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S06396 Summary:

S06396 Actions:

S06396 Committee Votes:

S06396 Floor Votes:

S06396 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          6396
 
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      May 16, 2017
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  RANZENHOFER -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Author-
          ities and Commissions
 
        AN ACT to amend the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation  to  the
          reacquisition  of a lot, plot, or part thereof owned by a nonsectarian
          burial society or by a cemetery corporation; and in  relation  to  the
          definition of certain types of burial societies
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Section 1502  of  the  not-for-profit  corporation  law  is
     2  amended by adding two new paragraphs (r) and (s) to read as follows:
     3    (r)  The  term  "nonsectarian  burial  society" means a corporation or
     4  unincorporated association or society having among its activities or its
     5  former activities the provision of burial benefits for its  members  and
     6  not supervised or controlled by a religious corporation.
     7    (s)  The  term "religious burial society" means a corporation or unin-
     8  corporated association or society having among  its  activities  or  its
     9  former  activities  the provision of burial benefits for its members and
    10  supervised or controlled by a religious corporation.
    11    § 2. Paragraphs (d) and (f) of section 1513-a  of  the  not-for-profit
    12  corporation  law,  as  added  by  chapter  478  of the laws of 2003, are
    13  amended and four new paragraphs (i), (j), (k) and (l) are added to  read
    14  as follows:
    15    (d)  Upon  the  sale  of a lot, plot or part thereof reacquired by the
    16  corporation under the provisions of paragraph (a), (b), or (c)  of  this
    17  section,  thirty-five percent of the net proceeds shall be placed in the
    18  permanent maintenance fund and sixty-five percent shall be placed in the
    19  current maintenance fund.  Provided, however, that if their property was
    20  reacquired under paragraph (i) of this section, thirty-five  percent  of
    21  the  net  proceeds  shall  be  placed in the permanent maintenance fund,
    22  fifty percent shall be  placed  in  the  current  maintenance  fund  and
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11769-01-7
        S. 6396                             2
 
     1  fifteen percent shall be placed in a perpetual care fund which the ceme-
     2  tery  shall  establish in the name of the defunct society for the exclu-
     3  sive purpose of maintenance of the grounds  on  which  the  graves  were
     4  reacquired.
     5    (f)  The  provisions of this section shall not apply to a lot, plot or
     6  part thereof whose record owner  is  a  [corporation  or  unincorporated
     7  association  or society having among its activities or its former activ-
     8  ities the provision of burial benefits for its members] religious burial
     9  society.
    10    (i) A cemetery corporation may, upon application and approval  by  the
    11  cemetery  board,  reacquire, resubdivide, and resell a lot, plot or part
    12  thereof formerly owned  by  a  nonsectarian  burial  society  under  the
    13  following circumstances:
    14    (1) If the cemetery corporation has received a request to make a buri-
    15  al on the grounds of a nonsectarian burial society and the provisions of
    16  paragraph  (h)  of section fifteen hundred twelve of this article had to
    17  be invoked to make the burial then the cemetery corporation may, at  its
    18  discretion, commence the process of reacquiring the unused graves on the
    19  grounds  of the nonsectarian burial society, except that any graves that
    20  have been reserved for individuals where  such  reservations  have  been
    21  recorded  on  the books and records of the cemetery corporation shall be
    22  exempt from reclamation; or
    23    (2) If routine mailings or proxy mailings are sent to the officers  of
    24  record  of  a nonsectarian burial society and such mailings are returned
    25  by the post office, the cemetery corporation  may,  at  its  discretion,
    26  make a second mailing by certified mail return receipt requested to each
    27  officer  of record of the nonsectarian burial society as recorded on the
    28  cemetery's books and records and, if each of these mailings is  returned
    29  by  the  post  office,  the cemetery corporation may, at its discretion,
    30  commence the process of reacquiring the unused graves on the grounds  of
    31  the  nonsectarian  burial society, except that any graves that have been
    32  reserved for individuals where such reservations have been  recorded  on
    33  the  books  and records of the cemetery corporation shall be exempt from
    34  reacquisition.
    35    (j) If a cemetery corporation has decided to commence the  process  of
    36  reacquiring graves owned by a nonsectarian burial society it shall:
    37    (1) send by certified mail return receipt requested to each individual
    38  who  has  engaged in proprietary activities in connection with graves on
    39  the grounds of a nonsectarian burial  society,  seeking  the  names  and
    40  addresses of any current officers of the nonsectarian burial society and
    41  informing  those individuals of the cemetery corporation's intentions of
    42  reacquiring the unused graves on the grounds of the nonsectarian  burial
    43  society;
    44    (2) send by certified mail return receipt requested to each individual
    45  who  has  a  grave reserved or deeded to them a letter seeking the names
    46  and addresses of any current officers of the nonsectarian burial society
    47  and informing such individuals of the cemetery corporation's  intentions
    48  or  reacquiring  the  unused  graves  on the grounds of the nonsectarian
    49  burial society;
    50    (3) post a notice as provided in clause three of subparagraph (iii) of
    51  paragraph (a) of this section;
    52    (4) publish a notice as provided in clause five of subparagraph (iii)
    53   of paragraph (a) of this section;
    54    (5) prepare and submit an affidavit  as  provided  in  clause  six  of
    55  subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this section; and
        S. 6396                             3
 
     1    (6) upon the sale of any grave or graves on the grounds of the nonsec-
     2  tarian  burial society which have been reacquired by the cemetery corpo-
     3  ration, the cemetery corporation shall distribute the  net  proceeds  of
     4  the sale as provided in paragraph (d) of this section.
     5    (k)  The  cemetery  corporation shall delay the sale of ten percent of
     6  the graves it reacquires from the nonsectarian burial society for twenty
     7  years as a reserve in the event an individual or individuals are identi-
     8  fied who have a valid claim for burial on the grounds of the nonsectari-
     9  an burial society.
    10    (l) At the time the graves that have been  reacquired  by  a  cemetery
    11  corporation from a nonsectarian burial society are sold, the contract of
    12  sale  shall contain a clause in bold type which specifies that the monu-
    13  ments to be erected on such lot, plot or part thereof, shall conform  to
    14  the  size,  style  and  type of monuments in the section of the cemetery
    15  where such graves are located.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.