Full Text of HB3834 100th General Assembly
HB3834 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018 HB3834 Introduced , by Rep. Dan Brady SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Cemetery Oversight Act. Provides that a public cemetery shall make all cemetery services available during their advertised hours of operation, including burial services on cemetery property. Provides that a public cemetery may not charge any additional fees based on the time of providing a service, so long as the service takes place during the advertised hours of operation. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Cemetery Oversight Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 20-5 as follows: | 6 | | (225 ILCS 411/20-5) | 7 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2021)
| 8 | | Sec. 20-5. Maintenance and records. | 9 | | (a) A cemetery authority shall provide reasonable | 10 | | maintenance of the cemetery property and of all lots, graves, | 11 | | crypts, and columbariums in the cemetery based on the type and | 12 | | size of the cemetery, topographic limitations, and contractual | 13 | | commitments with consumers. Subject to the provisions of this | 14 | | subsection (a), reasonable maintenance includes: | 15 | | (1) the laying of seed, sod, or other suitable ground | 16 | | cover as soon as practical following an interment given the | 17 | | weather conditions, climate, and season and the | 18 | | interment's proximity to ongoing burial activity; | 19 | | (2) the cutting of lawn throughout the cemetery at | 20 | | reasonable intervals to prevent an overgrowth of grass and | 21 | | weeds given the weather conditions, climate, and season; | 22 | | (3) the trimming of shrubs to prevent excessive | 23 | | overgrowth; |
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| 1 | | (4) the trimming of trees to remove dead limbs; | 2 | | (5) maintaining, repairing, or removing, if necessary, | 3 | | drains, water lines, roads, buildings, fences, and other | 4 | | structures; and | 5 | | (6) keeping the cemetery premises free of trash and | 6 | | debris. | 7 | | In determining whether a cemetery authority provides | 8 | | reasonable maintenance of the cemetery property, the | 9 | | Department shall consider: | 10 | | (1) the cemetery authority's contractual obligations | 11 | | for care and maintenance; | 12 | | (2) the size of the cemetery; | 13 | | (3) the extent and use of the cemetery authority's | 14 | | financial resources; | 15 | | (4) the standard of maintenance of one or more | 16 | | similarly situated cemeteries; in determining whether a | 17 | | cemetery is similarly situated, the Department shall | 18 | | consider the cemetery's size, location, topography, and | 19 | | financial resources, and whether the cemetery is a | 20 | | fraternal cemetery, a religious cemetery, a public | 21 | | cemetery, a cemetery owned and operated by a cemetery | 22 | | association, or a licensed cemetery. | 23 | | Reasonable maintenance by the cemetery authority shall not
| 24 | | preclude the exercise of lawful rights by the owner of an
| 25 | | interment, inurnment, or entombment right, or by the decedent's
| 26 | | immediate family or other heirs, in accordance with reasonable
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| 1 | | rules and regulations of the cemetery or other agreement of the
| 2 | | cemetery authority.
| 3 | | In the case of a cemetery dedicated as a nature preserve | 4 | | under the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act, reasonable | 5 | | maintenance by the cemetery authority shall be in accordance | 6 | | with the rules and master plan governing the dedicated nature | 7 | | preserve. | 8 | | A cemetery authority accused of violating the reasonable | 9 | | maintenance standard set forth in this Section shall have a | 10 | | reasonable opportunity to cure the violation. The cemetery | 11 | | authority shall have 10 business days after receipt of notice | 12 | | to cure the violation. If a cemetery authority cannot cure the | 13 | | violation within 10 business days, then the cemetery authority | 14 | | may request a time extension in order to cure the violation. | 15 | | The request for an extension shall be made in writing to the | 16 | | Department and must be postmarked within 10 business days after | 17 | | receipt of the notice of the alleged violation. The request | 18 | | shall outline all reasons for the extension and an estimated | 19 | | date by which the cure will be accomplished. Acceptable reasons | 20 | | include, without limitation, delays caused by weather | 21 | | conditions, season or climate, equipment failures, or | 22 | | acquisitions of materials or supplies being addressed by the | 23 | | authority in a timely manner, and unexpected temporary absences | 24 | | of personnel. The Department may approve or deny the extension. | 25 | | If the extension is denied, then the cemetery authority must | 26 | | cure the violation within 10 business days after the date of |
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| 1 | | receipt of the Department's extension denial. If the extension | 2 | | is granted, then the cemetery authority must cure the violation | 3 | | within the extended period of time. A cemetery authority that | 4 | | does not cure the violation within the appropriate period of | 5 | | time shall be subject to discipline in accordance with Article | 6 | | 25 of this Act. | 7 | | (b) A cemetery authority, before commencing cemetery | 8 | | operations or within 6 months after the effective date of this | 9 | | Act, shall cause an overall map of its cemetery property, | 10 | | delineating all lots or plots, blocks, sections, avenues, | 11 | | walks, alleys, and paths and their respective designations, to | 12 | | be filed at its on-site office, or if it does not maintain an | 13 | | on-site office, at its principal place of business. The | 14 | | cemetery authority shall update its map and index described in | 15 | | subsection (b-5) within a reasonable time after any expansion | 16 | | or alteration of the cemetery property. A cemetery manager's | 17 | | certificate acknowledging, accepting, and adopting the map | 18 | | shall also be included with the map. The Department may order | 19 | | that the cemetery authority obtain a cemetery plat and that it | 20 | | be filed at its on-site office, or if it does not maintain an | 21 | | on-site office, at its principal place of business if (1) a | 22 | | human body that should have been interred, entombed, or inurned | 23 | | at the cemetery after the effective date of this amendatory Act | 24 | | of the 97th General Assembly is missing, displaced, or | 25 | | dismembered and (2) the cemetery map contains serious | 26 | | discrepancies. |
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| 1 | | In exercising this discretion, the Department shall | 2 | | consider whether the cemetery authority would experience an | 3 | | undue hardship as a result of obtaining the plat. The cemetery | 4 | | plat, as with all plats prepared under this Act, shall comply | 5 | | with the Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act of 1989 and | 6 | | shall delineate, describe, and set forth all lots or plots, | 7 | | blocks, sections, avenues, walks, alleys, and paths and their | 8 | | respective designations. A cemetery manager's certificate | 9 | | acknowledging, accepting, and adopting the plat shall also be | 10 | | included with the plat. | 11 | | (b-5) A cemetery authority shall maintain an index that | 12 | | associates the identity of deceased persons interred, | 13 | | entombed, or inurned after the effective date of this Act with | 14 | | their respective place of interment, entombment, or inurnment. | 15 | | (c) The cemetery authority shall open the cemetery map or | 16 | | plat to public inspection. The cemetery authority shall make | 17 | | available a copy of the overall cemetery map or plat upon | 18 | | written request and shall, if practical, provide a copy of a | 19 | | segment of the cemetery plat where interment rights are located | 20 | | upon the payment of reasonable photocopy fees. Any unsold lots, | 21 | | plots, or parts thereof, in which there are not human remains, | 22 | | may be resurveyed and altered in shape or size and properly | 23 | | designated on the cemetery map or plat. However, sold lots, | 24 | | plots, or parts thereof in which there are human remains may | 25 | | not be renumbered or renamed. Nothing contained in this | 26 | | subsection, however, shall prevent the cemetery authority from |
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| 1 | | enlarging an interment right by selling to its owner the excess | 2 | | space next to the interment right and permitting interments | 3 | | therein, provided reasonable access to the interment right and | 4 | | to adjoining interment rights is not thereby eliminated. | 5 | | (d) A cemetery authority shall keep a record of every | 6 | | interment, entombment, and inurnment completed after the | 7 | | effective date of this Act. The record shall include the | 8 | | deceased's name, age, date of burial, and the specific location | 9 | | of the interred, entombed, or inurned human remains. The | 10 | | specific location shall correspond to the map or plat | 11 | | maintained in accordance with subsection (b) of this Section. | 12 | | (e) (Blank). | 13 | | (f) A cemetery authority shall make available for | 14 | | inspection and, upon reasonable request and the payment of a | 15 | | reasonable copying fee, provide a copy of its rules and | 16 | | regulations. A cemetery authority shall make available for | 17 | | viewing and provide a copy of its current prices of interment, | 18 | | inurnment, or entombment rights. | 19 | | (g) A cemetery authority shall provide access to the | 20 | | cemetery under the cemetery authority's reasonable rules and | 21 | | regulations. | 22 | | (h) A cemetery authority shall be responsible for the | 23 | | proper opening and closing of all graves, crypts, or niches for | 24 | | human remains in any cemetery property it owns. | 25 | | (i) A licensed cemetery authority shall keep in this State | 26 | | and use in its business such records as will enable the |
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| 1 | | Department to determine whether such licensee or trustee is | 2 | | complying with the provisions of this Act and with the rules, | 3 | | regulations, and directions made by the Department under this | 4 | | Act. The licensed cemetery authority shall keep the records in | 5 | | electronic or written format at the location identified in the | 6 | | license issued by the Department or as otherwise agreed by the | 7 | | Department in writing. The books, accounts, and records shall | 8 | | be accessible for review upon demand of the Department.
| 9 | | (j) A public cemetery shall make all cemetery services | 10 | | available during their advertised hours of operation, | 11 | | including burial services on cemetery property. A public | 12 | | cemetery may not charge any additional fees based on the time | 13 | | of providing a service, so long as the service takes place | 14 | | during the advertised hours of operation. | 15 | | (Source: P.A. 96-863, eff. 3-1-10; 97-679, eff. 2-6-12.)
| 16 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 17 | | becoming law.
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