BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 124|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 124
Author: Corbett (D)
Amended: 3/17/14
Vote: 27 - Urgency
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 3/20/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Human remains: Abbot Archimandrite Theodor Micka
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill 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.
Assembly Amendments delete the version of the bill relating to
public contracts and add the current language.
ANALYSIS :
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.
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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.
3. Requires the local registrar of births and deaths to issue a
permit for disposition that specifies any one of the
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.
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.
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.
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. Makes legislative findings and declarations.
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Background
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.
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.
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. Existing 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 existing law.
Since 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.
Comments
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 will not be possible before his passing. This bill
allows Alameda County to issue a disposition permit for his
burial on the grounds of the monastery."
Prior Legislatio n
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 3/19/14)
Holy Cross Monastery
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 3/20/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Quirk-Silva,
Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Frazier, Gray, Logue, V. Manuel Pérez
MW:d 3/20/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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