NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7666
SPONSOR: Lupardo TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend chapter 560 of the laws of 1998,
amending the not-for-profit corporation law and other laws, relating to
combinations of cemetery corporations and funeral entities, and the sale
of monuments and memorials, in relation to funeral entities and the
operation of any crematory or crematorium
PURPOSE:
To clarify the intent of the grandfather provision of the operation
not-for-profit crematories by a funeral entity.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 14 of chapter 560 of the laws of 1998.
Section 2 is the effective date
JUSTIFICATION:
Since passage of the Anti-Combination Act in 1998, crematory rates have
increased significantly. According to the Cremation Association of North
America, cremation rates have nearly doubled in the last 15 years from
24.8% in 1999 to 46.7% in 2014 and that trend is expected to continue
and likely accelerate. Over the same period, and despite the increase in
the demand for cremation services, a very limited number of additional
crematories have been established in the State. Crematories are exceed-
ingly difficult to site.
The state currently has approximately 50 crematories, a third of which
are crematories operated by grandfathered funeral entities. The limited
availability of crematory facilities in New York has led to competing
crematories in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont to officer cremato-
ry services to New York residents. As a result, maintaining the exempt
stand alone crematories is even more important today than in 1998. The
loss of these crematories would impose a hardship on New Yorkers seeking
crematory services particularly in rural, underserved areas.
This legislation would preserve access to crematory services in New York
particularly in underserved rural areas by clarifying that the grandfa-
ther is not specific to the funeral director but to that of the combina-
tion. Further, the bill would provide crematories with the ability to
meet the increasing demand for crematory services. Finally, the bill
would permit a crematory operated by a funeral entity to locate facili-
ties in keeping with the best interest of the local community and
subjects such authority to local control.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A10318-2015-16
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
