BILL ANALYSIS
AB 124
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Date of Hearing: March 17, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 124 (Galgiani) - As Introduced: January 15, 2009
SUBJECT : Cemeteries: temporary manager.
SUMMARY : Authorizes a court to appoint a temporary manager to
manage a private cemetery if the court finds that the previous
cemetery manager has ceased to perform his or her duties, as
specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes a court of competent jurisdiction to appoint a
licensed cemetery manager as a temporary manager to manage the
business and property of a private cemetery, based upon the
court's finding that a cemetery manager has ceased to perform
his or her duties due to a lapse, suspension, surrender
abandonment, or revocation of his or her license.
2)Confers upon the appointed temporary manager the same powers
and duties as a licensed cemetery manager, and requires the
temporary manager to serve as acting manager for a limited
term not to exceed six months, or until a new licensed manager
has been hired, at which time the court shall terminate the
appointment of the temporary manager.
3)Authorizes the court to authorize payment of reasonable
compensation for the temporary manager's services. The
payments shall be made from the cemetery's endowment care
funds, and if appropriate, from available income from the
cemetery's special care funds.
4)Takes effect immediately as an urgency measure.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau (Bureau) under the
Department of Consumer Affairs for the purpose of licensing
and regulating private cemeteries.
2)Defines a "cemetery manager" as a person engaged in the
maintenance, operation, or improvement of a licensed cemetery,
and involved in the interring of human remains, and the care,
preservation, and embellishment of cemetery property.
AB 124
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3)Requires every licensed cemetery to employ a licensed cemetery
manager to manage, supervise, and direct its operations.
4)Prohibits a person from engaging in the business of, acting
as, or advertising as a cemetery or crematory manager without
a license from the Bureau.
5)Authorizes the Bureau to revoke the license of any cemetery
licensee and the certificate of authority of any cemetery when
certain conditions are met, as specified.
6)Authorizes the Bureau to bring a court action to enforce the
law subject to its jurisdiction.
7)Authorizes the Bureau to serve as conservator of cemetery
endowment care funds when certain conditions are met.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "Under
current law, when a licensed cemetery is abandoned or neglected
by an owner it is not treated with respect and dignity, and
places of burial are not appropriately maintained. One of the
challenges the state faces is when a cemetery is neglected by
its owner, the state has very little ability to hold the owners
accountable to take care of the cemetery. This bill will ensure
that when a cemetery is abandoned or neglected, the state can
appoint a temporary manager of the endowment care funds to
properly maintain the cemetery."
Background . This bill is substantially the same as AB 1816
(Galgiani) of 2008 which the Governor vetoed. AB 124 does make
improvements to AB 1816 in that it requires a temporary
appointed manager to be a licensed cemetery manager and limits
the term of a temporary appointed manager to a maximum of six
months, or until a new manager is hired.
AB 1816 was developed in response to the public discontent over
the deteriorating conditions of the Evergreen Memorial Park and
Funeral Home (Evergreen) located in Merced, California. A
January 2008 article in the Merced Sun-Star chronicled the
troubled history of Evergreen, which surrendered its cemetery
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certificate of authority in June 2007. The property has been in
foreclosure since October 2007, but public auction of the
property has been postponed three times because of a lawsuit
filed by investors who claim Evergreen owes them more than two
million dollars. In October 2008, the parties reached a
settlement, and a judge lifted the order that prevented the
cemetery from being sold.
Evergreen's endowment care fund, which is established by the
families who own plots, is typically used to care for the upkeep
of graves. However, proceeds from endowment care funds can only
be used for a cemetery's upkeep if the cemetery has a
certificate of authority, which Evergreen does not. Evergreen
cannot conduct new business until a new certificate of authority
is granted by the state. Since Evergreen is a privately-run
cemetery, the city and county are unable to intervene because it
is out of their jurisdiction.
The author believes AB 124 will be helpful in maintaining
cemetery grounds by allowing the Bureau to intervene when a
cemetery has lost its certificate of authority and has been
subsequently abandoned.
Prior legislation . This bill is substantially the same as AB
1816 (Galgiani, 2007-2008) which the Governor vetoed. The
Governor's veto message stated: "This bill is unnecessary
because the courts already maintain and have exercised authority
to appoint temporary cemetery managers when circumstances
warrant."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Whitney Clark / B. & P. / (916)
319-3301