SB 1312

(1) Existing law, the Cemetery and Funeral Act, establishes the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of, among others, cemeteries and cemetery authorities. Existing law authorizes the bureau to establish necessary rules and regulations for the administration and enforcement of the act and the laws subject to its jurisdiction and to prescribe the form of statements and reports provided for in the act. This bill would authorize the bureau to establish an advisory committee to assist the bureau in engaging consumers and licensees in its regulatory activities. The bill would require the advisory committee, if established by the bureau, to include at least one member from licensed representatives of the death care industry, members of the public, and representatives of local governments. Existing law authorizes a cemetery authority that maintains a cemetery to place its cemetery under endowment care and to establish, maintain, and operate an endowment care fund. Existing law requires each cemetery authority to file with the bureau annually, on or before June 1, or within 5 months after close of their fiscal year, as specified, a written report in a form prescribed by the bureau setting forth, among other things, the amount collected and deposited in both the general and special endowment care funds, as specified. Existing law requires certain information set forth in the report, including the information described above, to be accompanied by an annual audit report prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles of the endowment care fund and special care fun, as specified. This bill would require each cemetery authority to instead file the report with the bureau every 3 or 5 years, or within 5 months after close of their 3rd or 5th fiscal year, as specified. The bill would require the above-described information to instead be accompanied by an annual audit report for each year within that reporting period. Existing law requires a cemetery authority requesting a change of filing date of the report from a calendar year to a fiscal year or a change in fiscal year to file a petition with the bureau prior to the close of the year of request, and authorizes the bureau to approve a petition provided that no report is for a period of more than 12 months. This bill would remove the prohibition on the bureau from approving a petition for a report for a period of more than 12 months. Existing law requires the bureau, 90 days following the cancellation, surrender, or revocation of a certificate of authority, to take title of any endowment care funds of the cemetery authority, take possession of all necessary books, records, property, and assets, and act as conservator of the management of the endowment care funds, as provided. Existing law authorizes a court, based upon a finding that a cemetery manager of a private cemetery has ceased to perform specified duties due to a lapse, suspension, surrender, abandonment, or revocation of their license, to appoint a temporary manager to manage the cemetery property and to service the prepaid interments of the private cemetery. This bill would require a court to take specified actions with respect to a cemetery, including naming the bureau conservator, upon a finding that a certificate of authority of a cemetery for which a certificate of authority is required has lapsed or has been suspended, abandoned, or revoked. The bill would authorize the bureau to establish abbreviated requirements for the operation and maintenance of the property, as provided. The bill would provide that the new owner to which property is transferred and any individual serving as a temporary manager is not liable for debts, obligations, taxes, fines, or judgments of the previous owners. The bill would deem a certificate of authority as abandoned for these purposes if the court determines that for an extended and unreasonable period of time certain conditions have occurred, including the inability of the community to access and visit the property, and that the health, safety, comfort, or welfare of the public is threatened or endangered. (2) Existing law generally regulates cemeteries, including private cemeteries. Existing law authorizes a city or county having a nonendowment care cemetery within its boundaries which threatens or endangers the health, safety, comfort, or welfare of the public to, by resolution of its governing board, as specified, declare the abandonment of the cemetery as a place of future interment. Existing law requires the city or county to permit interment therein of any person who, among other things, is an owner of a plot in the cemetery on the date of adoption of the resolution. After the work which the governing body, in its discretion, finds necessary and practicable has been completed, existing law requires the governing body to immediately thereafter, by resolution containing a legal description of the cemetery, dedicate the abandoned cemetery as a pioneer memorial park, as specified. Existing law requires, upon recordation of the resolution with the county recorder of the county in which the cemetery is located, fee title to the cemetery to vest in the city or county, as specified. Existing law requires any county or city acquiring fee title to a cemetery under these provisions to only use the property for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a pioneer memorial park. This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county, by resolution of its governing board, to formally declare the abandonment of a cemetery that was formerly licensed under the Cemetery and Funeral Act and maintained an endowment fund if certain circumstances apply, including that the certificate of authority of the cemetery has been canceled, surrendered, abandoned, or revoked for at least one year, and the owner of the cemetery property is provided written notice, as specified. If the cemetery has been declared abandoned for more than one year, the bill would require the title of the abandoned endowment care cemetery to transfer to the city, county, or city and county that declared the cemetery abandoned and to be recorded with the county. The bill would require the city, county, or city and county to keep a record of and honor all prior and outstanding contracts for burial entered into by the prior cemetery authority. The bill would specify that the city, county, or city and county is not liable for, among other things, any debts, obligations, taxes, fines, or judgments of the previous owner, except as specified, and would prohibit the local government from being required to return the property to the prior owner of the cemetery property. The bill would authorize the city, county, or city and county to transfer the care and management of an abandoned endowment care cemetery to certain entities, including a religious corporation, to be responsible for, among other things, the care, maintenance, and embellishment of the cemetery. The bill would require the entity to keep a record of and honor all prior and outstanding contracts for burial entered into by the prior cemetery authority. The bill would specify that the entity is not liable for any debts, obligations, taxes, fines, or judgments of the previous owner, except as described above. The bill would authorize the city, county, or city and county to also transfer the care and management of an abandoned endowment care cemetery to a cemetery owner licensed under the Cemetery and Funeral Act, and provide the cemetery owner a period of 5 years to become compliant with the minimum maintenance standards described in the act. The bill would authorize the endowment care fund of an abandoned endowment care cemetery to be disbursed to the person or entity caring for and managing the cemetery as described above for any care, maintenance, or embellishment performed, as specified. If a licensee or an entity described above does not assume ownership of an abandoned endowment care cemetery, the bill would provide the city, county, or city and county authority over the endowment care fund and require the city, county, or city and county to be responsible for ongoing care, maintenance, and embellishment of the cemetery and performance of any prepaid burial obligations. Existing law, the Public Cemetery District Law, provides for the formation of public cemetery districts, and authorizes those districts to own, operate, improve, and maintain cemeteries and provide interment services within their boundaries. This bill would authorize a person or entity caring for and managing an abandoned endowment care cemetery to initiate a petition to form a public cemetery district or join an existing public cemetery district pursuant to that law.