Provides that any cemetery corporation is permitted to retire any certificates or other instruments of indebtedness related to its operations to the benefit of such cemetery's permanent maintenance fund upon notice to the certificate owners.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9447A
SPONSOR: Hyndman TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to
retiring cemetery indebtedness
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would permit a state regulated cemetery to retire any certif-
icates or other instruments of indebtedness it has issued related to its
operations, to the benefit of the cemetery's permanent maintenance fund,
to support the long term operations of the non-profit entities.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of this bill adds a new Section 1511-g to the Not-for-Profit
Corporation Law to provide the process for notification and retirement
of cemetery indebtedness.
The legislation provides at least sixty days' notice to any last known
certificate holder that that has not claimed any proceeds for a minimum
Of three years before the certificates would be retired and any proceeds
would go to the permanent maintenance fund of the cemetery.
The bill provides for records of the transaction and the payment to any
claimant that might come forward at a later date to be reimbursed for
the value of the certificates or other instrument at the time of its
retirement.
Section 2 of the bill states that this act shall take effect immediate-
ly.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill would address cases where cemetery issued debt remains
outstanding due to the significant age of the financial instruments.
Regulated cemeteries in New York are quasi-government entities that must
continue to operate in perpetuity. This bill would provide a mechanism
and notification process for a cemetery to retire their in-house debt
while also sending any proceeds from the debt retirement to the ceme-
tery's restricted permanent maintenance fund. This fund is devoted to
the long-term preservation and maintenance of the cemetery for the bene-
fit of the lot owners and community the cemetery serves.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9447--A
IN ASSEMBLY
March 14, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to
retiring cemetery indebtedness
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The not-for-profit corporation law is amended by adding a
2 new section 1511-a to read as follows:
3 § 1511-a. Retirement of cemetery indebtedness.
4 Following a mailing from the cemetery corporation providing at least
5 sixty days notice to the last known owners at their addresses on file
6 with the cemetery corporation, any certificates or other instruments of
7 indebtedness issued under this article which shall have had dividends or
8 proceeds remaining unclaimed for a period of three years shall revert
9 such certificates or other instruments of indebtedness and any dividends
10 or proceeds to the cemetery corporation which shall be deposited into
11 the corporation's permanent maintenance fund for the preservation,
12 improvement and maintenance of the cemetery. The cemetery shall maintain
13 a record of these transfers to such fund and at the time of such trans-
14 fer, any voting rights for such certificates or instruments shall be
15 annulled. Subsequent to any deposits to a cemetery's fund, any claimant
16 to such certificates or instruments of indebtedness shall be entitled
17 only to the value of the instrument or certificate at the time of trans-
18 fer.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10269-02-4
