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Rural cemeteries may fall under new state law

A new state law will regulate not only large cemeteries, but also some small rural ones overseen by volunteers.
Kay Shipman 
Published: Sep 3, 2010
A new state law will regulate not only large cemeteries, but also small rural ones overseen by volunteers –- if the cemetery has money of any amount in a car fund, according to the Illinois Cemetery and Funeral Home Association (ICFHA).

Gov. Pat Quinn signed the Cemetery Oversight Act was signed into law in January. The law sets up new licensing and insurance requirements and fees; however, the implementation rules, including those that would establish licensing procedures and fee amounts, have not been adopted yet.

The law stipulates which cemeteries are exempted entirely or partially from the regulations. But any cemetery with a care fund must comply with all the rules and that situation is catching many rural cemeteries, Vickie Hand of ICFHA told FarmWeek last week.

“If they (cemeteries) hold a care fund of any size, they’re regulated, and that’s scary,” Hand said. “There are a lot of (cemetery) people who think they’re exempted ... We’ve pushed to explain all cemeteries are not the same.”

A chart outlining the law’s provisions and full and partial exemptions is posted on FarmWeekNow.com and has been sent to county Farm Bureau offices. The new provisions include licensing of cemetery authorities and managers, establishment of an oversight database, mandatory reports, and required maintenance and records.

Anyone who has a supervisory role at a regulated cemetery or “significantly interacts” with consumers will have to be licensed by the state, according to ICFHA.

The law exempts cemeteries that are defined as family burial grounds; inactive cemeteries –- ones with no care funds and no burials in the last 10 years; and small cemeteries -- less than two acres in size and without care funds.

“Right now the law is in effect,” Hand noted. But until the legislative Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) approves the rules, cemetery authorities won’t know exactly what they will be expected to do or how much they will have to pay in fees, Hand added.

She encouraged cemetery authorities to consider joining ICFHA, which informs members about new rules and any regulatory changes. The website is www.icfha.org and telephone number is 866-758-7731.


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What can we small associations do to stop the State from making it impossible to operate? With nothing but volunteers, we try to raise funds keep our small cemeteries in mowed and in good shape. Maybe we should cash in our cd's, dissolve our assocaitions and go underground. The state has no business regulating us the same as the big cemeteries. Our legislature is the most incompetent I have ever seen.
Posted by Dan-O on September 13 at 11:40 AM
Someone Please Explain to me why we have to have so many regulations. This is insane. Just pile on the fees give me a break. The state is broke before long they will regulate how much milk, and bread I can buy a month. Someone please tell the legislature that they need to pull their collective heads out of their collective asses and stop all these regulations.
Posted by Dan-O on September 4 at 6:36 PM
 
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