Title: Cemeteries

Summary: Exempts certain religious-institution-owned cemeteries from provisions of Florida Funeral, Cemetery, & Consumer Services Act relating to cemeteries; deletes obsolete provisions; conforms provision to changes made by act.

Full Text:
An act relating to cemeteries; amending s. 497.260, F.S.; exempting certain religious-institution-owned cemeteries from provisions of the Florida Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services Act relating to cemeteries;amending s. 497.452, F.S.; deleting obsolete provisions; conforming a provision to changes made by the act; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Paragraph (j) is added to subsection (1) of section 497.260, Florida Statutes, to read: 497.260 Cemeteries; exemption; investigation and mediation.-(1) The provisions of this chapter relating to cemeteries and all rules adopted pursuant ther eto shall apply to all cemeteries except for: (j) A religious-institution-owned cemetery of acres or less, including all associated mausoleums and columbaria, if the religious institution: 1. Limits burial rights in the cemetery to members of the religious institution and their families. 2. Maintains escrowed funds sufficient to cover maintenance costs and preneed agreements. Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 497.452, Florida HB 2014 Statutes, is amended to read: 497.452 Preneed license required.-(4) The provisions of This section does do not apply to religious-institution-owned cemeteries exempt under s. 497.260(1)(d) or (j), in counties with a population of at least 960,000 persons on July 1, 1996, with respect to the sale to the religious ins titution's members and their families of interment rights, mausoleums, crypts, cremation niches, cremation interment containers, vaults, liners, urns, memorials, vases, foundations, memorial bases, floral arrangements, monuments, markers, engraving, and th eopening and closing of interment rights, mausoleums, crypts, cremation niches, and cremation interment containers, if such cemeteries have engaged in the sale of preneed contracts prior to October 1, 1993, and maintain a positive net worth at the end of each fiscal year of the cemetery. Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.