BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 124
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 11, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
SB 124 (Corbett) - As Amended: February 25, 2014
SENATE VOTE : (vote not relevant)
SUBJECT : Human remains: Abbot Archimandrite Theodor Micka.
SUMMARY : Allows the local registrar of births and deaths in
Alameda County to issue a disposition permit for the burial of
the Abbot, Archimandrite Theodor Micka on the grounds of the
Holy Cross Monastery. Specifically, this bill :
1)Permits the local registrar of births and deaths in Alameda
County to issue a disposition permit for the burial of the
Abbot, Archimandrite Theodor Micka, on the grounds of the Holy
Cross Monastery in Alameda County and those remains may be so
interred.
2)Finds and declares that because of the unique circumstances
applicable only to Alameda County, a special law is necessary
and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
Constitution.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that every person who deposits or disposes of any human
remains in any place, except a cemetery is guilty of a
misdemeanor unless the human remains are cremated, as
specified. (Health and Safety Code Section (HSC) 7054)
2)Requires a person disposing human remains to:
a) Obtain and file a death certificate with a local
registrar, as specified; and,
b) Obtain a permit for disposition from a local registrar.
(HSC 103050)
3)Requires the local registrar of births and deaths to issue a
permit for disposition that specifies any one of the
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following:
a) The name of the cemetery where the remains shall be
interred;
b) Burial at sea, as specified;
c) The address or description of the place where remains
shall be buried or scattered; or,
d) The address of the location where the cremated remains
will be kept, as specified. (HSC 103055)
4)Establishes the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau (Bureau) within
the Department of Consumer Affairs, and authorizes the Bureau
to establish the necessary rules and regulations for the
administration of the Cemetery Act. (Business and Professions
Code Section (BPC) 9625, 9630)
5)Specifies that the Cemetery Act does not apply to any of the
following:
a) A religious corporation, church, religious society, or
denomination, as specified;
b) A public cemetery; or,
c) Any private or fraternal burial park, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill authorizes the burial of the
Abbot, Archimandrite Theodor Micka on the grounds of the Holy
Cross Monastery, which is not a designated cemetery. The bill
is author-sponsored.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "Abbot Theodor
Micka, who has been the monastery's abbot since it was
incorporated in 1978, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer,
and his doctors have estimated that his final days are
imminent. Father Theodor would like to be buried on the
monastery's grounds and obtaining a permit from the county
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will not be possible before his passing. This bill will allow
Alameda County to issue a disposition permit for his burial on
the grounds of the monastery."
3)Abbot Theodor Micka . Abbot Theodor Micka co-founded the Holy
Cross Monastery in 1970 with funds he inherited from his
mother. The Holy Cross Monastery is the only Orthodox
monastery in the San Francisco Bay Area and serves Orthodox
Christians of all backgrounds. The monastery is located in
Castro Valley and currently occupies 9.1 acres of land
surrounded by regional parks, wineries, and a few residential
parcels. In addition to their daily monastic cycle of
prayers, the monks of Holy Cross Monastery also provide weekly
religious services, along with baptisms, weddings, and
memorial services, for Orthodox Christians in the surrounding
area.
According to the author, Abbot Theodor's final wish is to be
buried on the grounds of the Monastery. The monks at Holy
Cross hope to secure authority for the interment before the
Abbot's passing in order to provide him with peace of mind in
his final days.
4)Burial regulations . The Bureau has no jurisdiction over
cemeteries operated by religious organizations, cities,
counties, and cemetery districts, the military or Native
American tribal organizations. Current law states that a
person who deposits or disposes of human remains in any place
except a cemetery is guilty of a misdemeanor unless they are
cremated remains disposed of in accordance with current law.
Because Holy Cross Monastery does not maintain a designated
cemetery on its premise, a special permit is necessary for the
monastery to be able to inter the body on its property.
In 2005, the Legislature passed a similar exemption which
authorized the County of Fresno to issue a disposition permit
for the burial of Metropolitan Anthony Gerigiannakis on the
grounds of St. Nicholas Monastery.
5)Technical amendment required . The author has requested and
the Assembly Rules Committee has approved the addition of an
urgency clause to the bill, which would ensure that Alameda
County may permit the burial of the Abbot upon his imminent
passing.
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6)Previous legislation . SB 28 (Poochigian) (Chapter 1, Statutes
of 2005) allowed the local registrar of births and deaths in
Fresno County to issue a disposition permit for the burial of
Metropolitan Anthony Gerigiannakis on the grounds of St.
Nicholas Monastery in Fresno County, and permitted the remains
to be interred in the monastery.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301