Senate Bill sb0356

    Florida Senate - 2002                                   SB 356

    By Senator Holzendorf





    2-100-02

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to cemeteries; amending ss.

  3         497.201, 497.253, F.S.; prescribing the premium

  4         acreage requirement for cemeteries; providing

  5         an effective date.

  6

  7  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  8

  9         Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 497.201, Florida

10  Statutes, is amended to read:

11         497.201  Cemetery companies; license; application;

12  fee.--

13         (2)  The department may require any person desiring to

14  establish a cemetery company who applies for a license to

15  provide any information reasonably necessary to make a

16  determination of the applicant's eligibility for licensure.

17  Any person desiring to establish a cemetery company shall

18  first:

19         (a)  File an application, which states the exact

20  location of the proposed cemetery, which site shall contain

21  not less than 15 30 contiguous acres; provide a financial

22  statement signed by all officers of the company which attest

23  to a net worth of at least $50,000, which net worth must be

24  continuously maintained as a condition of licensure; and pay

25  an application fee of $5,000;

26         (b)  Create a legal entity; and

27         (c)  Demonstrate to the satisfaction of the board that

28  the applicant possesses the ability, experience, financial

29  stability, and integrity to operate a cemetery.

30         Section 2.  Section 497.253, Florida Statutes, is

31  amended to read:

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    Florida Senate - 2002                                   SB 356
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  1         497.253  Minimum acreage; sale or disposition of

  2  cemetery lands.--

  3         (1)  Each licensee shall set aside a minimum of 15 30

  4  contiguous acres of land for use by the licensee as a cemetery

  5  and shall not sell, mortgage, lease, or encumber that property

  6  without prior written approval of the department.

  7         (2)  Any lands owned by a licensee and dedicated for

  8  use by it as a cemetery, which are contiguous, adjoining, or

  9  adjacent to the minimum of 15 30 contiguous acres described in

10  subsection (1), may be sold, conveyed, or disposed of by the

11  licensee, after obtaining written approval of the department

12  pursuant to subsection (3), for use by the new owner for other

13  purposes than as a cemetery. All of the human remains which

14  have been previously interred therein shall first have been

15  removed from the lands proposed to be sold, conveyed, or

16  disposed of; however, the provisions of ss. 470.0295 and

17  497.515(7) must be complied with prior to any disinterment of

18  human remains. Any and all titles, interests, or burial rights

19  which may have been sold or contracted to be sold in lands

20  which are the subject of the sale shall be conveyed to and

21  revested in the licensee prior to consummation of any such

22  sale, conveyance, or disposition.

23         (3)(a)  If the property to be sold, conveyed, or

24  disposed of under subsection (2) has been or is being used for

25  the permanent interment of human remains, the applicant for

26  approval of such sale, conveyance, or disposition shall cause

27  to be published, at least once a week for 4 consecutive weeks,

28  a notice meeting the standards of publication set forth in s.

29  125.66(4)(b)2. The notice shall describe the property in

30  question and the proposed noncemetery use and shall advise

31  substantially affected persons that they may file a written

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    Florida Senate - 2002                                   SB 356
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  1  request for a hearing pursuant to chapter 120, within 14 days

  2  after the date of last publication of the notice, with the

  3  department if they object to granting the applicant's request

  4  to sell, convey, or dispose of the subject property for

  5  noncemetery uses.

  6         (b)  If the property in question has never been used

  7  for the permanent interment of human remains, no notice or

  8  hearing is required.

  9         (c)  If the property in question has been used for the

10  permanent interment of human remains, the department shall

11  approve the application, in writing, if it finds that it would

12  not be contrary to the public interest. In determining whether

13  to approve the application, the department shall consider any

14  evidence presented concerning the following:

15         1.  The historical significance of the subject

16  property, if any.

17         2.  The archaeological significance of the subject

18  property, if any.

19         3.  The public purpose, if any, to be served by the

20  proposed use of the subject property.

21         4.  The impact of the proposed change in use of the

22  subject property upon the reasonable expectations of the

23  families of the deceased regarding whether the cemetery

24  property was to remain as a cemetery in perpetuity.

25         5.  Whether any living relatives of the deceased

26  actively oppose the relocation of their deceased's remains and

27  the conversion of the subject property to noncemetery uses.

28         6.  The elapsed time since the last interment in the

29  subject property.

30         7.  Any other factor enumerated in this chapter that

31  the department considers relevant to the public interest.

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  1         (d)  Any deed, mortgage, or other conveyance by a

  2  cemetery company or other owner pursuant to subsections (a)

  3  and (c) above must contain a disclosure in the following or

  4  substantially similar form:

  5

  6  NOTICE:  The property described herein was formerly used and

  7  dedicated as a cemetery. Conveyance of this property and its

  8  use for noncemetery purposes was authorized by the Florida

  9  Department of Banking and Finance by Order No. ...., dated

10  .....

11

12         (e)  The department shall adopt such rules as are

13  necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

14         (4)  A licensee may convey and transfer to a

15  municipality or county its real and personal property,

16  together with moneys deposited in trust funds pursuant to this

17  chapter, provided the municipality or county will accept

18  responsibility for maintenance thereof and prior written

19  approval of the department is obtained.

20         (5)  The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) relating

21  to a requirement for minimum acreage do shall not apply to any

22  cemetery company licensed by the department on or before July

23  1, 2002 July 1, 2001, which owns a total of less than 15 30

24  acres of land; however, no cemetery company shall dispose of

25  any land without the prior written consent of the department.

26         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

27

28            *****************************************

29                          SENATE SUMMARY

30    Provides that cemeteries must contain not less than 15
      contiguous acres rather than not less than 30 contiguous
31    acres.

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