Existing law, the Cemetery Act, provides for the licensing and regulation of private cemeteries by the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. Existing law requires all cemeteries for which a certificate of authority is required to be supervised by a manager that has passed a written examination, and prohibits a person from engaging in the business of, acting as, or advertising as, a cemetery or crematory manager without a license from the bureau.

This bill would, notwithstanding any other provision of law, authorize a court of competent jurisdiction, based upon the court’s finding that a licensed cemetery manager has ceased to perform his or her duties due to a lapse, suspension, surrender, abandonment, or revocation of his or her license, to appoint a temporary manager to manage the property of, and certain services provided by, the cemetery, as provided, for a limited term, as determined by the court, or until a new licensed manager is hired, at which time the bill would require the court to terminate the temporary manager. The bill would permit the court to authorize the payment of reasonable compensation for the temporary manager’s services, to be paid by the trustees from available income from the cemetery’s endowment care fund, and, if appropriate, available income from the cemetery’s special care funds, as provided.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.