Bill Text: NY A05784 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Prohibits the construction of any mausoleum or columbarium in a cemetery where such mausoleum or columbarium is the only form of interment offered in a cemetery, except in limited circumstances to assure the perpetual care of remains already in a mausoleum or columbarium.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-2)

Status: (Passed) 2018-10-01 - signed chap.296 [A05784 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A05784-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         5784--B
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 15, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  JONES,  PHEFFER AMATO,  CASTORINA, ERRIGO --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, GALEF -- read once  and  referred
          to  the  Committee  on  Corporations,  Authorities  and Commissions --
          committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
          recommitted  to  said  committee  --  recommitted  to the Committee on
          Corporations, Authorities and Commissions in accordance with  Assembly
          Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the not-for-profit corporation  law  and  the  religious
          corporations  law,  in  relation  to  prohibiting  certain stand-alone
          mausoleum and columbarium
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Section  1506  of  the  not-for-profit corporation law is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph (m) to read as follows:
     3    (m) Prohibition of stand-alone mausoleum and columbarium. No  applica-
     4  tion for the construction of a mausoleum or columbarium to be located in
     5  any  city,  town or village shall be approved by the cemetery board when
     6  such mausoleum or columbarium  shall  be  the  only  form  of  interment
     7  offered by a cemetery corporation, unless a management contract has been
     8  entered  into with an existing cemetery corporation regulated under this
     9  article, that will provide operational management of  the  mausoleum  or
    10  columbarium,  and the owner of the mausoleum or columbarium has reserved
    11  interment space and secured interment services in a  cemetery  regulated
    12  under  this  article, in order to assure continued perpetual care of the
    13  remains contained in the mausoleum or columbarium should such  mausoleum
    14  or columbarium become abandoned or choose to cease operations.
    15    § 2. Subparagraph 7 of paragraph (a) of section 1506-a of the not-for-
    16  profit  corporation law, as added by chapter 560 of the laws of 1998, is
    17  amended to read as follows:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00767-05-8
        A. 5784--B                          2
     1    (7) have, enter into or perform a management contract with any  entity
     2  other  than  a  not-for-profit  cemetery corporation; provided, however,
     3  that a not-for-profit cemetery corporation may enter into or  perform  a
     4  management  contract  with a private cemetery corporation for the opera-
     5  tional management of a mausoleum or columbarium by such private cemetery
     6  corporation  provided  such contract shall have first been authorized by
     7  the board of the not-for-profit cemetery corporation.
     8    § 3. The closing paragraph of section 7 of the religious  corporations
     9  law,  as added by chapter 560 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as
    10  follows:
    11    Only the provisions of subparagraphs (a) and (b) of the previous para-
    12  graph shall apply to religious corporations with thirty acres or less of
    13  real property dedicated to cemetery purposes, and only to the extent the
    14  sale or lease is of real property dedicated to  cemetery  purposes,  and
    15  such  cemeteries  shall  not engage in the sale of funeral home goods or
    16  services, except if such goods and services are otherwise  permitted  to
    17  be sold by cemeteries. No religious corporation shall approve or author-
    18  ize  the construction of a mausoleum or columbarium on property owned by
    19  the religious corporation where such mausoleum or columbarium  shall  be
    20  the  only  form  of  interment  offered  for  cemetery purposes unless a
    21  management contract has been entered  into  with  an  existing  cemetery
    22  corporation regulated under article fifteen of the not-for-profit corpo-
    23  ration law, that will provide operational management of the mausoleum or
    24  columbarium,  and the owner of the mausoleum or columbarium has reserved
    25  interment space and secured interment services in a  cemetery  regulated
    26  under  this  article, in order to assure continued perpetual care of the
    27  remains contained in the mausoleum or columbarium should such  mausoleum
    28  or columbarium become abandoned or choose to cease operations.
    29    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.