January 21, 2003, Introduced by Senator JACOBS and referred to the Committee on Local, Urban
and State Affairs.
A bill to amend 1869 PA 12, entitled
"An act to authorize and encourage the formation of corporations
to establish rural cemeteries; to provide for the care and
maintenance thereof; to provide for the revision and codification
of the laws relating to cemeteries, mausoleums, crypts, vaults,
crematoriums, and other means of disposing of the dead; to make
an appropriation therefor; and to impose certain duties upon the
department of commerce,"
by amending sections 7a and 15 (MCL 456.107a and 456.115).
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 7a. (1) The fund required to be set aside under
2 section 7 for the
purpose of keeping and maintaining the grounds
3 of such cemeteries
established after the effective date of this
4 1966 amendatory act perpetual care regarding cemeteries
5 established after March 10, 1967, or mausoleums which are not
6 located in the confines of a dedicated cemetery and are
7 established after the
effective date of this 1966 amendatory
8 act March 10,
1967, shall be created by the
deposit of
1 $25,000.00 into the fund before any sale of burial rights,
2 entombment rights or columbarium rights is made.
3 (2) With respect to all cemeteries or mausoleums, whether
4 established before or
after the effective date of this 1966 act
5 March 10, 1967, the fund shall be added to by payment,
6 perpetually, into the
same each month of not less than 15% of
7 all proceeds received during the previous month from the sales of
8 burial rights, entombment rights, or columbarium rights made
9 after the effective
date of this 1966 amendatory act March 10,
10 1967. No total deposit for a single adult burial right sale or
11 assignment shall be less than $20.00. Notwithstanding the
12 minimum amount required
to be paid into such the endowment fund
13 from the proceeds of
sales of lots or burial rights, as provided
14 herein, any cemetery which that has an
endowment fund of more
15 than $125,000.00 and exceeding $10,000.00 per acre of the
16 developed portion of such
the cemetery, may make application
17 apply to the cemetery commission for a waiver of the 15% or
18 $20.00 minimum requirement. The cemetery commission shall take
19 such testimony and make such investigation investigate
as it
20 deems considers advisable pursuant to such the
application.
21 If the cemetery commission determines that the applicant has an
22 endowment fund of more than $125,000.00 and exceeding $10,000.00
23 per acre of the developed
portion of such the cemetery and that
24 the income from such the
fund is sufficient to meet the then
25 current cost of keeping the applicant's cemetery in good
26 condition, it shall grant a waiver of the 15% and $20.00 minimum
27 requirement , and
it shall grant such appropriate
1 modifications with
respect to contributions to such the fund.
2 as it deems
advisable.
3 (3) No portion of the funds required to be set aside under
4 section 7 shall be used directly or indirectly for salaries of
5 the officers or directors of the cemetery association or
6 corporation , and
only the earnings from such the funds shall
7 be used to keep the
grounds and graves in good condition for
8 perpetual care.
9 (4) The endowment care fund may be administered by the board
10 of directors, itself,
or by such the trustees, individual or
11 corporate, as it the
fund may select under the terms of a trust
12 instrument or declaration.
If it the fund selects trustees to
13 administer the fund, its
the fund's liability shall be limited
14 to reasonable care in such
the selection. Directors may serve
15 as trustees if at least 2 members of the board are selected.
16 (5) The funds established under this section shall be
17 invested subject to the
provisions of sections 1 and 2 of Act
18 No. 177 of the Public
Acts of 1937, as amended, being sections
19 555.201 and 555.202 of
the Compiled Laws of 1948, and the
20 investment of any fund
for endowment care heretofore or hereafter
21 made which meets the
requirements of said act is ratified and
22 confirmed article VII of the estates and protected
individuals
23 code, 1998 PA 386, MCL 700.7101 to 700.7511.
24 (6) In addition to all other remedies at law or in equity
25 which that any interested party may have, the
attorney general
26 and the circuit court of the county in which the cemetery is
27 located shall have all the powers and jurisdiction granted to the
1 attorney general and
court as to trusts covered by Act No. 280
2 of the Public Acts of
1915, as amended, being sections 554.351 to
3 554.353 of the
Compiled Laws of 1948 1915 PA
280, MCL 554.351 to
4 554.353. The remedies
granted shall include all such
5 endowment care fund trusts without regard to uncertainty or
6 indefiniteness of the
its beneficiaries. thereof.
7 (7) As used in this section, "perpetual care" means all
8 general work necessary to keep the cemetery property in a
9 presentable condition at all times including, but not limited to,
10 the cutting of grass at reasonable intervals; raking, cleaning,
11 filling, seeding, and sodding of graves; replacement, pruning, or
12 removal of shrubs and trees in order to assure access to
13 interment rights; and the repair and maintenance of enclosures,
14 buildings, drives, walks, and the various memorial gardens.
15 Sec. 15. (1) All corporations established under the
16 provisions of this act may receive and hold any grant, donation,
17 or bequest made to them
for the purpose of perpetually caring
18 for and maintaining perpetual care of the lots of said the
19 donors , and may
apply the income thereof under the direction
20 of the board of directors for the improvement, embellishment, and
21 care of the ground, and
the different lots, tombs, and
22 monuments. Such The
funds so received by grant, donation or
23 bequest shall be kept in a separate fund and shall constitute
a
24 perpetual care or
repair fund, the income of which shall be
25 devoted to the perpetual
keeping of the lots, monuments,
26 markers and tombs of
the donors in order. Such care.
27 (2) The funds shall be held in trust and the principal shall
1 not be encroached upon or the income be used for any purpose
2 except that to which it
is devoted. Any and all funds received
3 by grant, donation, or bequest by any corporation or association
4 formed under the provisions of this act shall be invested by the
5 board of directors in any of the investments authorized in
6 section 7. hereof.
From this fund, so created there shall be
7 drawn annually and
credited to each donor , such an amount of
8 the total income as proportional
to the amount donated by the
9 donor bears to
the income of the entire amount. contributed
10 for the purposes of
this section.
11 (3) The
treasurer of every an association or corporation
12 formed under the
provisions of this act , shall furnish
13 annually to the board of directors a bond in double the amount of
14 all moneys money
received under the provisions of this
15 section , which bond
shall to provide for the safekeeping of
16 all money, bonds,
mortgages, or securities. , that the said The
17 treasurer shall render an
account annually of all moneys money
18 received by him under
the provisions hereof and pay and deliver
19 all moneys money,
bonds, and securities to his a successor in
20 office. , said
The bond to shall be approved by a majority
21 vote of and members-elect of the board of directors.
22 (4) As used in this section, "perpetual care" means all
23 general work necessary to keep the cemetery property in a
24 presentable condition at all times including, but not limited to,
25 the cutting of grass at reasonable intervals; raking, cleaning,
26 filling, seeding, and sodding of graves; replacement, pruning, or
27 removal of shrubs and trees in order to assure access to
1 interment rights; and the repair and maintenance of enclosures,
2 buildings, drives, walks, and the various memorial gardens.
3 Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take
4 effect unless all of the following bills of the 92nd Legislature
5 are enacted into law:
6 (a) Senate Bill No. 37.
7
8 (b) Senate Bill No. 39.
9