Die-hard race fans won?t be buried at Daytona International Speedway or Homestead Miami Speedway any time soon, a Senate panel said Tuesday.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee, by a 7-4 vote, rejected a proposal to allow remains to be interred at a motorsport complex.
You can still be buried at a public university though.
The Legislature approved a bill two years ago that allows people to be buried on the grounds of a public university. Former Senate President Jim King, who passed away shortly after the bill was signed into law, was the first person interred on a college campus. He was buried on the Florida State University campus in 2009.
Towson Fraser, a lobbyist for International Speedway Corporation, said that the tracks get 25 to 30 requests from people every year regarding burial.
?And they are just looking for a way to honor those requests from people all over the country, all over the world in fact,? he said.
Representatives of the funeral industry objected to the measure. Jan Scheff, the executive director of the Independent Funeral Directors of Florida, said a major concern for her group is that sports facilities often move.
Sen. Maria Sachs, D- Delray , said she felt that it was inappropriate to allow burial at those facilities. With the universities, there was a need for money, she said, but added that this would open the floodgates for more requests.
?I cannot understand the purpose of this because it seems like a slippery slope,? she said.
Opinion: Gives Us Your Opinion, Do you think sports fan should be able to be buried at their favorite sports complex? Let us know in the comments.
