SB 777: Abandoned cemeteries: report.

Existing law, the Cemetery and Funeral Act, establishes the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of cemeteries, crematories, funeral establishments, and their personnel. Existing law requires the bureau, on or before July 1, 2027, to convene a workgroup composed of representatives from the cemetery, county government, and other interested stakeholders to discuss options for ensuring continued care, maintenance, and embellishment of abandoned cemeteries, including the possibility of requiring counties to assume responsibility for abandoned cemeteries. Existing law requires the bureau to submit a report to the Legislature summarizing the workgroups discussions and its recommendations by January 1, 2028. Existing law repeals those provisions on January 1, 2029.

This bill would instead require the bureau to convene the workgroup on or before March 1, 2026, would revise the list of representatives required to be included in the workgroup, and would instead require the workgroup to discuss the possibility of requiring counties to assume responsibility for maintenance, irrigation, public works, and burial services for abandoned cemeteries. The bill would require the board to submit the report on June 1, 2026, and would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2027.