Chapter 5 - Interments

California Health and Safety Code — §§ 9060-9069

Sections (14)

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 57, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2004.

(a)A district shall limit interment in a cemetery owned by the district to interment in the ground, in columbariums, and in mausoleums, as provided in this part.

(b)A district shall limit interments to:

(1)Persons who are residents of the district.

(2)Persons who are former residents of the district and who acquired interment rights while they were residents of the district.

(3)Persons who pay property taxes on property located in the district.

(4)Persons who formerly paid property taxes on property located in the district and who acquired interment rights while they paid those property taxes.

(5)Eligible nonresidents of the district, as provided in this chapter.

(6)Persons who are family members of any person described in this subdivision.

§ 9061

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 57, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2004.

(a)A district may inter a person who is not a resident of the district or a person who does not pay property taxes on property located in the district in a cemetery owned by the district if all of the following apply:

(1)The district has an endowment care fund that requires at least the minimum payment set pursuant to Section 9065.

(2)The district requires the payment of a nonresident fee set pursuant to Section 9068. A board of trustees may adopt a written policy that permits waiving the payment of the nonresident fee for a nonresident who had purchased an interment right while a resident or a taxpayer.

(3)The person meets the conditions listed in one or more of subdivisions (b) through (e).

(b)A person is an eligible nonresident pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 9060 if the person is a family member of a person who is already interred in a cemetery owned by the district or is a family member of a person who has acquired interment rights in a cemetery owned by a district.

(c)A person is an eligible nonresident pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 9060 if all of the following apply:

(1)The person was a resident of the district or paid property taxes on property located in the district for continuous period of at least five years, a portion of which time period shall have occurred within the 10 years immediately before the person’s death.

(2)The district receives a written request for the interment of the person from a person who is a resident of the district or who pays property taxes on property located within the district, and the person submitting the written request is not a trustee, officer, or employee of the district and is not a funeral director or an employee of a funeral director.

(3)The board of trustees determines that the cemetery has adequate space for the foreseeable future.

(d)A person is an eligible nonresident pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 9060 if all of the following apply:

(1)The person was a resident of this state at the time of death.

(2)There is no private cemetery within a straight-line radius of 15 miles of the person’s residence.

(3)There is no private cemetery nearer to the person’s residence than the nearest cemetery owned by the district.

(4)The distances shall be measured in a straight line from the person’s residence to the nearest private cemetery and the nearest cemetery owned by the district.

(e)A person is an eligible nonresident pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 9060 if all of the following apply:

(1)The person died while either:

(A)Serving in the Armed Forces or the active militia, or

(B)In the line of duty as a peace officer or firefighter.

(2)The board of trustees determines that the cemetery has adequate space for the foreseeable future.

§ 9062

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 57, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2004.

Notwithstanding Section 9060, the board of trustees may contract with any county in which the district is located to inter persons for whose interment the county is responsible pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 27460) of Division 2 of Title 3 of the Government Code or Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 7100) of Part 1 of Division 7 of this code, if all of the following apply:

(a)The board of trustees determines that the cemetery has adequate space for the foreseeable future.

(b)The district has an endowment care fund that requires at least the minimum payment set pursuant to Section 9065.

(c)The contract requires the county to pay the costs of the interment, including a payment to the district’s endowment care fund.

§ 9063

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 57, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2004.

Notwithstanding Section 9060, the Oroville Cemetery District may use its cemetery on Feather River Boulevard, north of Oro Dam Boulevard for up to a total of 100 interments, for interment in the ground of any person who is not a resident of the district if all of the following apply:

(a)The board of trustees determines that the cemetery has adequate space for the foreseeable future.

(b)The district has an endowment care fund that requires at least the minimum payment set pursuant to Section 9065.

(c)The district requires the payment of a nonresident fee set pursuant to Section 9068.

§ 9063.3

Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 242, Sec. 1. (AB 1658) Effective January 1, 2017.

Notwithstanding Sections 9060 and 9061, the Happy Homestead Cemetery District located in the City of South Lake Tahoe in the County of El Dorado may inter residents of the Nevada communities of Glenbrook, Cave Rock, Skyland, Zephyr Cove, Round Hill, Elk Point, Kingsbury, and Stateline in the cemeteries in the district if all of the following apply:

(a)The Happy Homestead Cemetery District Board of Trustees determines that the district’s cemeteries have adequate space for the foreseeable future.

(b)The district has an endowment care fund that requires a contribution for every interment of at least the minimum amount set pursuant to Sections 8738, 9065, and

9068.

(c)The district requires the payment of a nonresident fee set pursuant to Section 9068.

§ 9063.5

Added by Stats. 2010, Ch. 40, Sec. 1. (AB 1969) Effective January 1, 2011.

Notwithstanding Section 9060, the Elsinore Valley Cemetery District may use the portion of its cemetery formerly known as Home of Peace for up to a total of 536 interments, for interment in the ground of any person who meets the criteria for burial in that area but is not a resident of the district if all of the following apply:

(a)The board of trustees determines that the cemetery has adequate space for the foreseeable future.

(b)The district has an endowment

care fund that requires at least the minimum payment set pursuant to Section 9065.

(c)The district requires the payment of a nonresident fee set pursuant to Section 9068.

§ 9063.7

Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 111, Sec. 1. (AB 966) Effective January 1, 2012.

Notwithstanding Section 9060, the Davis Cemetery District may use its cemetery at 820 Pole Line Road, Davis, for up to a total of 500 interments, for interment in the ground of any person who is not a resident or a property taxpayer of the district if all of the following apply:

(a)The board of trustees determines that the cemetery has adequate space for the foreseeable future.

(b)The district has an endowment care fund that requires at least the minimum payment set pursuant to Section 9065.

(c)The district requires the payment of a nonresident fee set pursuant to Section 9068.

§ 9063.9

Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 276, Sec. 1. (SB 1291) Effective January 1, 2015.

Notwithstanding Sections 9060 and 9061, the Cottonwood Cemetery District in Shasta County, the Anderson Cemetery District in Shasta County, the Halcumb Cemetery District in Shasta County, the Kern River Valley Cemetery District in Kern County, and the Silveyville Cemetery District in Solano County may use their cemeteries for up to a total of 400 interments each, not to exceed 40 interments each per calendar year, for interment in the ground or a columbarium of any person who is not a resident or a property taxpayer of any cemetery district, and who does not qualify for that interment pursuant to Section 9061, if all of the following apply:

(a)The board of trustees determines that the district’s cemetery has adequate space for the foreseeable

future.

(b)The district has an endowment care fund that requires a contribution for every interment of at least the minimum amount set pursuant to Sections 8738 and 9065.

(c)The district requires the payment of a nonresident fee set pursuant to Section 9068.

§ 9064

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 57, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2004.

(a)The board of trustees shall cause to be prepared and maintained accurate and current records of:

(1)The cemeteries owned by the district, showing the location of the sites where persons have acquired interment rights, including the names and addresses of the persons who have acquired these interment rights, and the location of plots where interment rights are available for acquisition.

(2)All remains interred in cemeteries owned by the district, including the name of each person, his or her age at the time of death, place of death, date of interment, the interment plot, and the name and address of the funeral director.

(b)A district may keep the records required by this section in their original form or by any other method that can produce an accurate reproduction of the original record.

§ 9065

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 57, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2004.

(a)The board of trustees shall create an endowment care fund.

(b)The board of trustees shall require a payment into the endowment care fund for each interment right sold. The amount of the payment shall be not less than the minimum amounts set by Section 8738.

(c)The board of trustees may require a payment into the endowment care fund for each interment where no payment has previously been made. The amount of the payment shall be not less than the minimum amounts set by Section 8738.

(d)The board of trustees may pay into the endowment care fund any money from the district’s general fund and from any other sources which is necessary or expedient to provide for the endowment care of the cemeteries owned by the district.

(e)The board of trustees shall not spend the principal of the endowment care fund.

(f)The board of trustees shall cause the income from the endowment care fund to be deposited in an endowment income fund and spent solely for the care of the cemeteries owned by the district.

§ 9066

Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 332, Sec. 75.4. (SB 113) Effective January 1, 2010.

The board of trustees shall cause the principal of the endowment care fund to be invested and reinvested in any of the following:

(a)Securities and obligations designated by Section 53601 of the Government Code.

(b)Obligations of the United States or obligations for which the faith and credit of the United States are pledged for the payment of principal and interest. These shall not be limited to maturity dates of one year or less.

(c)Obligations issued under authority of law by any county, municipality, or school district in this state for which are pledged the faith and credit of that county, municipality, or

school district for the payment of principal and interest, if within 10 years immediately preceding the investment that county, municipality, or school district was not in default for more than 90 days in the payment of principal or interest upon any legally authorized obligations issued by it.

(d)Obligations of the State of California or those for which the faith and credit of the State of California are pledged for the payment of principal and interest.

(e)Interest-bearing obligations issued by a corporation organized under the laws of any state, or of the United States, provided that they bear a Standard and Poor’s financial rating of AAA at the time of the investment.

(f)Certificates of deposit or other interest-bearing accounts in any state or federally chartered bank or savings association, the deposits

of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

§ 9067

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 57, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2004.

The board of trustees may cause the funds deposited in the endowment income fund pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 9065 that are not required for the immediate care of the cemeteries owned by the district to be invested in the securities and obligations designated by Section 53601 of the Government Code.

§ 9068

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 57, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2004.

(a)The board of trustees shall adopt a schedule of fees for interments in cemeteries owned by the district and for other necessary and convenient services.

(b)The board of trustees shall also adopt a schedule of fees for nonresidents. The board of trustees shall set these fees at an amount that at least equals the amount of fees charged to residents or taxpayers and shall include a nonresident fee of at least 15 percent of that amount.

§ 9069

Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 57, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2004.

(a)A district may seek the abandonment of an interment plot in a cemetery owned by the district pursuant to this section.

(b)The board of trustees shall file a petition with the superior court of the principal county which contains all of the following:

(1)An identification of the interment plot that the district desires to be declared abandoned.

(2)A statement that the district has made a diligent search to locate the present owner of the interment plot.

(3)A statement that the present owner of the interment plot is unknown to the district.

(4)A statement that, to the best knowledge of the district, at least 50 years have passed since any portion of the interment plot has been used for interment purposes.

(5)A statement that, after a reasonable physical investigation of the interment plot, the interment plot has not been used for the interment of human remains.

(6)A request that the court declare the interment plot abandoned.

(c)Upon the filing of a petition pursuant to subdivision (b), the clerk of the superior court shall set a time for a hearing on the petition.

(d)After the clerk of the superior court has set the hearing, the district shall give notice of the court’s hearing. The notice shall identify the interment plot that the district desires to be declared abandoned, state the name and address of the last known owner of the interment plot, state that the court will hold a hearing to determine whether to declare the interment plot abandoned, and state the time and place of the court’s hearing. The district shall give notice of the court’s hearing by publishing a notice pursuant to Section 6061 of the Government Code in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the jurisdiction of the district at least 10 days before the hearing. The district shall post the public notice in at least three public places within the jurisdiction of the district, at least 10 days before the hearing. One of the public places shall be at the interment plot that the district desires to be declared abandoned, and one of the public places shall be at the offices of the district. In addition, the district shall mail the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 10 days before the hearing to the last known owner of the interment plot.

(e)At the time set for the hearing, the superior court shall hear and consider any evidence that is introduced in favor or, and any objections to, the abandonment of the interment plot. The court may continue its hearing from time to time. The court shall determine from the evidence presented whether the facts stated in the district’s petition are true. The court shall dismiss any portion of the district’s petition if the court determines that any of the facts stated in that portion of the petition are not true, or if the court determines the identity of the present owner of the interment plot. If the court determines that the facts stated in the district’s petition are true, the court may order that the interment plot shall be deemed abandoned and full title shall revert to the district. The superior court’s order shall not become final until one year after the date on which the court made its order.

(f)Within 30 days after the date on which the superior court made its order, the district shall give notice of the court’s order. The notice shall identify the interment plot that the district desires to be declared abandoned, state the name and address of the last known owner of the interment plot, and state the date on which the court’s order will be final. The district shall give notice of the court’s order by publishing a notice pursuant to Section 6061 of the Government Code in at least one newspaper of general circulation within the jurisdiction of the district. The district shall post the public notice in at least three public places within the jurisdiction of the district. One of the public places shall be at the interment plot that the district desires to be declared abandoned, and one of the public places shall be at the offices of the district. In addition, the district shall mail the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known owner of the interment site.

(g)At any time before the superior court’s order becomes final, any person may petition the court to reopen the proceeding. Upon receiving a petition and after giving notice to the district, the court may reopen the proceeding. The court may hear and consider any additional evidence regarding the facts in the district’s petition. The court may amend its previous order. If the court determines that any of the facts stated in any portion of the district’s petition are not true, or if the court determines the identify of the present owner of the interment plot, the court shall dismiss that portion of the district’s petition.

(h)The interment plot shall be deemed abandoned on the date on which the superior court’s order becomes final. The district shall record the court’s order in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the interment plot is located. Upon recordation of the court’s order, the district is the owner of the interment plot and the district may resell the interment rights.

(i)If, after the proceedings taken pursuant to this section, the district discovers the presence of human remains in the interment plot, the district shall make reasonable efforts to identify the remains. The district shall close and appropriately mark the interment plot. The district shall offer the new owner of the interment rights in that interment plot comparable interment rights in another interment plot. The district shall not be liable for any claims for damages if the district has proceeded pursuant to this section.