December 2, 2014, Introduced by Rep. Price and referred to the Committee on Local Government.
A bill to amend 1931 PA 46, entitled
"An act to supplement the laws providing for the establishment,
control, maintenance and care of public cemeteries by cities and
townships within this state; to define the powers and duties of
cemetery boards and other public officials invested by law with the
management thereof; to provide for the termination and forfeiture
of rights in certain unused burial spaces in such cemeteries; to
prescribe and regulate the procedure with reference thereto; to
authorize the resale of such spaces and to direct the investment
and use of the funds received therefrom; and to repeal all acts or
parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions hereof,"
by amending section 2 (MCL 128.12), as amended by 1989 PA 14.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
2. If the owner of a burial space in a public cemetery ,
subject
to the provisions of this act, fails
and neglects for a
period of 7 years or more to care for and maintain the burial space
in
accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations any ordinance
or regulation relating to the care and maintenance of burial
spaces, the cemetery board may institute proceedings for the
termination and forfeiture of the owner's rights and interest in
the burial space. If the cemetery board determines that the owner
has
failed or neglected to care for
and maintain the burial space,
the cemetery board shall adopt a resolution reciting this
determination. A certified copy of the resolution shall be served
on
the owner personally by a competent person or shall be sent by
first-class mail to the owner's last-known address. If within 30
days
after the sending of the resolution is sent the owner does not
comply
or make provisions for complying with the laws, rules, and
regulations,
applicable ordinances and
regulations, the cemetery
board may cause a petition to be filed in the circuit court for the
county in which the cemetery is located. The petition shall set
forth the facts relating to the sale and ownership of the burial
space , and the
owner's failure and neglect to comply with the
laws,
rules, ordinances and regulations for the care and
maintenance
of the burial space. , and shall ask for The petition
shall request the termination and forfeiture of the owner's rights
to the burial space. The petition shall be noticed for a hearing,
on
a date not less than 40 days from after the date of filing.
Within 15 days after filing, a copy of the petition with the
hearing
notice shall be personally served on the owner or copies of
the
petition shall be sent by first-class
mail to the last-known
address
of the owner. Notice If
the hearing is held before January
1, 2015, notice of the hearing shall be published once each week
for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the
county
in which the cemetery is located,
. The first notice shall
be
published with the first
publication not less than 30 days
before the date of the hearing. If the hearing is held after
December 31, 2014, notice of the hearing shall be given by tier A
public notice under the local government public notice act. If
publication is required, the first publication shall be not more
than 30 days and not less than 14 days before the date of the
hearing.
After the petition and notice have been
served or sent, it
is
the owner's duty to the owner
shall appear and answer to the
allegations of the petition. If the owner fails to appear and
answer on the day noticed for hearing, the owner's default may be
entered in the manner provided for by law.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless House Bill No. 5560 of the 97th Legislature is enacted into
law.