My first email was scrambled, due to the attachments that I have deleted in this email. My arguments to the legislators and the governor may be found below. If anyone has a desire to become involved, I can email you directly copies of the original emails and the bill itself. I thank you for giving your input to your state legislators. Thank you. Burton Fletcher Dear Governor Perdue, One of the many complaints I have with HB910 is the turning over of administrative responsibilities to a board that is anything other than industry neutral, with the power to override all past and current decisions of the Secretary of State's Office. With the Secretary of State's Office, at least I am assured that there will be an entity that will be more inclined to act in the public good, without financial gain motivating the decisions. HB910 makes the Secretary of State's Office subservient to Cemeterians when it should be the other way around as the Secretary of State is an elected official. The interests of monument builders who sell wholesale and retail are not protected by this short-sighted legislation. If allowed to proceed, as every state seeks to feather local interests over national interests, the public will be forced to pay higher and higher prices as competition is diminished. I believe this legislation throws up unrealistic barriers to competition in violation of the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. I also believe the Federal Trade Commission has preempted the area. If allowed to proceed, I envision a situation where every state will throw up barriers to block all outside competition in violation of the Commerce Clause with litigation bound to ensue. Please don't get me wrong; I think the Secretary of State's Office is deserving of criticism too. With that said, the devil I know is better than the devil I don't know! As president of the Georgia Monument Builders Association, please provide our office with the status of State of Georgia House Bill 910 and any pending legislation that affects cemeterians, including monument builders. I appreciate Ms. Debra Ferguson's fax on this date informing me of House Bill 910. I would appreciate information on the names of the members of the committees who are involved with this legislation. At the outset, there appears to be a lack of input from the monument industry regarding this bill. There is a natural competition between the Cemeterians and the monument industry. Naturally, the Cemeterians seek to feather their own nests to the detriment of the monument industry with our considerable expertise in monument construction. If there is to be a new Board, I would like to see membership and equal representation of the monument industry on the board. Regarding "preneed escrow accounts," there is an obvious lack of sensitivity and understanding on the part of legislators on the practices and needs of the industry. Funds are needed to purchase monuments that may cost substantial sums in the case of private estates. The manufacturers, frequently based outside of the State of Georgia, require payment in advance of manufacture or shipment. I feel that there are other remedies to the consuming public that make this anti-consumer legislation unnecessary. There is an attempt by some to regulate this industry more vigorously than the State Bar of Georgia regulates lawyers who receive and disburse funds from trust accounts on an ongoing basis without the level of scrutiny that this legislation would require. Large companies can afford to tie up funds while small companies will become cash-flow poor if this legislation becomes law. The result will be higher costs to the consumer as competition is decreased. Provisions within this legislation would unnecessarily prohibit competition from companies outside the State of Georgia. The Republican Party likes to speak of "free trade" and this legislation, if passed, would prohibit Home Depot from selling solar lights if those lights are to be used as a decorative item for the cemetery as this is "funeral merchandise." s legislation would require all monument builders to become "preneed" licensees, a practice that is unwise on numerous levels for many of the same reasons highlighted above. This legislation would bar the charging of a fee for the installation of "funeral merchandise." Rules and regulations are often designed to protect the financial interests of the cemtery to the detriment of both the consumer and the monument builder. It has been my experience that a review of the appropriate standards of construction for monument foundations would be a higher priority than all of the changes contained within HB 910. If I understand this legislation, it would be prohibited to charge a fee for the installation of a monument. I believe this Bill violates the Federal Trade Commission regulations and that it is unconstitutional as a violation of the property rights of monument builders. If Cemeterians are the only source for monument foundation installation, then consumers will be paying significantly more than necessary as the consumer will be unable to hire the services of a monument builder to perform functions that many cemeteries are poorly equipped to handle. The legislation defines a "Cemeterian" as a "cemetery owner." This new board will have the sole purpose of protecting the pockets of cemetery owners and consumers will be the losers. Further, this Board will be empowered to repeal, amend or change regulations instituted by the Secretary of State. Georgia monument builders will be placed at a considerable disadvantage by House Bill 910. Today, many companies are purchasing products manufactured from suppliers in other countries and then imported into the United States and Georgia. To require monument builders to tie up great sums of capital for many months is unreasonable. I stand for free trade and these trade barriers are harmful to consumers as they will bar companies who sell funeral products online from selling to consumers unless these companies run the gauntlet to become "preneed" merchandisers. Respectfully submitted, As president of the Georgia Monument Builders Association, please provide our office with the status of State of Georgia House Bill 910 and any pending legislation that affects cemeterians, including monument builders. I appreciate Ms. Debra Ferguson's fax on this date informing me of House Bill 910. I would appreciate information on the names of the members of the committees who are involved with this legislation. At the outset, there appears to be a lack of input from the monument industry regarding this bill. There is a natural competition between the Cemeterians and the monument industry. Naturally, the Cemeterians seek to feather their own nests to the detriment of the monument industry with our considerable expertise in monument construction. If there is to be a new Board, I would like to see membership and equal representation of the monument industry on the board. Regarding "preneed escrow accounts," there is an obvious lack of sensitivity and understanding on the part of legislators on the practices and needs of the industry. Funds are needed to purchase monuments that may cost substantial sums in the case of private estates. The manufacturers, frequently based outside of the State of Georgia, require payment in advance of manufacture or shipment. I feel that there are other remedies to the consuming public that make this anti-consumer legislation unnecessary. There is an attempt by some to regulate this industry more vigorously than the State Bar of Georgia regulates lawyers who receive and disburse funds from trust accounts on an ongoing basis without the level of scrutiny that this legislation would require. Large companies can afford to tie up funds while small companies will become cash-flow poor if this legislation becomes law. The result will be higher costs to the consumer as competition is decreased. Provisions within this legislation would unnecessarily prohibit competition from companies outside the State of Georgia. The Republican Party likes to speak of "free trade" and this legislation, if passed, would prohibit Home Depot from selling solar lights if those lights are to be used as a decorative item for the cemetery as this is "funeral merchandise." This legislation would require all monument builders to become "preneed" licensees, a practice that is unwise on numerous levels for many of the same reasons highlighted above. This legislation would bar the charging of a fee for the installation of "funeral merchandise." Rules and regulations are often designed to protect the financial interests of the cemtery to the detriment of both the consumer and the monument builder. It has been my experience that a review of the appropriate standards of construction for monument foundations would be a higher priority than all of the changes contained within HB 910. If I understand this legislation, it would be prohibited to charge a fee for the installation of a monument. I believe this Bill violates the Federal Trade Commission regulations and that it is unconstitutional as a violation of the property rights of monument builders. If Cemeterians are the only source for monument foundation installation, then consumers will be paying significantly more than necessary as the consumer will be unable to hire the services of a monument builder to perform functions that many cemeteries are poorly equipped to handle. The legislation defines a "Cemeterian" as a "cemetery owner." This new board will have the sole purpose of protecting the pockets of cemetery owners and consumers will be the losers. Further, this Board will be empowered to repeal, amend or change regulations instituted by the Secretary of State. Georgia monument builders will be placed at a considerable disadvantage by House Bill 910. Today, many companies are purchasing products manufactured from suppliers in other countries and then imported into the United States and Georgia. To require monument builders to tie up great sums of capital for many months is unreasonable. I stand for free trade and these trade barriers are harmful to consumers as they will bar companies who sell funeral products online from selling to consumers unless these companies run the gauntlet to become "preneed" merchandisers. Respectfully submitted,