BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 180 (Bonilla) - Cemetery and Funeral Bureau
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|Version: June 29, 2015 |Policy Vote: B., P. & E.D. 9 - |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Brendan McCarthy |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 180 would merge the Funeral Directors and Embalmers
Law and the Cemetery Act into one body of law. The bill would
merge the State Funeral Directors and Embalmers Fund and the
Cemetery Fund into one special fund. The bill would make the
Cemetery and Funeral Bureau subject to sunset review by the
Legislature.
Fiscal
Impact:
No significant ongoing operational costs are anticipated under
the bill. Under current law, the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau
enforces both the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Law and the
Cemetery Act. Neither body of law has a statutory sunset and
this bill does not impose a new sunset on the combined body of
law.
No significant costs are anticipated by the Bureau to conduct
AB 180 (Bonilla) Page 1 of
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the required study of endowment care funds. According to the
Bureau, it already intends to conduct the required study and
will be able to do so within existing resources.
Background: Under current law, the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Law and
the Cemetery Act are two separate bodies of law, although both
are overseen and enforced by the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau
within the Department of Consumer Affairs.
While the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau effectively runs one
unified licensing and enforcement program, the Bureau uses two
separate special funds to deposit licensing fees and finance its
operations.
Neither the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Law nor the Cemetery
Act have statutory sunsets on their provisions.
Current law requires cemetery operators to file an annual report
with the Bureau on the endowment care funds they hold (funds
held by cemeteries for merchandise and services purchased by an
individual before he or she dies).
Proposed Law:
AB 180 would merge the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Law and
the Cemetery Act into one body of law.
The bill would merge the State Funeral Directors and Embalmers
Fund and the Cemetery Fund into one special fund.
The bill would make the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau subject to
sunset review by the Legislature.
The bill would require the Bureau to conduct a study of
endowment care funds.
AB 180 (Bonilla) Page 2 of
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Staff
Comments: Under current law, the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau
oversees and enforces both the Funeral Directors and Embalmers
Law and the Cemetery Act. Licensing fees paid by licensees of
those two bodies of law are deposited in separate special funds,
which are proposed to be combined under this bill. Currently,
the Cemetery fund is generally in balance and has a projected
reserve of $2.3 million. In recent years the State Funeral
Directors and Embalmers Fund has operated with a deficit of
about $500,000 per year and is projected to have a fund balance
of only $22,000 at the end of the current year. However, this is
due primarily to the legal costs associated with a long-running
court case. Under a recent settlement agreement, much of those
legal fees are expected to be repaid to the board. This is
expected to restore fiscal solvency to the fund.
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