HB1571 EnrolledLRB103 27276 LNS 53647 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. References to Act. This Act may be referred to
5as the Michael Bauer Memorial Act.
 
6    Section 5. The Cemetery Oversight Act is amended by
7changing Sections 10-23 and 20-5 as follows:
 
8    (225 ILCS 411/10-23)
9    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2027)
10    Sec. 10-23. Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.
11Licensed cemetery authorities and their licensed cemetery
12managers and customer service employees, and cemetery
13authorities maintaining a partial exemption and their cemetery
14managers and customer service employees shall:
15        (a) refrain from committing any action that may
16    violate Section 25-10 of this Act;
17        (b) be aware of applicable federal and State laws and
18    regulations, adhere to those laws and regulations, and be
19    able to explain them to families in an understandable
20    manner;
21        (c) treat all human remains with proper care and
22    dignity, honoring known religious, ethnic, and personal

 

 

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1    beliefs;
2        (d) protect all confidential information;
3        (e) carry out all aspects of service in a competent
4    and respectful manner;
5        (f) fulfill all written and verbal agreements and
6    contracts;
7        (g) provide honest, factual, and complete information
8    regarding all aspects of the services offered and
9    provided;
10        (h) not engage in advertising that is false,
11    misleading, or otherwise prohibited by law;
12        (i) not discriminate against any person because of
13    race, creed, marital status, sex, national origin, sexual
14    orientation, or color, except a religious cemetery may
15    restrict its services to those of the same religious faith
16    or creed. A cemetery authority operating any cemetery may
17    designate parts of cemeteries or burial grounds for the
18    specific use of persons whose religious code requires
19    isolation;
20        (j) to have clear and specific cemetery rules and
21    regulations, subject to other applicable law, including
22    this Act, and to apply them equally to all consumers and
23    individuals families served;
24        (k) report all violations of this Act and this Section
25    to the Department.
26(Source: P.A. 96-863, eff. 3-1-10; 97-679, eff. 2-6-12.)
 

 

 

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1    (225 ILCS 411/20-5)
2    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2027)
3    Sec. 20-5. Maintenance and records.
4    (a) A cemetery authority shall provide reasonable
5maintenance of the cemetery property and of all lots, graves,
6crypts, and columbariums in the cemetery based on the type and
7size of the cemetery, topographic limitations, and contractual
8commitments with consumers. Subject to the provisions of this
9subsection (a), reasonable maintenance includes:
10        (1) the laying of seed, sod, or other suitable ground
11    cover as soon as practical following an interment given
12    the weather conditions, climate, and season and the
13    interment's proximity to ongoing burial activity;
14        (2) the cutting of lawn throughout the cemetery at
15    reasonable intervals to prevent an overgrowth of grass and
16    weeds given the weather conditions, climate, and season;
17        (3) the trimming of shrubs to prevent excessive
18    overgrowth;
19        (4) the trimming of trees to remove dead limbs;
20        (5) maintaining, repairing, or removing, if necessary,
21    drains, water lines, roads, buildings, fences, and other
22    structures; and
23        (6) keeping the cemetery premises free of trash and
24    debris.
25    In determining whether a cemetery authority provides

 

 

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1reasonable maintenance of the cemetery property, the
2Department shall consider:
3        (1) the cemetery authority's contractual obligations
4    for care and maintenance;
5        (2) the size of the cemetery;
6        (3) the extent and use of the cemetery authority's
7    financial resources;
8        (4) the standard of maintenance of one or more
9    similarly situated cemeteries; in determining whether a
10    cemetery is similarly situated, the Department shall
11    consider the cemetery's size, location, topography, and
12    financial resources, and whether the cemetery is a
13    fraternal cemetery, a religious cemetery, a public
14    cemetery, a cemetery owned and operated by a cemetery
15    association, or a licensed cemetery.
16    Reasonable maintenance by the cemetery authority shall not
17preclude the exercise of lawful rights by the owner of an
18interment, inurnment, or entombment right, or by the
19decedent's immediate family or other heirs, in accordance with
20reasonable rules and regulations of the cemetery or other
21agreement of the cemetery authority.
22    In the case of a cemetery dedicated as a nature preserve
23under the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act, reasonable
24maintenance by the cemetery authority shall be in accordance
25with the rules and master plan governing the dedicated nature
26preserve.

 

 

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1    A cemetery authority accused of violating the reasonable
2maintenance standard set forth in this Section shall have a
3reasonable opportunity to cure the violation. The cemetery
4authority shall have 10 business days after receipt of notice
5to cure the violation. If a cemetery authority cannot cure the
6violation within 10 business days, then the cemetery authority
7may request a time extension in order to cure the violation.
8The request for an extension shall be made in writing to the
9Department and must be postmarked within 10 business days
10after receipt of the notice of the alleged violation. The
11request shall outline all reasons for the extension and an
12estimated date by which the cure will be accomplished.
13Acceptable reasons include, without limitation, delays caused
14by weather conditions, season or climate, equipment failures,
15or acquisitions of materials or supplies being addressed by
16the authority in a timely manner, and unexpected temporary
17absences of personnel. The Department may approve or deny the
18extension. If the extension is denied, then the cemetery
19authority must cure the violation within 10 business days
20after the date of receipt of the Department's extension
21denial. If the extension is granted, then the cemetery
22authority must cure the violation within the extended period
23of time. A cemetery authority that does not cure the violation
24within the appropriate period of time shall be subject to
25discipline in accordance with Article 25 of this Act.
26    (b) A cemetery authority, before commencing cemetery

 

 

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1operations or within 6 months after the effective date of this
2Act, shall cause an overall map of its cemetery property,
3delineating all lots or plots, blocks, sections, avenues,
4walks, alleys, and paths and their respective designations, to
5be filed at its on-site office, or if it does not maintain an
6on-site office, at its principal place of business. The
7cemetery authority shall update its map and index described in
8subsection (b-5) within a reasonable time after any expansion
9or alteration of the cemetery property. A cemetery manager's
10certificate acknowledging, accepting, and adopting the map
11shall also be included with the map. The Department may order
12that the cemetery authority obtain a cemetery plat and that it
13be filed at its on-site office, or if it does not maintain an
14on-site office, at its principal place of business if (1) a
15human body that should have been interred, entombed, or
16inurned at the cemetery after the effective date of this
17amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly is missing,
18displaced, or dismembered and (2) the cemetery map contains
19serious discrepancies.
20    In exercising this discretion, the Department shall
21consider whether the cemetery authority would experience an
22undue hardship as a result of obtaining the plat. The cemetery
23plat, as with all plats prepared under this Act, shall comply
24with the Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act of 1989 and
25shall delineate, describe, and set forth all lots or plots,
26blocks, sections, avenues, walks, alleys, and paths and their

 

 

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1respective designations. A cemetery manager's certificate
2acknowledging, accepting, and adopting the plat shall also be
3included with the plat.
4    (b-5) A cemetery authority shall maintain an index that
5associates the identity of deceased persons interred,
6entombed, or inurned after the effective date of this Act with
7their respective place of interment, entombment, or inurnment.
8    (c) The cemetery authority shall open the cemetery map or
9plat to public inspection. The cemetery authority shall make
10available a copy of the overall cemetery map or plat upon
11written request and shall, if practical, provide a copy of a
12segment of the cemetery plat where interment rights are
13located upon the payment of reasonable photocopy fees. Any
14unsold lots, plots, or parts thereof, in which there are not
15human remains, may be resurveyed and altered in shape or size
16and properly designated on the cemetery map or plat. However,
17sold lots, plots, or parts thereof in which there are human
18remains may not be renumbered or renamed. Nothing contained in
19this subsection, however, shall prevent the cemetery authority
20from enlarging an interment right by selling to its owner the
21excess space next to the interment right and permitting
22interments therein, provided reasonable access to the
23interment right and to adjoining interment rights is not
24thereby eliminated.
25    (d) A cemetery authority shall keep a record of every
26interment, entombment, and inurnment completed after the

 

 

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1effective date of this Act. The record shall include the
2deceased's name, age, date of burial, and the specific
3location of the interred, entombed, or inurned human remains.
4The specific location shall correspond to the map or plat
5maintained in accordance with subsection (b) of this Section.
6    (e) (Blank).
7    (f) A cemetery authority shall make publicly available for
8inspection and, upon reasonable request and the payment of a
9reasonable copying fee, provide a copy of its rules and
10regulations through continuous publication on an Internet
11website or social media page, with a reference to and notice of
12the rules and regulations for services in relation to the
13cemetery. A cemetery authority that does not operate or
14maintain a website or social media page shall provide an
15electronic or paper copy of its rules and regulations upon
16request of any person within 5 days of the person's request. A
17cemetery authority may charge a reasonable copying fee for a
18paper copy of the cemetery authority's rules and regulations.
19A cemetery authority shall make available for viewing and
20provide a copy of its current prices of interment, inurnment,
21or entombment rights, or disinterment services.
22    (g) A cemetery authority shall provide access to the
23cemetery under the cemetery authority's reasonable rules and
24regulations.
25    (h) A cemetery authority shall be responsible for the
26proper opening and closing of all graves, crypts, or niches

 

 

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1for human remains in any cemetery property it owns.
2    (i) A licensed cemetery authority shall keep in this State
3and use in its business such records as will enable the
4Department to determine whether such licensee or trustee is
5complying with the provisions of this Act and with the rules,
6regulations, and directions made by the Department under this
7Act. The licensed cemetery authority shall keep the records in
8electronic or written format at the location identified in the
9license issued by the Department or as otherwise agreed by the
10Department in writing. The books, accounts, and records shall
11be accessible for review upon demand of the Department.
12(Source: P.A. 96-863, eff. 3-1-10; 97-679, eff. 2-6-12.)
 
13    Section 15. The Disposition of Remains Act is amended by
14changing Section 50 as follows:
 
15    (755 ILCS 65/50)
16    Sec. 50. Disputes.
17    (a) Any dispute among any of the persons listed in Section
185 concerning their right to control the disposition, including
19cremation, of a decedent's remains shall be resolved by a
20court of competent jurisdiction within 30 days of the dispute
21being filed with the court. A cemetery organization or funeral
22establishment shall not be liable for refusing to accept the
23decedent's remains, or to inter or otherwise dispose of the
24decedent's remains, until it receives a court order or other

 

 

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1suitable confirmation that the dispute has been resolved or
2settled.
3    (b) Any dispute over a disinterment shall be resolved by a
4circuit court with all reasonable promptness by the court. If
5the court finds that a party to a disinterment dispute has
6acted in bad faith, the court may, in its sole discretion,
7award costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, against the
8person it finds has acted in bad faith.
9(Source: P.A. 101-381, eff. 1-1-20.)
 
10    Section 20. The Cemetery Protection Act is amended by
11changing Section 2 as follows:
 
12    (765 ILCS 835/2)  (from Ch. 21, par. 16)
13    Sec. 2. (a) The cemetery authority is hereby authorized to
14make by-laws or rules and regulations for the government
15thereof, including and to make rules regarding the driving of
16cars, motorcycles, carriages, processions, teams, and the
17speed thereof, the use of avenues, lots, walks, ponds, water
18courses, vaults, buildings, or other places within such
19cemetery, the operations and good management in such cemetery,
20the protection of visitors, the protection of employees, and
21for the maintenance of good order and quiet in such cemetery,
22so long as all such rules and regulations shall to be subject
23to the rights of interment, entombment, or inurnment right
24owners, or others, owning any interest in such cemetery; and

 

 

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1all persons found guilty of a violation of such rules shall be
2guilty of a petty offense and shall be punished by a fine of
3not less than $100, nor more than $500 for each offense. No
4judge shall be disqualified from hearing any cause that may be
5brought before him or her under the provisions of this Act, nor
6shall any person be disqualified from acting as a juror in such
7cause, by reason of any interest or ownership they or either of
8them may have in the interment, entombment, or inurnment
9rights of such cemetery.
10    (b) The rules and regulations, as referenced in subsection
11(a), shall be made publicly available through continuous
12publication on an Internet website or social media page that
13the cemetery authority maintains, operates, or uses. Each
14contract that a cemetery authority presents to a consumer
15shall contain a reference to and notice of the Internet
16website or social media page that it maintains, operates, or
17uses to make available its rules and regulations as referenced
18in subsection (a).
19    (c) If a cemetery authority does not maintain, operate, or
20use an Internet website or social media page, the cemetery
21authority must provide a consumer with either an email or
22paper copy of the rules and regulations, as referenced in
23subsection (a), at the execution of a contract or within 5
24business days of request thereof. A cemetery authority may
25charge a reasonable copying fee in exchange for a paper copy of
26the cemetery authority's rules and regulations. Each contract

 

 

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1that a cemetery authority presents to a consumer shall contain
2a reference to and notice of such rules and regulations set
3forth together with information about where the consumer can
4access or obtain a copy of the rules and regulations.
5(Source: P.A. 94-44, eff. 6-17-05.)