AB776,33,1817 157.115 (2) (a) 1. b. No owner has purchased or sold another cemetery lot or a
18mausoleum
burial space in the cemetery.
AB776, s. 90 19Section 90. 157.115 (2) (a) 1. c. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,33,2220 157.115 (2) (a) 1. c. No other grave in that cemetery lot burial space or adjoining
21cemetery lot or
adjoining mausoleum burial space that is owned or partially owned
22by an owner has been used for the burial of human remains.
AB776, s. 91 23Section 91. 157.115 (2) (a) 1. d. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,33,2524 157.115 (2) (a) 1. d. No grave marker, monument, or other memorial has been
25installed on the cemetery lot burial space.
AB776, s. 92
1Section 92. 157.115 (2) (a) 1. e. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,34,42 157.115 (2) (a) 1. e. No grave marker, monument, or other memorial has been
3installed on any other cemetery lot burial space, in the same cemetery, that is owned
4or partially owned by an owner.
AB776, s. 93 5Section 93. 157.115 (2) (a) 1. g. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,34,96 157.115 (2) (a) 1. g. The cemetery authority has not been contacted by an owner
7or assignee or received any other notice or evidence to suggest that an owner or
8assignee intends to use the cemetery lot burial space for a future burial of human
9remains.
AB776, s. 94 10Section 94. 157.115 (2) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,34,1411 157.115 (2) (a) 2. "Assignee" means a person who has been assigned in the
12deceased owner's will or in any other legally binding written agreement, or who is
13entitled to receive under ch. 852, an ownership interest in the abandoned cemetery
14lot
space.
AB776, s. 95 15Section 95. 157.115 (2) (a) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,34,1816 157.115 (2) (a) 3. "Owner" means a person who, according to the records of the
17cemetery authority of the cemetery in which an abandoned cemetery lot space is
18located, owns or partially owns the abandoned cemetery lot space.
AB776, s. 96 19Section 96. 157.115 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,34,2220 157.115 (2) (b) No cemetery authority may resell an abandoned cemetery lot
21space unless the cemetery authority complies with the requirements in this
22subsection or the abandoned space is sold by a trustee under s. 157.117.
AB776, s. 97 23Section 97. 157.115 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,35,524 157.115 (2) (c) The cemetery authority shall mail to each owner, at each owner's
25last-known address, a notice of the cemetery authority's intent to resell the

1abandoned cemetery lot space as provided in this subsection. If an owner is buried
2in the cemetery in which the abandoned cemetery lot space is located or if the
3cemetery authority has any other evidence that reasonably supports a
4determination by the cemetery authority that the owner is deceased, no notice is
5required under this paragraph.
AB776, s. 98 6Section 98. 157.115 (2) (d) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,35,127 157.115 (2) (d) (intro.) If no notice is required under par. (c) or if, within 60 days
8after notice is mailed under par. (c), no owner or assignee contacts the cemetery
9authority to express an intent to use the abandoned cemetery lot space for a future
10burial of human remains, the cemetery authority shall publish in a newspaper of
11general circulation in the county in which the abandoned lot space is located, a class
123 notice under ch. 985 that includes all of the following:
AB776, s. 99 13Section 99. 157.115 (2) (d) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,35,1414 157.115 (2) (d) 1. The location of the abandoned lot space.
AB776, s. 100 15Section 100. 157.115 (2) (d) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,35,1816 157.115 (2) (d) 3. A statement that, unless an owner or assignee contacts the
17cemetery authority within the period specified in par. (e), the cemetery authority
18intends to resell the abandoned lot space as provided in this subsection.
AB776, s. 101 19Section 101. 157.115 (2) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,36,220 157.115 (2) (e) If within 60 days after notice is published under par. (c) no owner
21or assignee contacts the cemetery authority to express an intent to use the
22abandoned lot space for a future burial of human remains, the cemetery authority
23shall bring an action in the circuit court of the county in which the abandoned lot
24space is located for a judgment that the cemetery lot burial space is an abandoned

1lot space and an order transferring ownership of the abandoned lot space to the
2cemetery authority.
AB776, s. 102 3Section 102. 157.115 (2) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,36,124 157.115 (2) (f) If within one year after the circuit court enters a judgment and
5order under par. (e) no owner or assignee contacts the cemetery authority to express
6an intent to use the abandoned lot space for a future burial of human remains, the
7cemetery authority may resell the abandoned lot space, except as provided in par. (g).
8The payment of principal shall be deposited into the care fund. Before depositing the
9payment of principal into the care fund, the cemetery authority may retain an
10amount necessary to cover the cemetery authority's administrative and other
11expenses related to the sale, but the amount retained may not exceed 50% of the
12proceeds.
AB776, s. 103 13Section 103. 157.115 (2) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,36,1914 157.115 (2) (g) If at any time before an abandoned lot space is resold under par.
15(f) an owner or assignee contacts the cemetery authority to express an intent to use
16the abandoned lot space for a future burial of human remains, the authority may not
17resell the abandoned lot space, and ownership of the abandoned lot space shall be
18transferred to the owner or assignee. The cemetery authority shall pay all costs of
19transferring ownership under this paragraph.
AB776, s. 104 20Section 104. 157.115 (2) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,36,2421 157.115 (2) (h) Nothing in this subsection prohibits a cemetery authority from
22seeking the authority to resell more than one abandoned lot space by publishing a
23single class 3 notice under par. (d) or bringing a single action under par. (e) that
24applies to all of the abandoned lots spaces for which such authority is sought.
AB776, s. 105 25Section 105. 157.117 of the statutes is created to read:
AB776,37,2
1157.117 Trustees for certain cemeteries and mausoleums. (1)
2Definitions.
In this section:
AB776,37,93 (a) "Cemetery" does not include a cemetery the ownership, control, or
4management of which has been assumed by a municipality. For purposes of this
5paragraph, a municipality is considered to have assumed the ownership, control, or
6management of a cemetery only if the municipality has adopted a resolution or
7enacted an ordinance that has the effect of assuming ownership, control, or
8management of the cemetery. "Cemetery" also does not include a cemetery owned
9and operated by a religious cemetery authority.
AB776,37,1010 (b) "Local governmental unit" means a municipality or county.
AB776,37,1211 (c) "Mausoleum" does not include a mausoleum owned and operated by a
12religious cemetery authority.
AB776,37,1313 (d) "Municipality" means a city, village, or town.
AB776,37,1414 (e) "Trustee" means a trustee appointed under sub. (2) (b).
AB776,37,20 15(2) Appointment of trustee. (a) In response to a petition from the board or
16upon his or her own motion, the attorney general may petition the circuit court for
17the county in which a cemetery or mausoleum is located for the appointment of a
18trustee for the cemetery or mausoleum. If the attorney general petitions the court
19on his or her own motion, the attorney general shall serve a copy of the petition on
20the board and the municipality and county within which the cemetery is located.
AB776,38,221 (b) A court shall schedule a hearing on a petition filed under par. (a) within 90
22days after the petition is filed with the court. If the court finds after a hearing that
23a cemetery or mausoleum is neglected, abandoned, in disuse, improperly
24maintained, or financially unsound, the court shall appoint as a trustee for the
25cemetery or mausoleum a capable and competent person to serve as trustee of the

1cemetery or mausoleum under this section, except that the court may not appoint the
2department or board as a trustee.
AB776,38,103 (c) An owner of a cemetery or mausoleum may petition the court in a proceeding
4under par. (b) for an order surrendering title to the cemetery or mausoleum to a new
5owner, other than the state, if the owner believes itself to be incapable of continuing
6to operate the cemetery or mausoleum. The court may grant the petition if it finds
7that the cemetery or mausoleum is neglected, abandoned, in disuse, improperly
8maintained, or financially unsound. If the court grants the petition, it shall transfer
9title to the cemetery or mausoleum to the new owner and appoint a trustee under par.
10(b).
AB776,38,1311 (d) All disputes relating to the appointment of a trustee or the actions of a
12trustee appointed under this section shall be resolved by the court that appointed the
13trustee.
AB776,38,14 14(3) Trustee powers and duties. (a) A trustee shall do each of the following:
AB776,38,1615 1. Be responsible for the management, maintenance, and operation of each
16cemetery or mausoleum under trusteeship.
AB776,38,1817 2. Comply with reporting requirements of s. 157.62 (2). A trustee shall provide
18the court with a copy of all reports filed under this subdivision.
AB776,38,2019 3. Provide the court with any additional information, records, or reports that
20the court may direct.
AB776,38,2221 (b) A trustee may petition the court that appointed the trustee for any of the
22following:
AB776,38,2423 1. Termination of the trusteeship and reversion of ownership and operation of
24a cemetery or mausoleum to the previous owner.
AB776,39,2
12. Termination of the trusteeship and transfer of ownership and operation of
2a cemetery or mausoleum to a new owner other than the state.
AB776,39,43 3. Removal and reinternment of human remains in accordance with the
4requirements of this subchapter.
AB776,39,65 4. Termination of the trusteeship and closure of a cemetery or mausoleum after
6removal and reinternment of human remains under subd. 3.
AB776,39,77 (c) A trustee may do any of the following:
AB776,39,108 1. Seek a new owner or operator of a cemetery or mausoleum, other than the
9state, including actively marketing the cemetery or mausoleum and taking any other
10action necessary or useful to effect the sale of the cemetery or mausoleum.
AB776,39,1111 2. Assess burial spaces for cleaning, care, or improvement under s. 157.11 (7).
AB776,39,1312 3. Expend funds disbursed from the cemetery management insurance fund for
13the purpose of exercising its powers or carrying out its duties under this section.
AB776,39,1614 4. Employ professional, legal, and technical experts, and any such other
15managers, management personnel, agents, and employees as may be required, to
16exercise the trustee's powers or carry out the trustee's duties under this section.
AB776,39,1817 5. Take any other action necessary or useful to the management or trusteeship
18of a cemetery or mausoleum.
AB776,39,22 19(4) Department and board powers and duties. (a) From the appropriation
20under s. 20.165 (1) (q), the board shall make disbursements to trustees. The
21department shall promulgate rules establishing requirements and procedures for
22making the disbursements.
AB776,39,2423 (b) The department may promulgate rules to carry out the purposes of this
24section.
AB776,40,2
1(5) Termination of trusteeship. A court that appointed a trustee shall
2terminate the trusteeship if any of the following applies:
AB776,40,63 (a) The owner or operator of a cemetery or mausoleum demonstrates to the
4satisfaction of the court that the conditions that necessitated the trusteeship have
5been remedied and that it is competent and capable of managing the cemetery or
6mausoleum.
AB776,40,107 (b) The court finds that a new operator is competent and capable of managing
8the cemetery or mausoleum. Upon making a finding under this paragraph, the court
9shall approve the transfer of the management of the cemetery or mausoleum to the
10new operator.
AB776,40,1311 (c) The court approves the sale or transfer of a cemetery or mausoleum to a new
12owner, other than the state, that the court finds is capable and competent to manage
13the cemetery or mausoleum on a financially sound basis.
AB776,40,1514 (d) The court approves the closure of a cemetery or mausoleum after all human
15remains have been removed and reinterred.
AB776, s. 106 16Section 106. 157.12 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,41,2517 157.12 (2) (b) The department shall supervise construction of any public
18mausoleum and conversion of any building to a public mausoleum. Within 30 days
19after receiving written notice from the cemetery authority that the construction or
20conversion has been completed, the department shall inspect the public mausoleum
21and provide the cemetery authority with a written certification as to whether the
22construction or conversion complies with approved plans. If the department
23determines that, except for certain minor defects, the construction or conversion
24complies with the approved plans, the department may provide the cemetery
25authority with a written temporary certification of compliance that is contingent on

1the correction of those minor defects. A temporary certification is valid for a period
2designated by the department, not to exceed 6 months. No person may sell a
3mausoleum space, except an undeveloped space that is sold in accordance with s. ss.
4440.92 and 440.922, or bury human remains in a public mausoleum unless a care
5fund has been established for the mausoleum under sub. (3) and the department has
6provided the cemetery authority with a certification or a temporary certification
7under this paragraph. If a cemetery authority that has been provided with a
8temporary certification notifies the department in writing before the date on which
9the temporary certification expires that the defects in the construction or conversion
10of the public mausoleum have been corrected, the department shall, within 30 days
11after receiving the notice, reinspect the public mausoleum and provide the cemetery
12authority with a written certification as to whether the construction or conversion
13complies with the approved plans. If a cemetery authority that has been provided
14with a temporary certification does not receive a written certification from the
15department before the date on which the temporary certification expires that the
16construction or conversion complies with the approved plans, then, beginning on the
17date on which the certification expires, no person may sell a mausoleum space, except
18an undeveloped space that is sold in accordance with s. ss. 440.92 and 440.922, or
19bury human remains in the public mausoleum until the defects are corrected and the
20department subsequently inspects the public mausoleum and provides the cemetery
21authority with a certification that the construction or conversion complies with the
22approved plans. The department may charge a reasonable fee to the cemetery
23authority for each inspection and certification provided under this paragraph if the
24inspection and certification are provided within the applicable 30-day period
25prescribed under this paragraph.
AB776, s. 107
1Section 107. 157.12 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,42,172 157.12 (3) (b) The cemetery's treasurer is the custodian of the fund. The
3treasurer shall file with the cemetery, at the cemetery's expense, a bond with sureties
4approved by the department of regulation and licensing to indemnify the cemetery
5against loss if the treasurer fails to maintain the fund. The amount of the bond shall
6be no less than the total of all payments of principal required under this section as
7stated in the most recent annual report filed by the cemetery authority under s.
8157.62.
No indemnity is required if the terms of sale of a mausoleum space require
9the purchaser to pay directly to a trust company in the state, designated by the
10cemetery as custodian of the fund. The fund shall be invested as provided in s.
11157.19, and the manner in which the care funds are invested may not permit the
12withdrawal of the fund's principal amount, but may permit the withdrawal of
13interest, dividends, or capital gains earned during the most recently completed
14calendar year
. Income from investment may be used only to maintain the
15mausoleum, except that if the amount of income exceeds the amount necessary to
16properly maintain the mausoleum the excess amount may be used to maintain any
17portion of the cemetery.
AB776, s. 108 18Section 108. 157.125 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,42,20 19157.125 (title) Trustees for the care of cemeteries or cemetery lots
20burial spaces.
AB776, s. 109 21Section 109. 157.125 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,43,2 22157.125 (2) If the burial place or grave is located in a cemetery owned and
23operated by a religious society organized under ch. 187 cemetery authority, the court
24shall name the religious society cemetery authority as the trustee unless the

1religious society cemetery authority petitions the court to name the county treasurer
2as the trustee.
AB776, s. 110 3Section 110. 157.128 (2) (a), (b) and (c) of the statutes are amended to read:
AB776,43,54 157.128 (2) (a) The cemetery is owned by a religious association cemetery
5authority
.
AB776,43,76 (b) The religious association cemetery authority is responsible for all liabilities
7of the cemetery.
AB776,43,98 (c) The total acreage of all other cemeteries owned by the religious association
9cemetery authority exceeds 20 acres.
AB776, s. 111 10Section 111. 157.128 (3) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,43,1311 157.128 (3) (b) A cemetery consisting of less than 20 contiguous acres may be
12dedicated by a cemetery authority that is not required to be registered licensed under
13s. 440.91 (1) and that is not organized or conducted for pecuniary profit.
AB776, s. 112 14Section 112. 157.19 (2) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,44,215 157.19 (2) (c) Upon request of the financial institution, the preneed seller, as
16defined in s. 440.90 (8), shall furnish the financial institution with a copy of the
17preneed sales contract. Except as provided in s. 440.92 (2) (c), (f) and (j) and (5) ss.
18440.922 (3), (5) (c), and (8), and 440.924
, preneed trust funds, and any interest or
19dividends that have accumulated on the preneed trust funds, may not be withdrawn
20until all obligations under the preneed sales contract have been fulfilled. The
21financial institution is not responsible for the fulfillment of any part of the preneed
22sales contract, except that the financial institution shall release the preneed trust
23funds, and any interest or dividends that have accumulated on the preneed trust
24funds, as provided by the terms of the preneed sales contract. The trustee of a
25preneed trust fund may not be changed without the department's written approval.

1If the trustee or account number of a preneed trust fund is changed, the cemetery
2authority shall notify the department in writing within 30 days after the change.
AB776, s. 113 3Section 113. 157.19 (4m) of the statutes is created to read:
AB776,44,134 157.19 (4m) The department shall request proposals from financial
5institutions located in this state for the purpose of selecting a financial institution
6that cemetery authorities and preneed sellers may use as the trustee for care funds
7under s. 157.11 (9g) and 157.12 (3) and preneed trust funds under s. 440.92. Except
8as provided in sub. (5) (c), a cemetery authority or preneed seller is not required to
9use the financial institution selected by the department. The financial institution
10selected under this subsection shall submit an annual report to the department, in
11a form and manner satisfactory to the department, that provides an accounting of
12all care funds and preneed trust funds for which the financial institution is the
13trustee.
AB776, s. 114 14Section 114. 157.19 (5) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,44,2115 157.19 (5) (a) This section does not apply to care funds under s. 157.11 (9g) that
16are deposited with a city or county as provided under s. 157.11 (9g) (a), to care funds
17of a cemetery for which a certification under s. 157.63 is effective, or to preneed trust
18funds of a cemetery for which a certification under s. 440.92 (9) is effective, or to care
19funds or preneed trust funds of a cemetery authority that is not required to be
20registered under s. 440.91 (1) and that is not organized or conducted for pecuniary
21profit
.
AB776, s. 115 22Section 115. 157.19 (5) (c) of the statutes is created to read:
AB776,45,323 157.19 (5) (c) If the department determines that a cemetery authority or
24preneed seller has violated any requirement under this subchapter or subch. VIII of
25ch. 440 relating to care funds under s. 157.11 (9g) and 157.12 (3) or preneed trust

1funds under s. 440.92, the department may require the cemetery authority or
2preneed seller to use the financial institution selected under sub. (4m) as the trustee
3for the care funds or preneed trust funds.
AB776, s. 116 4Section 116. 157.60 of the statutes is amended to read:
AB776,45,13 5157.60 Public easement in cemetery. Any person who shall open or make
6any highway, town way, or private way or shall construct any railroad, turnpike, or
7canal or anything in the nature of a public easement over, through, in, or upon such
8part of any enclosure, being the property of any town, city, village , or religious society
9cemetery authority or of private proprietors, as may be used for the burial of the dead,
10unless an authority for that purpose shall be specially granted by law or unless the
11consent of such town, city, village, religious society cemetery authority, or private
12proprietors, respectively, shall be first obtained, shall be punished by imprisonment
13in the county jail not more than one year or by fine not exceeding $300.
AB776, s. 117 14Section 117. 157.61 of the statutes is created to read:
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