NY
NY Bill Would Cut Electronic Death Registration Fee for Funeral Directors from $20 to $5
New York Assembly Bill A00212 proposes reducing the fee that funeral directors and undertakers pay to use the state's electronic death registration system from $20 to $5 per registration. The bill's latest action was the striking of its enacting clause, meaning it did not advance into law. The proposal would have affected funeral home businesses across New York State that are required to use the electronic system when filing death records.
✓ REASONS TO SUPPORT
- Funeral directors and undertakers would pay $15 less per death registration, lowering a routine operating cost for their businesses.
- Smaller or independent funeral homes that handle many registrations could see meaningful savings over the course of a year.
- Lower business costs could reduce financial pressure on funeral homes, potentially keeping service prices more stable for grieving families.
- The current $20 fee may be disproportionately high relative to the administrative cost of processing an electronic filing.
✕ REASONS TO OPPOSE
- Reducing the fee from $20 to $5 would decrease state revenue collected through the registration system, which may fund its maintenance and operation.
- If the system's operating costs remain the same, the state may need to find other funding sources to cover the shortfall.
- The savings may primarily benefit funeral home owners rather than being passed along to consumers in the form of lower prices.
- The existing fee has been in place and may reflect the actual cost of providing and maintaining the electronic registration infrastructure.
Read the full bill ↗
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