S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8075
I N S E N A T E
January 5, 2024
___________
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to main-
tenance of abandoned cemeteries; and to repeal certain provisions of
such law relating thereto
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of section 1506-c of the not-
for-profit corporation law, as added by chapter 363 of the laws of 2009,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Upon application and approval by the cemetery board, a cemetery
corporation may assume management and maintenance of an abandoned ceme-
tery. For the purposes of this section, abandoned cemetery means a ceme-
tery which was [previously owned by a cemetery corporation] organized
pursuant to this chapter or existing by virtue of the membership corpo-
ration law, for which there no longer exists any corporate board or body
to maintain it, and for which there is no sufficient trust fund or
endowment to provide ordinary and necessary care and maintenance.
Provided, however, that in no event shall the cemetery board approve the
assumption of the management and maintenance of an abandoned cemetery
under this section if the abandoned cemetery was affiliated with any
religious denomination or tradition or if the majority of the persons
whose bodies were interred in such cemetery were affiliated with any
religious denomination or tradition unless the cemetery assuming the
management and maintenance of such abandoned cemetery follows the
customs and practices of the same religious denomination or tradition.
(b) A cemetery corporation assuming management and maintenance of an
abandoned cemetery [shall] MAY make application for funds pursuant to
paragraph (h) of section fifteen hundred seven of this article and
section ninety-seven-r of the state finance law for maintenance of aban-
doned cemeteries. Within sixty days of submission of a completed appli-
cation, the cemetery board shall approve or deny such application.
(c) Monies disbursed under such assumption shall be used exclusively
for the purpose of the management and maintenance of an abandoned ceme-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02762-02-4
S. 8075 2
tery [such as the ordinary and necessary care of a cemetery, including
the removal of grass and weeds, the refilling of graves, and the preser-
vation, care, and fencing of a cemetery, and also including the care of
crypts, niches, grave sites, monuments, and memorials paid for by means
of the general fund or special fund or the income applied from the
permanent maintenance fund, perpetual care fund, monument maintenance
fund, general fund, or a special fund of the abandoned cemetery] AS
PROVIDED IN SUBPARAGRAPH THREE OF PARAGRAPH (H) OF SECTION FIFTEEN
HUNDRED SEVEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
§ 2. Subparagraph 2 of paragraph (a) and subparagraphs 1 and 3 of
paragraph (h) of section 1507 of the not-for-profit corporation law,
subparagraph 2 of paragraph (a) as amended by chapter 509 of the laws of
2014 and subparagraphs 1 and 3 of paragraph (h) as amended by a chapter
of the laws of 2023 amending the not-for-profit corporation law relating
to authorizing the maintenance of abandoned cemeteries, as proposed in
legislative bills numbers S. 490 and A. 1477, are amended to read as
follows:
(2) The permanent maintenance fund is hereby declared to be and shall
be held by the corporation as a trust fund, for the purpose of maintain-
ing and preserving the cemetery, including all lots, crypts, niches,
plots, and parts thereof. The principal of such fund shall be invested
in such securities as are permitted for the investment of trust funds by
section 11-2.3 of the estates, powers and trusts law. The income in the
form of interest and ordinary dividends therefrom shall be used solely
for the maintenance and preservation of the cemetery grounds. In addi-
tion, the governing board of the corporation may appropriate for expend-
iture solely for the maintenance and preservation of the cemetery
grounds a portion of the net appreciation, in the fair market value of
the principal of the trust, as is prudent under the standard established
by article five-A of this chapter, the prudent management of institu-
tional funds act. In the event that a cemetery corporation seeks to
appropriate any percentage of its net appreciation in its permanent
maintenance fund in accordance with this subparagraph, the cemetery
corporation shall provide notice of such proposed appropriation by
certified mail to the cemetery board not less than sixty days in advance
of such proposed appropriation and shall disclose such appropriation as
part of and in addition to their annual reporting requirements as
defined in section fifteen hundred eight of this article, setting forth
the amount of funds to be appropriated for such expenditure and its
effect on the permanent maintenance fund. Such proposed appropriation
shall become effective sixty days after receipt of such notice, unless
the cemetery board within such sixty-day period notifies the cemetery
corporation that the board objects to the proposed appropriation.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subparagraph, all prin-
cipal of the permanent maintenance fund shall remain inviolate, except
that, upon application to the supreme court in a district where a
portion of the cemetery grounds is located, the court may make an order
permitting the principal or a part thereof to be used for the purpose of
current maintenance and preservation of the cemetery or otherwise. Such
application may be made by the cemetery board on notice to the corpo-
ration or by the corporation on notice to the cemetery board. Unless the
cemetery can clearly demonstrate that it lacks sufficient future revenue
to make repayment, any such allowance from the permanent maintenance
fund shall be in the form of a loan, and the court shall determine the
method for repayment of such a loan by the cemetery to the fund. IF THE
CEMETERY CLEARLY DEMONSTRATES IT LACKS SUFFICIENT FUTURE REVENUE TO MAKE
S. 8075 3
REPAYMENT SUCH ALLOWANCE FROM THE PERMANENT MAINTENANCE FUND SHALL BE IN
THE FORM OF A GRANT THAT THE CEMETERY IS NOT REQUIRED TO REPAY INTO ITS
PERMANENT MAINTENANCE FUND. A CEMETERY, INCLUDING A SURVIVING CEMETERY
FOLLOWING A MERGER OR CONSOLIDATED CEMETERY FOLLOWING A CONSOLIDATION,
MAY SEEK A MODIFICATION OF THE METHOD OF REPAYMENT, OR CONVERSION OF A
LOAN TO A GRANT, IF THE CEMETERY CAN CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE THAT THE CEME-
TERY MERGED OR CONSOLIDATED INTO THE SURVIVING CEMETERY WILL NOT PRODUCE
SUFFICIENT FUTURE REVENUE TO MAKE REPAYMENT UNDER THE EXISTING LOAN.
(1) Cemeteries incorporated under this article shall contribute to a
fund created pursuant to section ninety-seven-r of the state finance law
for the maintenance of abandoned cemeteries, [including the construction
of cemetery fences, placement of cemetery lights and replacement of
cemetery doors and locks,] for the restoration of property damaged by
acts of vandalism, and for the repair or removal of monuments or other
markers not owned by the cemetery corporation that have fallen into
disrepair or dilapidation so as to create a dangerous condition. Such
fund shall be administered by a board of trustees comprised of the
secretary of state, the attorney general and the commissioner of health,
or their designees, who shall serve without additional compensation.
(3) The moneys of the fund shall be expended equally for the mainte-
nance of abandoned cemeteries previously owned by a corporation incorpo-
rated pursuant to this chapter or the membership corporations law and
the repair of cemetery vandalism damage and the repair or removal of
monuments or other markers not owned by the cemetery corporation,
provided, however, that the cemetery board may determine that circum-
stances necessitate an unequal distribution due to specific needs and
may provide for such distribution. For purposes of this section, the
maintenance of abandoned cemeteries may include the ORDINARY AND NECES-
SARY CARE OF A CEMETERY, SUCH AS THE construction of cemetery fences,
placement of cemetery lights, removal of grass and weeds, demolition or
restoration of any buildings or structures in disrepair, the refilling
of graves, the repair or removal of monuments or other markers not owned
by the cemetery corporation that have fallen into disrepair or dilapida-
tion so as to create a dangerous condition, [and] replacement of ceme-
tery doors and locks, AND THE CARE OF CRYPTS, NICHES, GRAVE SITES, MONU-
MENTS, AND MEMORIALS PAID FOR BY MEANS OF THE GENERAL FUND OR SPECIAL
FUND OR THE INCOME APPLIED FROM THE PERMANENT MAINTENANCE FUND, PERPET-
UAL CARE FUND OR MONUMENT MAINTENANCE FUND OF THE ABANDONED CEMETERY.
For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "abandoned cemetery" may
include cemeteries in imminent danger of abandonment as determined by
the New York state cemetery board.
§ 3. Subdivision (d) of section 1506-d of the not-for-profit corpo-
ration law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the not-
for-profit corporation law relating to authorizing the maintenance of
abandoned cemeteries, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 490
and A. 1477, is REPEALED.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
manner as a chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the not-for-profit
corporation law relating to authorizing the maintenance of abandoned
cemeteries, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 490 and A. 1477,
takes effect.
