral Rule?
    (a) What benefits, if any, has the Rule provided to purchasers of 
funeral goods and services?
    (b) Has the Rule imposed costs on purchasers?
    (2) What changes, if any, should be made to the Rule to increase 
the benefits of the Rule to purchasers?
    (a) How would these changes affect the costs the Rule imposes on 
the funeral providers subject to its requirements?
    (3) What significant burdens or costs, if any, including costs of 
compliance, has the Rule imposed on funeral providers subject to its 
requirements?
    (a) Has the Rule provided benefits to such funeral providers?
    (4) What changes, if any, should be made to the Rule to reduce the 
burdens or costs imposed on funeral providers subject to its 
requirements?
    (a) How would these changes affect the benefits provided by the 
Rule?
    (5) Does the Rule overlap or conflict with other federal, state, or 
local laws or regulations?
    (6) Since the Rule was issued, what effects, if any, have changes 
in relevant technology or economic conditions had on the Rule?
    (7) What significant burdens or costs, if any, including costs of 
compliance, has the Rule imposed on small funeral providers subject to 
its requirements?
    (a) How do these burdens or costs differ from those imposed on 
larger funeral providers subject to the Rule's requirements?
    (8) To what extent are the burdens or costs that the Rule imposes 
on small funeral providers similar to those that small funeral 
providers would incur under standard and prudent business practices?
    (9) What changes, if any, should be made to the Rule to reduce the 
burdens or costs imposed on small funeral providers?
    (a) How would these changes affect the benefits of the Rule?
    (b) Would such changes adversely affect the competitive position of 
larger funeral providers?
    (10) How, if at all, has the Rule affected the relative number of 
consumers who contact more than one funeral home before deciding which 
one to use?
    (11) How, if at all, has the Rule benefitted consumers by:
    (a) Alerting consumers to the importance of price information and 
ensuring that they obtain such information at the critical point of 
choosing a provider?
    (b) Providing information about different purchase options?
    (c) Protecting consumers from injurious misrepresentations?
    (d) Requiring authorization prior to embalming?
    (e) Prohibiting providers from conditioning the purchase of a 
wanted item on the purchase of an unwanted item?
    (12) How have prices changed (in total and for specific funeral 
goods and services) since the Rule was amended in 1994? To what extent, 
if at all, are these changes attributable to the Rule?
    (13) Have the relative prevalence of: (a) Ground burials; (b) 
cremations; (c) above-ground entombment; or (d) other dispositions, 
increased or decreased since the Rule was amended in 1994? To what 
extent, if at all, has the Rule influenced these changes?
    (14) How, if at all, since the Rule was amended in 1994, have the 
following factors changed?
    (a) The number, size, and type of providers of funeral goods and 
services in the industry?
    (b) The ability of new providers, both traditional and non-
traditional, to enter the industry?
    (c) What types of non-traditional entrants have appeared in the 
industry, and how are they different from traditional providers?
    (d) Mergers and other types of consolidation in the funeral 
industry?
    (e) Profits of funeral industry members?
    (15) How, if at all, has the Rule affected the cremation industry? 
Should the Rule be amended to include within its scope unfair and 
deceptive practices by crematories, if any?
    (16) To what extent are providers of funeral goods and services 
complying with the Rule overall, and with each of its component 
requirements?
    (17) What difficulties, if any, are providers of funeral goods and 
services experiencing in complying with the Rule?
    (18) How has the National Funeral Directors Association's Funeral 
Rule Offenders Program (``FROP'') affected compliance with the Rule, if 
at all?
    (19) Do consumers who receive itemized price information at the 
inception of the arrangements conference tend to spend less on funerals 
than those who receive such information later?
    (20) Do consumers who make pre-need arrangements spend less on 
funerals than those who do not? If so, why? Does receiving price 
information at the inception of a pre-need arrangements conference 
contribute to decreased spending? Does it encourage or facilitate 
comparison shopping?
    (21) Should the requirement that itemized price lists be given to

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consumers at the beginning of discussions about funeral arrangements be 
modified? If so, how? What would be the relative costs and benefits of 
such a modified provision?
    (22) Should the Commission expand the definition of ``funeral 
provider'' in order to bring non-traditional members of the funeral 
industry within the scope of the Funeral Rule's coverage? Are consumers 
being harmed by the current limitation on the scope of the Rule's 
coverage?
    (a) What definition should be used to delineate those entities and 
individuals subject to the Funeral Rule?
    (b) What are the costs and benefits of broader definitions?
    (23) Should non-traditional providers of funeral goods and services 
be subject to only certain provisions of the Funeral Rule?
    (a) If so, to which provisions should they be subject?
    (24) Does the prohibition on more than one non-declinable fee 
reduce barriers to competition and increase consumer choice?
    (a) Has this prohibition been effective to ensure that consumers 
can choose and pay for only the individual goods and services that they 
desire?
    (b) Has this prohibition been effective to protect consumers' right 
to decline unwanted goods and services?
    (c) What are the benefits conferred upon consumers or competition 
by this prohibition?
    (d) What costs or other burdens has this provision imposed upon 
providers of funeral goods and services?
    (25) What new fees, prices, goods or services have emerged in the 
sale of funeral goods and services, since the Rule was amended in 1994?
    (26) Have the 1994 amendments been effective in prohibiting casket 
handling fees? If so, what benefits or costs have resulted from these 
amendments?
    (27) How widespread is it for funeral providers to offer 
substantial discounts on funeral packages that include a casket from 
the funeral home?
    (a) To what extent does such discounting tend to restrict 
consumers' choices?
    (28) Should the requirement for a General Price List be modified? 
If so, how?
    (a) Are there any new fees, prices, goods or services which should 
be added to the General Price List requirements?
    1. Should the Rule require that the price of private viewing 
without embalming be included on the General Price List?
    2. Should the Rule require that the price of donating a body to a 
medical school be included on the General Price List?
    3. Are the Rule's requirements (Sec. 453.2(b)(4)(ii)(C)) to 
disclose on the General Price List the price for direct cremation 
effective to prevent deception regarding the amount a consumer will pay 
to have a funeral provider dispose of a body by cremation? Should the 
Rule also include an express requirement that the disclosed price of 
``direct cremation'' include the actual price to have a body cremated?
    4. Should the Rule require that the price of renting a casket in 
connection with a cremation be included on the General Price List?
    (b) Are there any fees, prices or services which should be deleted 
from the General Price List?
    (c) Are there any other revisions that should be made to the 
current provisions in the General Price List?
    (d) For any change made in response to this question, what, if any, 
would be the costs and benefits to consumers and to funeral providers?
    (29) The Rule applies to both pre-need and at-need funeral 
arrangements. Should pre-need and at-need consumers be treated 
differently? If so, why?
    (c) Can a funeral provider readily distinguish between a pre-need 
and an at-need customer or will this complicate compliance with the 
Rule?
    (30) Are there widespread unfair or deceptive practices occurring 
with respect to the pre-arrangement of and pre-payment for funerals by 
consumers? What are these practices? How could these practices be 
remedied? Are these remedies within the Commission's authority and 
jurisdiction? Would the benefits to consumers likely to result from 
such remedies outweigh the likely costs to funeral providers or other 
industry members?

D. Invitation to Comment

    In reviewing the Funeral Rule, Commission staff will consider all 
comments submitted by July 12, 1999. Comments submitted will be 
available for public inspection in accordance with the Freedom of 
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and Commission regulations, on normal 
business days between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Public 
Reference Section, Room 130, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. In addition, comments will be placed 
on the Internet at the FTC's web site: <http://www.ftc.gov>.

E. Public Workshop Conference

    Commission staff will conduct a Public Workshop Conference to 
discuss written comments received in response to this Request for 
Comments. The purpose of this conference is to afford Commission staff 
and interested parties a further opportunity to openly discuss and 
explore issues raised during the Rule Review, and, in particular, to 
examine publicly any areas of significant controversy or divergent 
opinions that are raised in the written comments. Commission staff will 
consider the views and suggestions made during the conference, in 
conjunction with the written comments, in formulating its final 
recommendation to the Commission concerning the review of the Funeral 
Rule.
    Commission staff will select a limited number of parties, from 
among those who submit written comments and express an interest in 
participating in the workshop conference, to represent the significant 
interests affected by the Rule Review. These parties will participate 
in an open discussion of the issues. It is contemplated that the 
selected parties might ask and answer questions based on their 
respective comments. In addition, the conference will be open to the 
general public. Members of the general public who attend the conference 
may have an opportunity to make a brief oral statement presenting their 
views on issues raised in the Rule Review. Oral statements of views by 
members of the general public will be limited to a few minutes in 
length. The time allotted for these statements will be determined on 
the basis of the time allotted for discussion of the issues by the 
selected parties, as well as by the number of persons who wish to make 
statements.
    Written submissions of views, or any other written or visual 
materials, will not be accepted during the conference. The discussion 
will be transcribed and the transcription placed on the public record.
    The conference will be held in the fall. A forthcoming announcement 
will provide the exact date(s) and location. Parties interested in 
participating must notify the Commission staff by July 12, 1999.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 453

    Funerals, Trade practices.

    By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,

    Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-11260 Filed 5-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P