Bill > SB777

This bill addresses the management of abandoned endowment care cemeteries by establishing a new process for their transfer and maintenance. An "abandoned endowment care cemetery" is defined as a cemetery with an existing endowment fund that has lost its license and not been transferred to new ownership within one year. The bill requires the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau to notify the local agency formation commission in the county where the cemetery is located, which must then identify a local agency to take over the cemetery's care and maintenance within six months. Once a local agency is identified, the fee title to the cemetery will vest with that agency, and they will be responsible for its upkeep, with the property to be used only for cemetery-related purposes. The local agency will also receive any existing endowment care funds previously held by the bureau, which must be liquidated and placed in a special fund to be used exclusively for the cemetery's care, maintenance, and improvement. Additionally, the local agency must honor any existing burial contracts from the previous cemetery authority. Because the bill imposes new responsibilities on local agencies, it includes a provision for potential state reimbursement of costs if the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill creates a state-mandated local program.

Budget and Finance, Government Affairs

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB777