What's happening
This bill allows two adjacent cemetery corporations in Suffolk County to merge if their combined land does not exceed 325 acres.
Why it matters
Facilitates the consolidation of adjacent or neighboring cemeteries in Suffolk County. , potentially making it easier for cemetery corporations to maintain financial stability, share resources, or manage operations more efficiently.
Overrides existing acreage and local consent restrictions. for mergers between two public cemetery corporations in Suffolk County, as long as the combined land does not exceed 325 acres—this could be significant in a region with high land use regulation.
May help preserve burial space and ensure continued community access to cemetery services. by allowing struggling or landlocked cemetery corporations to join forces rather than risk closure or falling into disrepair.
Could set a policy precedent for future cemetery mergers in other counties or for further changes to cemetery management laws. , particularly in densely populated or regulated areas.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Allow Cemetery Mergers in Suffolk
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 8
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Signed chap.553
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.153
- Substituted for A6739
- Referred to consumer affairs and protection
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 61–0
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.368
Show 1 earlier action
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Allow Cemetery Mergers Suffolk County
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Kimberly Jean-Pierre
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3952
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 21, 2019
Introduced by Sen. BROOKS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to the merger of certain cemetery corporations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (c) of section 1506 of the not-for-profit corporation law, as added by chapter 871 of 1977, is amended and a new paragraph (n) is added to read as follows:
(c) Cemeteries in Kings, Queens, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam and Erie counties. A cemetery corporation shall not take by deed, devise or otherwise any land in the counties of Kings, Queens, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam or Erie for cemetery purposes, or set apart any ground therefor in any of such counties, unless the consent of the board of supervisors or legislative body thereof, or of the city council of the city of New York, in respect to Kings or Queens county, be first obtained except as provided in paragraph (n) of this section. Such consent may be granted upon such conditions and under such regulations and restrictions as the public health and welfare may require. Notice of application for such consent shall be published, once a week for six weeks, in the newspapers designated to publish the session laws and in such other newspapers published in the county as such board or body may direct, stating the time when the application will be made, a brief description of the lands proposed to be acquired, their location and the area thereof. Any person interested therein may be heard on such presentation. If such consent is granted the corporation may take and hold the lands designated therein. The consent shall not authorize any one corporation to take or hold more than two hundred and fifty acres of land except as provided in paragraph (n) of this section. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall prevent any reli-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09854-01-9
S. 3952 2
gious corporation in existence on April fifteenth, eighteen hundred fifty-four, in any of said counties from using as heretofore any burial ground then belonging to it within such county. Such board or body, from time to time, may make such regulation as to burials in any cemetery in the county as the public health may require.
(n) The provisions of this section shall not operate to prevent any two cemeteries located in Suffolk county with contiguous or adjacent land dedicated for cemetery purposes and previously operating as public cemetery corporations, from effectuating a merger of such cemeteries where their total acreage does not exceed three hundred twenty-five acres.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to the merger of certain cemetery corporations
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to merge the Wellwood Cemetery Association and the Beth Moses Cemetery Corporation located at 1400 and 1500 Well- wood Avenue, respectively, in West Babylon.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. amends section 1506 of the not-for-profit corporation law by adding a new paragraph n, which allows for the merger of two adjacent cemeteries in Suffolk County so long as their combined acreage does not exceed three hundred twenty-five.
Section 2. is the enacting clause.
Justification
In fall of 2018, the New York State Cemetery Board advised two ceme- teries located on adjoining parcels and sharing management resources and administration that they were needed to merge their corporate entities and function as one regulated cemetery corporation. However, current state law does not allow the merger of cemeteries of more than 250 acres of land. The merged, contiguous and developed cemetery land in this case would exceed that threshold. In order to comply with direction from state regulators and for this corporate merger to advance, this thresh- old would need to be increased to 325 acres. This authorization would allow the merger of the two corporate entities but would not increase the size of the cemetery holdings.
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.