STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1605--A 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 15, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, JONES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the not-for-profit corporation law and the town law, in relation to the abandonment of cemeteries The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The not-for-profit corporation law is amended by adding a 2 new section 1506-d to read as follows: 3 § 1506-d. Cemetery abandonment notification and assistance. 4 Any cemetery corporation that shall have insufficient general operat- 5 ing funds with which to continue operations or that does not have a 6 board sufficient to carry on operations of the cemetery, shall provide 7 notice to the state cemetery board and the governing board of the muni- 8 cipality or municipalities in which the cemetery is located at least one 9 hundred and eighty days in advance of the date of expected abandonment 10 to a municipality. Upon notification by the cemetery corporation or as 11 a result of a review of the financial and corporate status of a cemetery 12 corporation, the state cemetery board shall notify the governing board 13 of the municipality where such cemetery corporation is located at least 14 one hundred and twenty days in advance of the date of expected abandon- 15 ment. Prior to abandonment, the state cemetery board shall work with the 16 cemetery corporation and the governing board or boards of the munici- 17 pality or municipalities in which the cemetery corporation is located to 18 assist in reconstituting the board of the cemetery corporation; or to 19 arrange to provide the cemetery corporation with temporary assistance in 20 operating the cemetery; or to locate another cemetery corporation to 21 take over the cemetery corporation seeking abandonment or any other 22 lawful measure that might prevent abandonment. In the event the ceme- 23 tery corporation board is not reconstituted or if the condition of such EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07019-02-9A. 1605--A 2 1 abandoned cemetery prevents effective municipal takeover within ninety 2 days of abandonment, the state cemetery board shall, with the consent of 3 the governing board of the municipality, request the attorney general 4 seek court appointment of a temporary receiver to manage cemetery oper- 5 ations until such time that the cemetery is in a condition to be main- 6 tained or operated by the municipality. Notwithstanding any other 7 provision of law, such funds and expense for the temporary receiver and 8 repairs of the cemetery shall be a state expense allocated and approved 9 as outlined in paragraph (h) of section fifteen hundred seven of this 10 chapter. 11 § 2. Subparagraph 4 of paragraph (h) of section 1507 of the not-for- 12 profit corporation law, as amended by chapter 363 of the laws of 2009, 13 is amended to read as follows: 14 (4) Authorization for payments by the fund for maintenance of an aban- 15 doned cemetery shall be made by the secretary of state only upon 16 approval by the cemetery board of an application by a municipality or 17 other solvent not-for-profit cemetery corporation for fair and reason- 18 able expenses required to be made by the municipality or other solvent 19 not-for-profit cemetery corporation for maintenance of an abandoned 20 cemetery; provided, however, that the cemetery board shall not approve 21 any such application unless the municipality or other solvent not-for- 22 profit cemetery corporation acknowledges that the responsibility for 23 restoration and future care, preservation, and maintenance of such ceme- 24 tery has been assumed by the municipality or other solvent not-for-pro- 25 fit cemetery corporation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 26 municipality or other solvent not-for-profit cemetery corporation having 27 assumed management or responsibility for an abandoned cemetery under the 28 provisions of this section after January first, two thousand fifteen 29 shall be permitted to file an additional application for funds under 30 this section, twenty-five years following the date of the initial appli- 31 cation for the repair and maintenance of any structures on the cemetery 32 grounds only where such structures were constructed preceding the date 33 of abandonment of the cemetery corporation. For the purposes of this 34 paragraph, such cemetery shall always be deemed an abandoned cemetery. 35 § 3. Section 291 of the town law is amended by adding a new subdivi- 36 sion 5 to read as follows: 37 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no town shall be liable 38 for any damages or injuries sustained by any person or property associ- 39 ated with a cemetery abandoned to the town for any cause of action that 40 occurred prior to the takeover of said cemetery by the town and in addi- 41 tion, no cause of action for such damages shall be maintained and adju- 42 dicated by any court in this state which would otherwise have jurisdic- 43 tion to adjudicate such claim. 44 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.