Colorado Funeral Directors and employees attend meeting organized by Brown Funeral Homes to learn about House Bill 26-1258 which provides better regulation of the industry

Jimmy and Amanda Brown, owners of Brown Funeral Homes

I recently attended a Colorado Funeral Directors District 6 meeting organized by Jimmy Brown, owner of Brown Funeral Homes (with funeral homes in Eads, Cheyenne Wells, Hugo, Limon and Burlington).  Brown serves as the CFDA District 6 Governor.  The purpose of the meeting was for funeral home owners/operators and their employees to learn more about House Bill 26-1258 which concerns “Changes to Practices Relating to Death”.  Sponsors of the bill were Senator Rod Pelton, Representatives Matt Soper and Brianna Titone, and Senator Dylan Roberts. Colorado House Bill 26-1258, was signed into law by Governor Polis on June 4, 2026 and becomes effective August 12, 2026.  The bill updates state laws regarding death-care practices, redefines funeral industry licensing rules, and increases penalties for corpse abuse.  HB26-1258 was drafted as the result of issues raised by Brown.  In the spring of 2025, Jimmy & Amanda Brown became very proactive in soliciting the support of the bill sponsors when the Browns realized that the funeral law in its original state was going to be catastrophic for Colorado’s rural funeral homes.  The way the original bill was drafted was going to close down multi-location rural small town funeral homes, some of which had been serving families for decades.  Senator Pelton was one of those in attendance at the meeting. Also present were members of the CFDA executive committee Matt Whaley, President of the CFDA and Mark Ratliff, Treasurer of the CFDA.  Faith Haug, Director of Arapahoe Community College’s Mortuary Science program was in attendance along with leadership from Donor Alliance.  There were funeral professionals representing over 15 funeral homes, some from as far as Brighton, CO as well as some western Kansas funeral professionals also attending.  District 6 encompasses a large portion of southeast Colorado, from Huerfano and Pueblo Counties to the west , Kiowa County to the north, and all remaining counties south to the Oklahoma border and east to Kansas.

Sam Delp, Division Director of Professions and Occupations with Colorado Department of Regulatory Affairs

Giving an overview of the changes the Bill entails was Sam Delp, who is the Division Director of Professions and Occupations of Colorado Department of Regulatory Affairs (DORA).  Before giving a Power Point presentation outline the changes made with this new bill, Delp said “The vast majority of people in this industry operate with integrity and they do so because they care about the communities they serve.  That’s what I believe, that’s what my team believes, and I want you to know that”.  The funeral industry has received some negative press pertaining to a very small number of “bad actors” including the Back to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose who, in 2023, made national news with the discovery of multiple decomposing bodies and more recently in late 2025, with the Davis Mortuary in Pueblo that, on routine inspection, was found to have the same.  In a late 2025 interview, Delp told a reporter that DORA oversees 60 professions but that that this one (Funeral and Mortuary Sciences) “takes a lot of time” – more than he ever imagined it would.  In that interview, he said “I don’t think it even occurs to most people that the funeral industry in Colorado was largely unregulated, and that was part of the problem.  DORA’s role is to enforce the law and enforce regulations that legislation passes.  DORA is not responsible for the funeral home and crematory industry.  The industry is responsible for the industry”.  The death care industry in Colorado was first regulated in 1913 but by 1983 individual licenses for funeral workers and practitioners were sunset.  This new bill will change that.  Beginning January 1, 2027, funeral directors, embalmers, cremationists and natural reductionists must be licensed.  No one will be allowed to do the work of these professions nor present themselves to the public in any manner as any of these professionals unless they are licensed in the state of Colorado.

House Bill 26-1258, in part, removes the distinction between funeral homes and crematories as part of the definition of a “funeral establishment” and removes arrangement and transportation from the term “funeral services”, leaving the “preparation of human remains for final disposition, including refrigeration, embalming, and memorial services” in the clause.  The term “Funeral Establishment” applies to one with a physical location that prepares the human remains and is subject to inspection, one which cannot be a broker, and that it must document services provided on its application or renewal.  Contracts with Funeral Establishments must include a statement that they are regulated by DORA as well as providing information on how to file a complaint.  The contracts must also include license numbers for the establishment’s designee, the funeral director, cremationist, embalmer, mortuary science practitioner or natural reductionist.   Remains are required to be interred, frozen, cremated or processed by natural reduction within 60 days.  It includes stipulations on the disposal of cremated or naturally reduced remains as well.  It also stipulates how remains must be transported.  All inspection reports are now subject to CORA (Colorado Open Records Act).  The Bill also moves abuse of a corpse from a Class 6 felony to a class 5 felony and adds several acts to the definition of “abuse of a corpse”.  Rulemaking on Bill 1258 will begin soon after the August 12 effective date and funeral directors and funeral homes will have opportunity to provide verbal and written feedback. There were a few hands raised and questions asked at this meeting about certain wording used and were assured by Delp that their input will be valuable during the rulemaking sessions.

Also shown at the meeting was a  wonderful video presentation made by Rocky Mountain PBS entitled “Colorado Voices: Dealing with Death”.  It is available to view on YouTube and I would encourage its viewing.  It presents the multiple options for aftercare including traditional earth burial, cremation, and “natural reduction” including water cremation and “green burials” and showed speakers explaining about death doulas as well as Native American, Jewish, and Hispanic rituals.  An interview with Mr. Brown is featured as part of the video, where he speaks about his funeral home’s history and services.  His story is a beautiful example of why he and others in the industry have chosen this profession, and shows how respectful and caring his business treats the deceased and the families of the deceased.  

Mr. Brown gave his own slide presentation toward the end of the meeting, packed full of very interesting information not only about how the industry and services have changed, but particularly emphasizing how funerals have become less personal and solemn.  He talks about how, years ago, when a funeral in Eads was held, businesses closed down and townspeople lined the streets, hats in hand, to pay respect to the deceased and their family.  He showed a recent photo of a father and his young son standing in front of their truck after stopping to pay their respects to a passing funeral profession, with solemn faces and the father holding his hat over his heart.  I wasn’t the only one in the room who had to wipe tears away as  Brown said “That father is raising that boy well”.  As part of his presentation, many of his “Do you remember…..” questions elicited nods and raised hands by audience members as they listened and solemnly reminisced about things such as the first time they went on a death call for a young child. He presented facts and figures about how funeral costs have changed with inflation as well as changes seen with aftercare decisions. He showed several photos of funerals from years ago which showed massive displays of flowers and large crowd sizes, saying most of their local funerals needed to be held in high school gyms due to the large turnouts of those paying their respects. He ended by saying the industry needs to be proud of what they offer and not be ashamed by any negativity reflected on the industry. He spoke about the need to be on call 24/7 year-round, how they and their families sacrifice a lot to be present for those in need and to remember why they were called to this profession.

“The enemy of funeral professionals is not honest competition. It is, however, the public perception that we have allowed ourselves to have been branded with, creating in the minds and hearts of families thoughts of distrust, low value, and lack of confidence in our profession”

– Jimmy Brown 

Brown, who holds a BS degree in Mortuary Science and is a licensed funeral director and embalmer in both Colorado and Kansas, expressed his gratefulness that Colorado lawmakers have finally taken the issue of licensure seriously.  Indeed, the integrity of his and all the local funeral homes needs to be praised and cherished.  This new bill should go a long way to preserving that integrity while preventing any more industry scandals.  I am very appreciative of being asked to attend this meeting and came away with a better understanding of and even more respect than I already had for what these professionals do for us when we are most in need.  It truly is a profession worthy of that respect.  

By: Barbara Crimond