oversight

The staff, a so-so law, but no budget: the state of Illinois Preneed Oversight

Bill Stalter
January 30, 2012 19:36

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its latest report on the state of state regulation of the death care industry.  As it did in 2003, the GAO selected a handful of states to review in depth, and Illinois was one of those states for 2011 report.  The Illinois review...

More Regulation, More Prosperity

Steven Berk
October 04, 2011 22:52

At least once a week a new report comes out detailing inadequacies or improprieties by one or more of the companies involved in the housing bubble and financial crisis...  While we read the reports and follow the news, the foreclosures continue, along with the unregulated credit ratings,...

Informing the Consumer (and the Industry)

Bill Stalter
August 20, 2011 15:01

The need for better preneed oversight is obvious, but regulators often lack resources and expertise. The state of Connecticut made headlines recently for the decision to make budget cuts by de-regulating the death care industry. Connecticut funeral directors challenged the decision, and the state...

But who is going to bury Momma?

Bill Stalter
August 13, 2011 18:17

When a cemetery operator and the regulator get crossways with each other, the threat to close the cemetery is often countered with the question of whether the regulator is going to step in and perform the burials. And when the regulator sticks to his/her guns, the results are often similar to that...

New Report: FHWA's Oversight of Federal-Aid and Federal Recovery Act Projects

Matthew DeVries
July 21, 2011 14:17

On July 15, 2011, the USDOT's Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG) issued a final report on the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) oversight of federal-aid and Recovery Act projects administered by Local Public Agencies (LPA).  You can download a copy of the report here [pdf]. The...