Amended in Assembly June 6, 2016

Amended in Senate April 21, 2016

Amended in Senate March 31, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1179

Introduced by Senator Vidak

February 18, 2016

An act to amend Section 9002 of, and to add Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 9069.10) to Part 4 of Division 8 of, the Health and Safety Code, relating to cemeteries.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1179, as amended, Vidak. Public cemetery districts: interment rights.

Existing law, the Public Cemetery District Law, specifies the procedures for the formation of public cemetery districts, procedures for the selection of the district board of trustees and officers, and the powers and duties of the board. Existing law authorizes a public cemetery district to sell “interment rights,” defined as the right to use or control the use of a plot, niche, or other space in a public cemetery district for interment of human remains. Existing law provides for the succession of an interment plot in a private cemetery.

This bill would modify the definition of “interment rights” to, among other things, specify that those rights are a begin delete form of personal property rights end delete begin insert transferable property interest end insert held by the owner to determine, among other things, the number and identity of any person or persons to be interred in the plot within a public cemetery. The bill would require the owner of an interment right, at the time of purchase, to designate a successor owner or owners in a signed written designation deposited with the cemetery district. The bill would provide begin delete the end delete begin insert that the intestate end insert order of succession begin delete that end delete would apply, if the owner dies without making that written designation or a valid and enforceable disposition of the interment right begin insert by a specific devise end insert in a testamentary device. begin insert The bill would also require the public cemetery district to follow specified procedures in the event that the owner dies with no heirs at law. end insert

The bill also would provide the circumstances and process under which human remains may be disinterred, reinterred, or removed from a public cemetery district after interment, and would specify the records required to be maintained by the public cemetery district and the person removing and relocating the human remains. The bill would require a person who purports to be the successor owner of an interment right to execute a written affidavit, under penalty of perjury, that includes specified information regarding his or her claim of successorship, and would provide that a district or district employee or trustee is not liable for claims, losses, or damages resulting from transferring an interment right in reliance on that affidavit, except as provided.

By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury and imposing new duties on public cemetery districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 9002 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

9002.  

The definitions in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section
7000) of Part 1 of Division 7 apply to this part. Further, as used
in this part, the following terms have the following meanings:

(a) “Active militia” means the active militia as defined by
Section 120 of the Military and Veterans Code.

(b) “Armed services” means the armed services as defined by
Section 18540 of the Government Code.

(c) “Board of trustees” means the legislative body of a district.

(d) “District” means a public cemetery district created pursuant
to this part or any of its statutory predecessors.

(e) “Domestic partner” means two adults who have chosen to
share one another’s lives in an intimate and committed relationship
of mutual caring, and are qualified and registered with the Secretary
of State as domestic partners in accordance with Division 2.5 of
the Family Code.

(f) “Family member” means any spouse, by marriage or
otherwise, domestic partner, child or stepchild, by natural birth or
adoption, parent, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister,
parent-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephew, niece, aunt,
uncle, first cousin, or any person denoted by the prefix “grand” or
“great,” or the spouse of any of these persons.

(g) “Firefighter” means a firefighter as defined by Section
1797.182.

(h) (1) “Interment right” means the rights held by the owner to
use or control the use of a plot authorized by this part, for the
interment of human remains, including both of the following rights:

(A) To determine the number and identity of any person or
persons to be interred in the plot within a cemetery in conformance
with all applicable regulations adopted by the cemetery district.

(B) To control the placement, design, wording, and removal of
memorial markers in compliance with all applicable regulations
adopted by the cemetery district.

(2) An interment right is a begin delete form of personal property, end delete
begin insert transferable property interest, end insert and is governed by Chapter 5.5
(commencing with Section 9069.10).

(i) “Nonresident” means a person who does not reside within a
district or does not pay property taxes on property located in a
district.

(j) “Peace officer” means a peace officer as defined by Section
830 of the Penal Code.

(k) “Principal county” means the county having all or the greater
portion of the entire assessed value, as shown on the last equalized
assessment roll of the county or counties, of all taxable property
within a district.

(l) “Voter” means a voter as defined by Section 359 of the
Elections Code.

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 9069.10) is
added to Part 4 of Division 8 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:

 

Chapter  5.5. Interment Rights

 

9069.10.  

An interment right does not include the right for
disinterment of human remains except on consent of the cemetery
district and the written consent of the surviving spouse, child,
parent, or sibling, in that order of priority.

9069.15.  

(a) This chapter does not apply to, or prohibit, the
removal of remains from one plot to another in the same cemetery
or the removal of remains by a cemetery district upon the written
order of any of the following:

(1) The superior court of the county in which the cemetery is
located.

(2) The coroner having jurisdiction of the location of the
cemetery.

(3) The health department having jurisdiction of the cemetery.

(b) The cemetery district shall maintain a duplicate copy of an
order pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) The cemetery district shall retain a true and correct record
of a removal of remains pursuant to subdivision (a) that includes
all of the following:

(1) The date the remains were removed.

(2) The name and the age at death of the person whose remains
were removed if available.

(3) The cemetery and plot from which the remains were
removed.

(4) (A) If the removed remains are reinterred, the plot number,
cemetery name, and location to which the remains were reinterred.

(B) If the removed remains are disposed of other than by being
reinterred, a record of the alternate disposition.

(5) If the removed remains are reinterred at the cemetery, the
date of reinterment.

(d) The person making the removal shall deliver to the cemetery
district operating the cemetery from which the remains were
removed a true, full, and complete copy of the record containing
all of the information specified in subdivision (c).

9069.20.  

(a) An interment right begin delete is the personal property of end delete
begin insert provides a transferable property interest to end insert the person listed as
the owner in the records of the cemetery district, subject to any
written designation to the contrary signed by the owner and
deposited with the cemetery district, or begin delete pursuant to a valid will or
trust, or as directed by a superior court of competent jurisdiction
in a probate proceeding. end delete begin insert to the owner’s successor pursuant to
either this section or subdivision (a) of Section 9069.25. An
interment right shall not be construed as conferring title to the
property burdened by the transferable property interest. end insert

(b) The owner of record of an interment right may designate in
writing the person or persons, other than the owner of record, who
may be interred in the plot to which the owner holds the interment
right.

(c) The owner of an interment right shall, at the time of purchase,
designate a successor owner or owners of the interment right in a
signed written designation deposited with the district.

(d) Use of an interment right transferred from the owner to a
successor pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be made in compliance
with applicable provisions of state and local law, and of applicable
requirements or policies established by the district board of trustees.

begin delete

9069.25.  

(a) If the owner of an interment right dies without
making a valid and enforceable disposition of the interment right
in a testamentary device, or by a written designation pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 9069.20, the successor to the interment
right shall be determined pursuant to subdivision (b) or as directed
by a superior court of competent jurisdiction in a probate
proceeding.

(b) The priority order of succession is as follows:

(1) The competent surviving spouse or registered domestic
partner.

(2) To either of the following:

(A) A sole surviving competent adult child of the deceased
owner.

(B) If there is more than one competent adult child of the
deceased owner, the majority of the surviving competent adult
children. However, less than the majority of the surviving
competent adult children shall be vested with the rights of this
section if they have used reasonable effort to notify all other
surviving competent adult children of their instructions and are
not aware of any opposition to those instructions by any surviving
competent adult children.

(3) To the surviving competent parent or parents of the deceased
owner. If one surviving competent parent is absent, the remaining
competent parent shall be vested with the rights pursuant to this
section after reasonable efforts have been unsuccessful in locating
the absent surviving competent parent.

(4) Either of the following:

(A) To the sole surviving competent adult sibling of the deceased
owner.

(B) If there is more than one surviving competent adult sibling
of the deceased owner, then to the majority of the surviving
competent adult siblings. However, less than the majority of
competent adult siblings of the deceased owner shall be vested
with the rights pursuant to this section if they have used reasonable
efforts to notify all other surviving competent adult siblings of
their instructions and are not aware of any opposition to those
instructions by any surviving competent adult sibling.

(5) If no spouse, child, parent, or sibling survives, to the spouse
of any child of the deceased owner.

(6) To the next heirs at law of the deceased owner or the spouse
of any heir at law.

(c) A surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, child, or
heir who has an interment right pursuant to this section may waive
that interment right in favor of any other relative of the deceased
owner or spouse of a relative of the deceased owner.

9069.30.  

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “Adult” means an individual who has attained 18 years of
age.

(b) “Child” means a natural or adopted child.

(c) An individual is “competent” if he or she has either not been
declared incompetent by a court of law or has been declared
competent by a court of law following a declaration of
incompetence.

end delete begin insert

begin insert 9069.25. end insert   

(a) If the owner of an interment right dies without
making a valid and enforceable disposition of the interment right
by a specific devise in a testamentary device, or by a written
designation pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 9069.20, the
interment right shall pass according to the laws of intestate
succession as set forth in Sections 6400 to 6413, inclusive, of the
Probate Code. In the event that the owner has no heirs at law, the
district shall follow the abandonment procedures established under
Section 9069.

(b) A surviving spouse, registered domestic partner, child,
parent, or heir who has an interment right pursuant to this section
may waive that interment right in favor of any other relative of the
deceased owner or spouse of a relative of the deceased owner.

end insert

begin delete 9069.35. end delete

begin insert 9069.30. end insert   

When a public cemetery district acts to transfer
ownership rights or make an interment on the basis of the affidavit,
given under penalty of perjury pursuant to Section begin delete 9069.40, end delete
begin insert 9069.35, end insert the district, and any employee or trustee of the district,
shall not be liable for any claims, losses, or damages asserted in
any action unless the district had actual knowledge that the facts
stated in writing are false.

begin delete 9069.40. end delete

begin insert 9069.35. end insert   

A person who purports to be the successor owner of
an interment right shall execute a written affidavit declaring, under
penalty of perjury, all of the following:

(a) He or she is the person entitled to succeed to the interment
right pursuant to Section begin delete 9069.25. end delete begin insert 9069.20. end insert

(b) He or she has exerted all reasonable efforts to find other
persons who may have an equal or higher claim to succeed to the
interment right.

(c) He or she is unaware, to the best of his or her knowledge,
of any opposition challenging his or her right to succeed to the
interment right.

begin delete 9069.45. end delete

begin insert 9069.40. end insert   

Upon the sale to a person of a plot in a cemetery
within a district, the district shall notify the purchaser, in writing,
of any interment rights, that this chapter governs the succession
of ownership of the interment rights, and the district’s duly adopted
policies, rules, and regulations governing the use, sale, or other
transfer of interment rights.

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain
costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement
to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.