The state's funeral industry could be left without oversight or regulation, according to the executive director of Oklahoma's Funeral Board, Tyler Stiles.
Gov. Kevin Stitt's veto of House Bill 1029 effectively dissolves the board, and unless other legislation revives it, Stiles said it's unclear who will be in charge of licensing funeral homes, crematories, funeral directors and embalmers.
"I don't know of any contingency plan of any of these rules going to another agency at this time. I haven't seen that," he said. "So my understanding is anyone could embalm a body or cremate a body without any training or education."
Stiles has served as the director of the Oklahoma Funeral Board for almost four years and has been with the agency for eight, but he said, at the end of July, he and other employees may no longer have a job.
Including Stiles, the agency has two full-time and two part-time employees. He said he isn't sure whether Stitt understands the implications of his veto.
The veto cancels a one-year extension of the board's sunset. State agencies often have sunset dates to ensure they remain necessary and effective.
In his veto message, Stitt said the agency should be "consolidated under a more appropriate umbrella."
Stitt has vetoed more bills in 2025 than in any previous legislative session as governor, both in number and percentage. He has said he's committed to slimming the number of state employees and cutting down the state budget.
"For too long, the Funeral Board has shielded the funeral industry from meaningful competition in the sale of caskets, urns, and other funeral related merchandise and services. These barriers keep prices artificially high for grieving families. Instead of modernizing, the Board has preserved outdated regulations and entangled businesses in unnecessary red tape," Stitt wrote.
Stiles said Stitt could be referencing a different bill, informally known as the "casket bill," which would allow anyone, regardless of license, to sell "funeral merchandise."
Stiles said the funeral board opposed the bill when it first ran years ago, but the board has switched to a neutral stance over the last two years. It stalled in session this year.
Meyer Siegfried, press secretary to the governor, said Stitt's veto message is not referential.
"His veto message of HB 1029 just speaks for HB 1029," Siegfried said.
Brandon Lee, President of the Oklahoma Funeral Directors Association, said dissolving the board and shifting its responsibilities to an existing agency has significant implications.
"The Oklahoma Funeral Board exists for one clear purpose: to protect the public by ensuring that funeral service professionals meet the highest ethical and professional standards," Lee said. "This work is not simply bureaucratic. It involves deeply personal and sensitive moments in people's lives – moments that deserve integrity, compassion, and oversight tailored to the unique nature of our profession."
Stiles said most people have never made funeral arrangements before, so they can't be expected to be experts.
"A lot of times you're not thinking clearly when you lose a loved one and you're signing over quite a bit of money for a burial, or sometimes a cremation," he said. "So there needs to be some sort of regulation to oversee that they're not being taken advantage of."
Along with conducting regular inspections, Stiles said the board also manages complaints and contract violations. He said he fears the board's sunset will put all of those duties at risk, hurting the families and Oklahomans they aim to help.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
