Title 456, CEMETERY ASSOCIATIONS

Sec. 9. (1) The commissioner may hold hearings, conduct investigations, administer oaths, take testimony under oath, and request in writing the appearance and testimony of witnesses, including the production of books and records. The commissioner may petition the circuit court fo…

Sec. 9a. All departments, state agencies, public bodies corporate, committees, commissioners, or officers of this state, and any political subdivision of this state, so far as is compatible with their duties, shall give the commissioner or his or her designee any necessary assist…

Sec. 9b. The commissioner may enter into contracts to accomplish requirements under this act, including for the engagement of consultants. The commissioner may use an authorized employee or agent, who is an attorney, to represent the commissioner or the department in a contested …

Sec. 10. (1) The commissioner shall institute and maintain a system of auditing trust funds required by this act and of registering each cemetery authorized to be created, maintained, and operated in this state, as well as any other cemetery operating under state law or local ord…

Sec. 11. The commissioner shall charge an annual registration fee of $20.00 per year for each cemetery registered. Not less than 90 days before the expiration date prescribed in section 15, the commissioner shall cause a renewal blank to be mailed to each registrant, together wit…

Sec. 12. (1) A person shall not establish a cemetery without a valid permit or operate an existing cemetery except under a valid registration issued under this act. (2) If a person proposes to purchase or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in an existing cemetery company, t…

Sec. 12a. (1) The commissioner or an examiner, investigator, or other person the commissioner may appoint, may visit and examine the affairs of any cemetery or person required to register under this act and shall have free access to the books, papers, records, and documents of th…

Sec. 13. (1) Any person desiring to establish a cemetery shall file with the commissioner, on forms furnished by the commissioner, an application for a permit to establish a cemetery. The application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable investigation fee of $1,500.00. (2) Afte…

Sec. 13a. (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions governing eligibility as a cemetery owner, a person may be ineligible to become a cemetery owner or hold a controlling interest in a cemetery company if any of the following circumstances exist: (a) The person has been convicted …

Sec. 14. After receipt of the investigation fee and application, and after investigation, the commissioner shall grant or refuse to grant the permit. If the commissioner decides to deny the application for a permit, he or she shall follow the procedure set forth in section 19.

Sec. 15. (1) Each person owning, managing, or operating a cemetery shall register the cemetery by filing with the commissioner a registration application before June 2 of each year, on a form furnished by the commissioner, and accompanied by the registration fee. A registration e…

Sec. 15a. A registrant shall not charge a fee for witnessing the lowering of a casket into the ground.

Sec. 16. (1) The commissioner shall require each cemetery to establish and maintain an irrevocable endowment and perpetual care trust fund. The amounts deposited into an endowment and perpetual care trust fund pursuant to subsection (5) shall be held in perpetuity by the trustee …

Sec. 16a. A person shall not develop or build a mausoleum or columbarium and engage in preconstruction sales of crypts or niches in a mausoleum or columbarium unless that person does both of the following: (a) Agrees to complete the mausoleum or columbarium within 4 years after t…

Sec. 17. (1) A person possessing a right to a space within a cemetery is presumed to have abandoned the right if all of the following apply: (a) During the past 60 years, the person possessing the right to the space or the person's authorized representative has not provided the c…

Sec. 18. (1) The commissioner may deny an application filed under this act and refuse to issue a permit or registration, or may suspend or revoke a permit or registration, or may reprimand, place on probation, or take other disciplinary action against the applicant if the commiss…

Sec. 19. If the commissioner intends to deny an application for a permit to establish a cemetery, to refuse registration of an existing cemetery, or to suspend or revoke a registration, the commissioner shall give written notice to the person involved of that intent. The notice s…

Sec. 20. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the commissioner rendered under section 19 may appeal to the circuit court as provided in chapter 6 of Act No. 306 of the Public Acts of 1969, as amended, being sections 24.301 to 24.306 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.

Sec. 21. (1) Except as otherwise provided for in subsection (2), a person who violates this act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000.00. (2) If the violator is an individual, the offense is punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000.00 or im…

Sec. 22. Act No. 337 of the Public Acts of 1966, being sections 456.501 to 456.514 of the Compiled Laws of 1948, is repealed.

Sec. 23. This act shall take effect September 15, 1968.