NY State Senate Bill 2023-S6806

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Corporations, Authorities And Commissions Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
May 10, 2023	referred to corporations, authorities and commissions

co-Sponsors

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Corporations, Authorities And Commissions
Law Section:: Religious Corporations Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §7, Rel Corp L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S4610
2021-2022: S6514

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the sale of monuments; provides no religious corporation owning, managing or controlling a cemetery shall, directly or indirectly, engage in the sale of monuments, or authorize or permit any employee or trustee or director thereof to advertise or make known his or her relationship to such religious corporation or cemetery if such person is engaged in the sale of monuments outside of his or her employment by or affiliation with the religious corporation or the cemetery.

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6806

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the religious corporations law, in relation to the sale
of monuments

 
PURPOSE:

To prohibit religious corporations owning, managing or controlling a
cemetery from selling monuments.

 
PROVISIONS:

Amends the fourth undesignated paragraph and the closing paragraph of
section 7 of the religious corporations' law:

Section 1 states that no religious corporation owning, managing or
controlling a cemetery shall, directly or indirectly, engage in the sale
of monuments, not including flush bronze markers, nor shall monuments be
displayed for sale on the property of a religious corporation, whether

such property is located on cemetery grounds or elsewhere.

Further, no such religious corporation may authorize or permit any
employee, trustee, or director thereof to advertise or make known his or
her relationship to such religious corporation or cemetery if such
person is engaged in the sale of monuments outside of his or her employ-
ment by or affiliation with the religious corporation or the cemetery.

Section 2 states that this act shall take effect on the thirtieth day
after it shall have become a law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill is essential to protect a vital industry in New York. The
monument industry in New York is comprised of roughly 400 small busi-
nesses located across the State. Each business is independently owned
and operated, in most cases by families that have provided custom memo-
rials for generations. Monument companies compete with one another for
the honor of memorializing the loss of loved ones, providing fair compe-
tition that benefits consumers who are able to shop around for a reason-
able price. A11 monument builders pay taxes to the State of New York on
their properties, equipment, office supplies, payrolls, etc.  These
small businesses are also required to collect a use tax on every monu-
ment they sell. Monument builders must take into account the taxes their
company must pay when they set the price of their monuments in order to
ensure their companies remain profitable and continue employing their
workers.

For any small business to be successful there needs to be a level play-
ing field in terms of competition in their product's market. Due to the
tax burdens that are inherent in operating a for-profit monument busi-
ness in New York, it is crucial to the survival of this industry that
they not be forced to compete with tax-exempt cemeteries for the sale of
memorials. All cemeteries in New York are tax-exempt, allowing them to
set their prices without consideration for the same overhead costs as
the taxpaying monument industry. While a portion of these tax exempt
cemeteries have been prohibited from selling monuments for more than 60
years, others that currently sell monuments have an unfair competitive
advantage that has resulted in a loss of revenue for the tax-paying
monument industry. The industry estimates a loss of 20-30 percent of
their market share to tax-exempt cemeteries, resulting in a loss of
roughly $10 million in tax revenue to the State. This bill is vital to
ensure the monument industry's continued presence in New York.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

Senate

2022: referred to corporations, authorities and commissions

2020: referred to Corporations, no significant action

2019: passed Senate

2015/16: referred to Corporations, no significant action

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect 30 days after it shall have become a law.

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6806
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 10, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  SKOUFIS,  ADDABBO, RYAN -- read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Corpo-
   rations, Authorities and Commissions
 
 AN  ACT to amend the religious corporations law, in relation to the sale
   of monuments
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The fourth undesignated paragraph and the closing paragraph
 of  section 7 of the religious corporations law, the fourth undesignated
 paragraph as added by chapter 560 of the laws of 1998  and  the  closing
 paragraph  as amended by chapter 296 of the laws of 2018, are amended to
 read as follows:
   No religious corporation owning, managing or  controlling  a  cemetery
 shall, directly or indirectly:
   (a)  sell,  or  have, enter into or perform a lease of any of its real
 property dedicated to cemetery purposes or adjacent thereto to a funeral
 entity, or use any of its property for locating a funeral entity;
   (b) commingle its funds with a funeral entity;
   (c) direct or carry on its cemetery related business or affairs with a
 funeral entity;
   (d) authorize control of its cemetery related business or affairs by a
 funeral entity;
   (e) engage in any sale or cross-marketing of goods or services with  a
 funeral entity;
   (f)  have,  enter into or perform a management or service contract for
 cemetery operations with a funeral entity; [or]
   (g) have, enter into or perform a management contract with any  entity
 other than a not-for-profit cemetery or religious corporation[.];
   (H)  ENGAGE IN THE SALE OF MONUMENTS, NOT INCLUDING FLUSH BRONZE MARK-
 ERS, NOR SHALL SUCH MONUMENTS BE DISPLAYED FOR SALE ON THE PROPERTY OF A
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11189-01-3
 S. 6806                             2

 RELIGIOUS CORPORATION, WHETHER SUCH  PROPERTY  IS  LOCATED  ON  CEMETERY
 GROUNDS OR ELSEWHERE; OR
   (I) AUTHORIZE OR PERMIT ANY EMPLOYEE OR TRUSTEE OR DIRECTOR THEREOF TO
 ADVERTISE OR MAKE KNOWN HIS OR HER RELATIONSHIP TO SUCH RELIGIOUS CORPO-
 RATION  OR  CEMETERY  IF SUCH PERSON IS ENGAGED IN THE SALE OF MONUMENTS
 OUTSIDE OF HIS OR HER EMPLOYMENT BY OR AFFILIATION  WITH  THE  RELIGIOUS
 CORPORATION OR THE CEMETERY.
   Only  the  provisions  of subparagraphs (a) [and], (b), (H) AND (I) of
 the [previous] FOURTH UNDESIGNATED paragraph OF THIS SECTION shall apply
 to religious corporations with thirty acres or  less  of  real  property
 dedicated to cemetery purposes, and only to the extent the sale or lease
 is  of real property dedicated to cemetery purposes, and such cemeteries
 shall not engage in the sale of funeral home goods or  services,  except
 if  such  goods and services are otherwise permitted to be sold by ceme-
 teries.  No  religious  corporation  shall  approve  or  authorize   the
 construction  of  a  mausoleum  or  columbarium on property owned by the
 religious corporation where such mausoleum or columbarium shall  be  the
 only form of interment offered for cemetery purposes unless a management
 contract  has  been  entered  into with an existing cemetery corporation
 regulated under article fifteen of the not-for-profit  corporation  law,
 that  will provide operational management of the mausoleum or columbari-
 um, and the owner of the mausoleum or columbarium has reserved interment
 space and secured interment services in a cemetery regulated under  this
 article,  in  order  to  assure  continued perpetual care of the remains
 contained in the mausoleum  or  columbarium  should  such  mausoleum  or
 columbarium become abandoned or choose to cease operations.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S6806

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Corporations, Authorities And Commissions Committee

co-Sponsors

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S6806

Share this bill

Sponsored By

James Skoufis

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Corporations, Authorities And Commissions Committee

co-Sponsors

Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.

Sean M. Ryan

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S6806 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments