HF 2421

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to cemeteries; clarifying and reorganizing 
  1.3             the law on cemeteries; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.4             1998, sections 149A.96, subdivision 2; 307.11; 315.16, 
  1.5             subdivision 4; 315.31; and 525.14; proposing coding 
  1.6             for new law as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 306A; 
  1.7             repealing Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 306.01; 
  1.8             306.02; 306.023; 306.025; 306.027; 306.03; 306.04; 
  1.9             306.05; 306.06; 306.07; 306.08; 306.09; 306.10; 
  1.10            306.11; 306.111; 306.12; 306.13; 306.14; 306.141; 
  1.11            306.15; 306.16; 306.17; 306.18; 306.19; 306.20; 
  1.12            306.21; 306.22; 306.23; 306.24; 306.241; 306.242; 
  1.13            306.243; 306.245; 306.246; 306.25; 306.26; 306.27; 
  1.14            306.28; 306.29; 306.31; 306.32; 306.33; 306.34; 
  1.15            306.35; 306.36; 306.37; 306.38; 306.39; 306.40; 
  1.16            306.41; 306.42; 306.43; 306.44; 306.45; 306.46; 
  1.17            306.47; 306.48; 306.49; 306.50; 306.51; 306.52; 
  1.18            306.53; 306.54; 306.55; 306.56; 306.57; 306.58; 
  1.19            306.59; 306.60; 306.61; 306.62; 306.63; 306.64; 
  1.20            306.65; 306.66; 306.67; 306.68; 306.69; 306.70; 
  1.21            306.71; 306.72; 306.73; 306.74; 306.75; 306.76; 
  1.22            306.761; 306.762; 306.77; 306.773; 306.78; 306.79; 
  1.23            306.80; 306.81; 306.82; 306.83; 306.84; 306.85; 
  1.24            306.851; 306.86; 306.87; 306.88; 306.90; 306.93; 
  1.25            306.95; 306.97; and 306.99. 
  1.26  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.27     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 149A.96, 
  1.28  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.29     Subd. 2.  [INTERMENT DEFINED.] For purposes of this 
  1.30  section, "interment" means final disposition by burial or 
  1.31  entombment.  Bodies held in a receiving vault for nonwinter 
  1.32  burials pursuant to a directive from the person or persons with 
  1.33  legal right to control final disposition and section 306.99 
  1.34  306A.84 shall not be considered interred for purposes of this 
  1.35  section. 
  2.1      Sec. 2.  [306A.01] [CEMETERY ASSOCIATIONS AND PRIVATE 
  2.2   CEMETERIES, HOW GOVERNED.] 
  2.3      Public cemetery associations existing on March 1, 1906, 
  2.4   shall continue under the forms of organization adopted by them 
  2.5   and retain the rights and powers then possessed.  Cemetery 
  2.6   associations established after that date must be organized and 
  2.7   governed by this chapter.  Private cemeteries established after 
  2.8   that date must be organized and governed by chapter 307 and 
  2.9   provisions of this chapter applicable to private cemeteries.  
  2.10     Sec. 3.  [306A.02] [DEFINITIONS.] 
  2.11     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] Unless the language or 
  2.12  context clearly indicates that a different meaning is intended, 
  2.13  the following definitions apply to this chapter.  
  2.14     Subd. 2.  [ASSOCIATES.] "Associates" means the original 
  2.15  incorporators and their successors.  
  2.16     Subd. 3.  [PUBLIC CEMETERY.] "Public cemetery" means a 
  2.17  cemetery started or established as a public cemetery, except a 
  2.18  cemetery established by a religious corporation. 
  2.19     Subd. 4.  [BOARD OF DIRECTORS.] "Board of directors," as 
  2.20  used in sections 306A.34 to 306A.47, means the board of 
  2.21  supervisors of a town, the governing body of a city, and the 
  2.22  board of trustees or directors of a religious corporation or of 
  2.23  a cemetery association described in section 306A.34.  
  2.24     Subd. 5.  [TRUST COMPANY.] "Trust company" means a state 
  2.25  bank, national bank, trust company or other financial 
  2.26  institution authorized to act in a fiduciary capacity in the 
  2.27  state. 
  2.28     Sec. 4.  [306A.03] [FORMATION OF CEMETERY ASSOCIATION OR 
  2.29  CORPORATION.] 
  2.30     An association or corporation may: 
  2.31     (1) be formed to procure and hold or sell lands or lots 
  2.32  exclusively for the purpose of a public cemetery; 
  2.33     (2) acquire and manage all real and personal property 
  2.34  necessary or proper to establish, embellish, care for, and 
  2.35  manage a cemetery, and construct and operate on that property a 
  2.36  crematory and other proper means of disposing of the dead; and 
  3.1      (3) sell and convey cemetery lots or sell and convey real 
  3.2   or personal property acquired by it but not needed for cemetery 
  3.3   purposes. 
  3.4   The corporation or association may be formed by three or more 
  3.5   persons who execute and verify the certificate or articles of 
  3.6   incorporation in the same manner as required in the formation of 
  3.7   other corporations.  The certificate of incorporation must be 
  3.8   filed for record in the office of the county recorder of the 
  3.9   county where the cemetery is located.  The association becomes a 
  3.10  corporation when the certificate is filed. 
  3.11     Sec. 5.  [306A.04] [CEMETERY CORPORATIONS; ORGANIZATION.] 
  3.12     Subdivision 1.  [ACTUARY; RECORDS; REPORTS.] A corporation, 
  3.13  including a person, firm, partnership, association, or 
  3.14  corporation owning or operating a mausoleum or columbarium, 
  3.15  shall, in addition to its ordinary corporate officers, annually 
  3.16  appoint an actuary or provide by its bylaws that its secretary 
  3.17  shall perform the duties of an actuary.  The actuary shall keep 
  3.18  a register of burials, entering:  (1) the date of burial, 
  3.19  entombment, or cremation; and (2) the name, age, sex, nativity, 
  3.20  and cause of death of every person interred or cremated in the 
  3.21  cemetery.  These facts must be registered so far as they can be 
  3.22  ascertained from the friends, attending physician, or undertaker 
  3.23  in charge, and in case of a pauper, stranger, or criminal, from 
  3.24  the public official directing the burial.  The record must be 
  3.25  open to public inspection, and the actuary shall give the state 
  3.26  commissioner of health and local agents of a board of health as 
  3.27  authorized under section 145A.04, upon their request, an 
  3.28  accurate summary of the record during any specified year. 
  3.29     Subd. 2.  [FAILURE TO KEEP REGISTERED; FORFEITURE.] An 
  3.30  actuary or secretary performing the duties of an actuary who 
  3.31  fails to keep a register of burials and record in it all 
  3.32  interments and cremations, shall forfeit $100 for every failure 
  3.33  to keep a register or record the required information for the 
  3.34  benefit of the school fund of the district in which the 
  3.35  cemetery, mausoleum, or crematory is located.  
  3.36     Subd. 3.  [VACANCIES; ANNUAL MEETING; REPORT OF TRUSTEES.] 
  4.1   The certificate of incorporation may provide that vacancies 
  4.2   among the associates must be filled by the remaining associates 
  4.3   and that at all elections after the first election the trustees 
  4.4   must be chosen from the associates or it may provide that they 
  4.5   must be chosen by and from the lot owners.  If there are two or 
  4.6   more owners of a lot, they shall select one to represent them 
  4.7   and to vote at an election.  The trustees may fill any vacancy 
  4.8   occurring in their own number for the unexpired term.  Public 
  4.9   notice of every annual election must be given in the manner 
  4.10  prescribed in the bylaws.  If for any reason the annual election 
  4.11  is not held on the day fixed in the certificate of 
  4.12  incorporation, the trustees may set another time, not more than 
  4.13  60 days after the date provided in the certificate, and must 
  4.14  give public notice of that date.  However, the term of office 
  4.15  must be the same as if the person were elected at the regularly 
  4.16  scheduled annual election.  
  4.17     At each annual meeting the trustees shall make a written 
  4.18  report of their official acts and of the affairs of the 
  4.19  association, with an account of all receipts and expenditures 
  4.20  during the preceding year.  
  4.21     Sec. 6.  [306A.05] [PROCEDURE FOR FILLING VACANCIES.] 
  4.22     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORIZATION.] An incorporated public 
  4.23  cemetery association without capital stock, organized under 
  4.24  state law, which has acquired a burial site and sold lots in it 
  4.25  and for which a majority of the associates of the corporation 
  4.26  are deceased or have for three years or more not acted as 
  4.27  associates, may by a meeting of the lot owners of the cemetery 
  4.28  fill the vacancies among the associates.  
  4.29     Subd. 2.  [NOTICE OF MEETING.] Three or more lot owners of 
  4.30  the cemetery may mail notice to all the lot owners known to them 
  4.31  or whose addresses appear in the cemetery records that a meeting 
  4.32  of the lot owners will be held not less than 14 days after the 
  4.33  mailing at a time and place to be fixed by them and designated 
  4.34  in the notice, in the county where the cemetery is located, for 
  4.35  the purpose of filling the vacancies among the associates.  
  4.36     Subd. 3.  [MEETING.] The meeting must be held at the time 
  5.1   and place provided in the notice.  An owner of one or more lots 
  5.2   in the cemetery may attend in person or by proxy and is entitled 
  5.3   to one vote at that and all subsequent meetings of the lot 
  5.4   owners.  The meeting may be called to order by any lot owner and 
  5.5   shall be organized by choosing in the usual manner a chair and a 
  5.6   secretary.  The meeting must then proceed to fill the vacancies 
  5.7   among the associates.  A voice vote must be used unless 
  5.8   otherwise ordered by those present at the meeting.  A majority 
  5.9   of the lot owners voting at the meeting shall elect associates.  
  5.10     Subd. 4.  [CERTIFICATE; CONTENTS.] The chair and the 
  5.11  secretary of the meeting shall, within five days after the 
  5.12  meeting is held, prepare a certificate that recites the facts 
  5.13  required by subdivision 1.  It must also state that the meeting 
  5.14  was held, giving the names of the chair and the secretary and 
  5.15  the names of the lot owners present and voting.  However, if 
  5.16  more than ten lot owners are present and voting, the names of 
  5.17  ten of the voters are sufficient, but in that case the number of 
  5.18  lot owners present and voting must be stated.  The certificate 
  5.19  must also give the names of the persons elected as associates.  
  5.20  The certificate must be recorded at length in the office of the 
  5.21  county recorder in the county where the cemetery is located.  
  5.22  The certificate or the record of it is prima facie evidence of 
  5.23  all the facts stated in it that are required to be stated. 
  5.24     Subd. 5.  [POWERS OF ASSOCIATES.] The associates elected at 
  5.25  the meeting of the lot owners shall exercise the powers of 
  5.26  associates provided by law and the articles of incorporation of 
  5.27  the association and fill any vacancy in the board of directors 
  5.28  or trustees of the association. 
  5.29     Sec. 7.  [306A.06] [CEMETERY ASSOCIATIONS; AMENDMENT OF 
  5.30  ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION.] 
  5.31     Subdivision 1.  [RESOLUTION; CONTENTS.] The board of 
  5.32  trustees of a cemetery association organized under state law 
  5.33  that has established and is maintaining a public cemetery in 
  5.34  this state may, by resolution adopted by at least a two-thirds 
  5.35  vote of its members at any authorized meeting of the board, 
  5.36  amend its certificate or articles of incorporation in any or all 
  6.1   of the following particulars: 
  6.2      (1) by providing for a board of associates, the number of 
  6.3   persons composing the board, the time and manner of their 
  6.4   election and by whom they are elected, their term of office, 
  6.5   their powers and duties and for the division of the board into 
  6.6   classes, if desired, concerning the time for which the trustees 
  6.7   hold office; 
  6.8      (2) by specifying the names and addresses of the members of 
  6.9   the first board of associates and their term of office; 
  6.10     (3) by providing that the management of the affairs of the 
  6.11  association may be vested in a board of not more than nine 
  6.12  trustees and that the trustees may be divided into classes 
  6.13  concerning the time for which the trustees hold office, or that 
  6.14  only one trustee need be elected each year; 
  6.15     (4) by providing the time and manner of election of the 
  6.16  trustees and specifying whether the trustees are to be elected 
  6.17  by the owners of lots in the cemetery of the association, either 
  6.18  from among themselves or from among the board of associates, by 
  6.19  the existing trustees from among lot owners or from among a 
  6.20  board of associates, or by the board of associates from their 
  6.21  own number or from the retiring trustees; 
  6.22     (5) by providing that a vacancy in the board of trustees, 
  6.23  caused by death, resignation, or otherwise, may be filled by the 
  6.24  board of trustees for the unexpired term; 
  6.25     (6) by specifying the names and addresses of the first 
  6.26  board of trustees and the time for which each member holds 
  6.27  office; 
  6.28     (7) by providing that the trustees may elect officers of 
  6.29  the association and that the duties of the officers may be 
  6.30  defined by the bylaws; 
  6.31     (8) by providing that the trustees may adopt bylaws and 
  6.32  rules and regulations concerning the cemetery of the 
  6.33  association; 
  6.34     (9) by providing that the duration of the association is 
  6.35  perpetual or for a fixed period of time; and 
  6.36     (10) by any other lawful provision defining and regulating 
  7.1   the power or business of the association and the powers and 
  7.2   duties of its officers, trustees, associates, and lot owners.  
  7.3      Subd. 2.  [CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT.] The trustees shall 
  7.4   include the resolution in a certificate executed and 
  7.5   acknowledged by its president and secretary or other presiding 
  7.6   and recording officers under the corporate seal of the 
  7.7   corporation.  The certificate must be recorded in the office of 
  7.8   the county recorder of the county in which the cemetery of the 
  7.9   association is located. 
  7.10     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION.] This section does not apply to 
  7.11  private cemeteries or cemeteries established by religious 
  7.12  corporations.  
  7.13     Sec. 8.  [306A.07] [RELIGIOUS CEMETERY CORPORATIONS MAY 
  7.14  AMEND ARTICLES; PROCEDURES; RIGHTS AND DUTIES.] 
  7.15     Subdivision 1.  [RESOLUTION; CONTENTS.] The board of 
  7.16  trustees, board of administration, or other governing body of a 
  7.17  religious corporation that has established and is maintaining a 
  7.18  cemetery may by resolution adopted by at least a two-thirds vote 
  7.19  of its members at any authorized meeting of the board amend its 
  7.20  certificates or articles of incorporation by: 
  7.21     (1) providing for the management and conduct of the affairs 
  7.22  of the cemetery by a board of associates and prescribing the 
  7.23  number composing the board of associates, the title by which 
  7.24  they are designated, the time and manner of their election, by 
  7.25  whom they are elected, their term of office, their powers and 
  7.26  duties, and for the division of the board into classes, if 
  7.27  desired, concerning the time for which the trustees hold office; 
  7.28     (2) specifying whether the board of associates is elected 
  7.29  by the owners of lots in the cemetery, either from among 
  7.30  themselves, from among the board of trustees, board of 
  7.31  administration, or other governing body of the religious 
  7.32  corporation, by the board of associates from their own number, 
  7.33  from among the lot owners in the cemetery, or from the board of 
  7.34  trustees or other governing body of the religious corporation; 
  7.35     (3) specifying the names and addresses of the first board 
  7.36  of associates and their term of office; 
  8.1      (4) providing that any vacancy in the board of associates 
  8.2   may be filled by the board of associates for the unexpired term; 
  8.3      (5) providing that the board of associates may elect its 
  8.4   own officers and that the duties of the officers may be defined 
  8.5   by the bylaws of the board; 
  8.6      (6) providing that the board of associates may adopt bylaws 
  8.7   and rules and regulations concerning the management and conduct 
  8.8   of the cemetery; 
  8.9      (7) providing that the board of associates may establish a 
  8.10  permanent care and improvement fund, the income from which is 
  8.11  devoted to the care, maintenance, and improvement of the 
  8.12  cemetery; 
  8.13     (8) providing that the board of associates has the control 
  8.14  of the permanent care and improvement fund and all other trust 
  8.15  funds donated for the permanent care of particular burial plots 
  8.16  and has authority to appoint trustees of the funds from among 
  8.17  their number or to appoint as trustee one or more trust 
  8.18  companies organized under the laws of this state; or 
  8.19     (9) any other lawful provision defining and regulating the 
  8.20  powers or business of the board of associates and the powers and 
  8.21  duties of its officers, trustees, and lot owners.  
  8.22     Subd. 2.  [CERTIFICATE OF AMENDED ARTICLES TO BE RECORDED.] 
  8.23  The board of trustees or other governing body of the religious 
  8.24  corporation shall include the resolution in a certificate 
  8.25  executed and acknowledged by the corporation's president and 
  8.26  secretary or other presiding and recording officers under the 
  8.27  corporate seal of the corporation.  The certificate must be 
  8.28  recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in 
  8.29  which the association's cemetery is located.  
  8.30     Subd. 3.  [RIGHT AND DUTIES AFTER AMENDMENT.] A religious 
  8.31  corporation amending its certificates or articles of 
  8.32  incorporation under this section and providing for the 
  8.33  management and conduct of its cemetery as provided in those 
  8.34  documents is then considered to be a private cemetery 
  8.35  association having the rights, exemptions, privileges, duties, 
  8.36  and liabilities that are provided by law concerning private 
  9.1   cemetery associations without regard to the fact that the 
  9.2   cemetery is established by a religious corporation.  
  9.3      Subd. 4.  [ASSOCIATION, HOW GOVERNED.] A religious 
  9.4   corporation amending its certificates or articles of 
  9.5   incorporation under this section and establishing a permanent 
  9.6   care and improvement fund is, as to that fund, subject to 
  9.7   sections 306A.49 to 306A.59 to the extent that those sections 
  9.8   are consistent with this section.  
  9.9      Sec. 9.  [306A.08] [REORGANIZATION OF CERTAIN 
  9.10  ASSOCIATIONS.] 
  9.11     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORIZATION.] A cemetery association 
  9.12  organized before March 1, 1906, that does not have capital stock 
  9.13  may reorganize under this section if the association has 
  9.14  acquired a burial site and sold lots in it and if the managing 
  9.15  officers of the association are all deceased, have moved from 
  9.16  the county where the burial site is located, or have failed to 
  9.17  act as association officers for at least three years. 
  9.18     Subd. 2.  [NOTICE FOR MEETING OF LOT OWNERS.] Any three lot 
  9.19  owners in the cemetery may issue a notice signed by them that a 
  9.20  meeting will be held at a time and place designated in the 
  9.21  notice, in the town or statutory city nearest the cemetery site, 
  9.22  for the purpose of reorganizing the association.  The notice 
  9.23  must be published at least twice in a qualified newspaper 
  9.24  published in the city or town in which the meeting is held.  The 
  9.25  time of the meeting must be at least ten days after the second 
  9.26  publication.  
  9.27     Subd. 3.  [MEETING AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS.] The meeting 
  9.28  must be held at the time and place mentioned in the notice.  Any 
  9.29  owner of one or more lots in the cemetery may be present in 
  9.30  person or by proxy and is entitled to one vote at that and all 
  9.31  subsequent meetings of the association.  The meeting may be 
  9.32  called to order by any lot owner and shall be organized by 
  9.33  choosing in the usual manner a chair and a secretary.  The 
  9.34  meeting must then proceed to elect a president, secretary, 
  9.35  treasurer, and three trustees.  The officers shall hold their 
  9.36  offices until the next succeeding annual meeting of the 
 10.1   association and until their successors are elected and have 
 10.2   qualified.  The voting at the meeting must be by voice vote, 
 10.3   unless otherwise ordered by those present at the meeting.  A 
 10.4   majority shall elect officers and trustees. 
 10.5      Subd. 4.  [CERTIFICATE; RECORD; EFFECT.] Within five days 
 10.6   after the meeting is held, the chair and the secretary of the 
 10.7   meeting shall prepare a certificate that recites the existence 
 10.8   of the facts mentioned in subdivision 1.  It must also state 
 10.9   that the meeting was held, giving the names of the chair and the 
 10.10  secretary and the names of the lot owners present and voting.  
 10.11  If more than ten are present and voting, the names of ten are 
 10.12  sufficient, but in that case the number of lot owners present 
 10.13  and voting must be stated.  The certificate must also give the 
 10.14  names of the persons elected as trustees and other officers at 
 10.15  the meeting and must be recorded at length in the office of the 
 10.16  county recorder for the county in which the cemetery is 
 10.17  located.  The certificate or the record of the certificate is 
 10.18  prima facie evidence of all the facts stated in it that are 
 10.19  required to be stated. 
 10.20     Subd. 5.  [POWERS AND DUTIES OF OFFICERS.] As soon as the 
 10.21  certificate is recorded under subdivision 4, the officers 
 10.22  elected at the meeting under subdivision 3 may convey and 
 10.23  execute deeds for lots in the cemetery for cemetery purposes. 
 10.24  They have the same powers and duties and are subject to the same 
 10.25  rights and liabilities as if they had been elected in the manner 
 10.26  originally provided by the law under which the association was 
 10.27  organized or pursuant to its articles or bylaws.  After the 
 10.28  election provided for in subdivision 3, all meetings must be 
 10.29  held and all affairs of the association conducted in the manner 
 10.30  provided by law and under the original articles of incorporation 
 10.31  of the association.  
 10.32     Sec. 10.  [306A.09] [REORGANIZATION OF CERTAIN OTHER 
 10.33  ASSOCIATIONS; PROCEDURE; POWERS AND DUTIES.] 
 10.34     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORIZATION.] A cemetery association 
 10.35  organized under state law before April 25, 1913, that does not 
 10.36  have capital stock and that has acquired a burial site and sold 
 11.1   lots from it may reorganize under subdivision 2 if the 
 11.2   management of the association is confined to the original 
 11.3   members of the association either by the statutes then in force 
 11.4   or by the certificate of organization.  
 11.5      Subd. 2.  [CALL FOR MEETING.] Any two or more of the 
 11.6   original members of the association, or if all the original 
 11.7   members are deceased, then any three or more of the lot owners 
 11.8   in the burial site, may call a meeting of the association.  The 
 11.9   meeting must be held at a time and place designated in the 
 11.10  notice in the city nearest to the cemetery site for the purpose 
 11.11  of reorganizing the association.  The notice must be published 
 11.12  for two successive weeks in a legal newspaper printed in the 
 11.13  place in which the meeting is to be held and must give at least 
 11.14  30 days' notice of the meeting.  
 11.15     Subd. 3.  [ARTICLES OF REASSOCIATION.] At the time and 
 11.16  place mentioned in the notice, those present shall organize and 
 11.17  proceed to prepare and adopt, or authorize to be prepared and 
 11.18  adopted, articles of reassociation conforming to the 
 11.19  requirements of state law for the organization of public 
 11.20  cemetery associations.  The articles must name the first board 
 11.21  of trustees and other officers as the meeting determines.  A 
 11.22  majority of the trustees and officers must be named and elected 
 11.23  from the members of the old association if there are sufficient 
 11.24  survivors living in the county where the site is located or in 
 11.25  adjoining counties.  
 11.26     Subd. 4.  [POWERS AND DUTIES.] The trustees and officers, 
 11.27  as soon as the certificate of reassociation is adopted and 
 11.28  recorded with the county recorder in the county where the 
 11.29  cemetery is located, have the powers, duties, rights, and 
 11.30  liabilities provided by state law pertaining to cemetery 
 11.31  associations. 
 11.32     Sec. 11.  [306A.10] [LAND ACQUISITION FOR CEMETERY 
 11.33  PURPOSES; LOT SALE AND CONVEYANCE.] 
 11.34     Subdivision 1.  [SURVEY; MAP; RECORDING.] A public cemetery 
 11.35  corporation may own, by purchase or gift, in the county where it 
 11.36  is located and in an adjoining county, a maximum of 300 acres of 
 12.1   land to be used and occupied exclusively for the burial or 
 12.2   cremation of the dead and for other purposes necessary or proper 
 12.3   to those purposes.  Land required for that purpose must be 
 12.4   surveyed and divided into lots of a size determined by the 
 12.5   trustees, with the avenues, alleys, and walks they consider 
 12.6   proper.  A map of the survey must be filed with the county 
 12.7   recorder of the county where the cemetery is located.  When the 
 12.8   corporation desires to enlarge its cemetery and cannot agree 
 12.9   with the owners of the land desired for the cemetery, the land 
 12.10  may be acquired under the power of eminent domain.  However, 
 12.11  public necessity, propriety, and convenience requiring the 
 12.12  proposed enlargement, together with the boundaries of the 
 12.13  cemetery, shall be first established and determined as issues of 
 12.14  fact. 
 12.15     Subd. 2.  [SALE OF LOTS.] After the filing of a map under 
 12.16  subdivision 1, the trustees may sell and convey the lots 
 12.17  designated on the map upon terms and conditions as they 
 12.18  determine.  Every conveyance of a lot must be expressly for 
 12.19  burial purposes and no other and must be in the corporate name 
 12.20  of the association and signed by its president or vice-president 
 12.21  and by its treasurer or secretary.  
 12.22     Subd. 3.  [USE OF FUNDS; GRANTS IN TRUST.] Proceeds from 
 12.23  the sales of lots and personal property not invested as 
 12.24  hereinafter provided must be applied solely to pay debts 
 12.25  incurred in purchasing cemetery grounds and property to fence, 
 12.26  improve, and beautify the grounds and the avenues leading to the 
 12.27  grounds, and to defray the necessary expenses of their 
 12.28  management and care.  Real or personal property given to an 
 12.29  association to maintain a monument or to keep or improve grounds 
 12.30  within the cemetery must always be applied to the uses for which 
 12.31  the property was given.  
 12.32     Subd. 4.  [LOTS, CONVEYANCE.] (a) When a lot in a cemetery, 
 12.33  or an entombment or inurnment space in a mausoleum, has been 
 12.34  sold or conveyed for burial purposes, the lot, entombment, or 
 12.35  inurnment space is then inalienable, except as provided in this 
 12.36  section.  
 13.1      (b) The original purchaser of the lot, entombment, or 
 13.2   inurnment space may sell or convey any part of it to the 
 13.3   cemetery that is not actually occupied by interments or by 
 13.4   entombed or inurned human remains.  
 13.5      (c) A person who has inherited the lot, entombment, or 
 13.6   inurnment space may sell or convey any part of it to the 
 13.7   cemetery that is not actually occupied by interments or by 
 13.8   entombed or inurned human remains.  
 13.9      (d) When, by the consent of the owner, the lot, entombment, 
 13.10  or inurnment space will be solely used by some other person as a 
 13.11  family burial place, the owner may convey it to the person so 
 13.12  using it.  
 13.13     (e) There must be filed with the cemetery a copy of an 
 13.14  agreement of sale signed and acknowledged by the owner, owner's 
 13.15  spouse, if any, and the proposed purchaser, transferring title 
 13.16  to the cemetery and requesting that the cemetery issue a new 
 13.17  conveyance of the lot or space directly to the purchaser in 
 13.18  consideration of the payment by the purchaser to the owner of a 
 13.19  specified price which must not be more than the price that would 
 13.20  be charged by the cemetery in its sale of a similar lot or space.
 13.21     Upon filing the agreement, a reasonable transfer and 
 13.22  service charge must be paid to the cemetery.  A cemetery that 
 13.23  has a permanent care and improvement fund may also require a 
 13.24  fund payment as provided by section 306A.55.  For the purpose of 
 13.25  this subdivision, the term "proceeds" as used in section 306A.55 
 13.26  means the difference between the price originally paid to the 
 13.27  cemetery for the lot or space being transferred and the 
 13.28  cemetery's current list price for a similar lot or space.  
 13.29  Transfer or sale to a spouse, parent, grandparent, child, or 
 13.30  sibling of the seller or transferor would not be subject to the 
 13.31  care fund payment requirement by this section.  After the 
 13.32  transfer and service charge and care fund payment, if any, has 
 13.33  been paid to the cemetery, the cemetery shall then issue a 
 13.34  conveyance of the lot or space to the designated purchaser. 
 13.35     (f) The cemetery may use any of its funds to repurchase 
 13.36  lots, entombments, or inurnment spaces, as provided herein, and 
 14.1   may hold or again sell and convey them. 
 14.2      Sec. 12.  [306A.11] [TITLE TO BURIAL LOTS REGAINED BY 
 14.3   ASSOCIATION; PROCEDURE.] 
 14.4      Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORITY.] If a cemetery association 
 14.5   organized under state law or a public cemetery operated by a 
 14.6   municipality or other entity has before March 1, 1906, conveyed 
 14.7   to a person the right of burial in any platted lot or designated 
 14.8   piece of ground within the cemetery, and the deed or conveyance 
 14.9   from the cemetery provides that the lot is held subject to the 
 14.10  rules, bylaws, and regulations of the cemetery and the deed or 
 14.11  the rules, bylaws, or regulations further provide for the 
 14.12  payment of an annual charge for the care, upkeep, and 
 14.13  maintenance of the lot, and the owner of the lot named in the 
 14.14  deed or conveyance does not pay the annual charge for a period 
 14.15  of ten successive years, the cemetery association or municipally 
 14.16  owned cemetery may reinvest itself with the title to the part of 
 14.17  the cemetery lot not used for burial purposes pursuant to this 
 14.18  section. 
 14.19     Subd. 2.  [PROCEDURE.] The association or municipally owned 
 14.20  cemetery may serve upon the owner of the lot, in the manner 
 14.21  prescribed by law for the service of a summons in a civil 
 14.22  action, a notice specifying the amount unpaid for care of the 
 14.23  lot and a time within which the amount must be paid to the 
 14.24  secretary of the association or the proper officer of the 
 14.25  municipally owned cemetery, which may not be less than 30 days 
 14.26  from the date of the service of the notice.  The notice must 
 14.27  also provide that if the owner of the lot fails to pay the 
 14.28  amount within the specified time, the association or municipally 
 14.29  owned cemetery will take the necessary steps to reinvest itself 
 14.30  with the title to the part of the cemetery lot not actually used 
 14.31  for burial purposes.  If the owner of the lot fails to pay the 
 14.32  amount within the time specified in the notice, the board of 
 14.33  trustees of the cemetery may, by resolution adopted at any 
 14.34  regular meeting of the board of trustees, set forth the failure 
 14.35  to pay the charges for lot care, the service of the notice, and 
 14.36  declare the portion of the lot unused for burial purposes, 
 15.1   describing it by metes and bounds in the resolution, to be the 
 15.2   property of the association or the municipally owned cemetery.  
 15.3      Subd. 3.  [SERVICE BY PUBLICATION.] If the return of the 
 15.4   sheriff of the county in which the cemetery is located shows 
 15.5   that the owner of the lot is not a resident of the county and 
 15.6   cannot be found in it, then the association or public cemetery 
 15.7   may have the notice published in a legal newspaper within the 
 15.8   county for the period of three weeks.  The notice must specify a 
 15.9   time for payment, at least 30 days after the completed service 
 15.10  of the notice by publication.  After the expiration of the time 
 15.11  specified in the notice, the board of trustees may adopt the 
 15.12  resolution provided in subdivision 2 and reinvest the 
 15.13  association or municipality with the title to the part of the 
 15.14  cemetery lot unused for burial purposes. 
 15.15     Subd. 4.  [RECORDS OF ASSOCIATION.] All notices, with the 
 15.16  proof of service or publication, and all resolutions adopted by 
 15.17  the board of trustees of the association or public cemetery 
 15.18  under subdivision 2, must be made a part of the records of the 
 15.19  association or public cemetery.  When the deed or conveyance 
 15.20  from the association or public cemetery to the lot owner appears 
 15.21  in the record in the registry of deeds of the county, a copy of 
 15.22  the resolution, certified to the secretary of the cemetery 
 15.23  association or public cemetery, and a copy of the printed notice 
 15.24  with the sheriff's return, must be placed in the records of the 
 15.25  registry of deeds.  
 15.26     Sec. 13.  [306A.12] [DESCRIPTION OF LOTS IN NOTICE AND 
 15.27  PROCEEDINGS.] 
 15.28     The notice and proceedings under sections 306A.11 to 
 15.29  306A.13, concerning cemetery lots, must distinctly describe by 
 15.30  metes and bounds the part of a cemetery lot unused for burial 
 15.31  purposes.  The association or public cemetery shall leave 
 15.32  sufficient passage to and from any grave upon the lot, either by 
 15.33  dedicated streets or alleys in the cemetery or by leaving unused 
 15.34  a part of the cemetery sufficient for that purpose.  
 15.35     Sec. 14.  [306A.13] [REINVESTMENT; REDEMPTION.] 
 15.36     Compliance with sections 306A.11 to 306A.13 reinvests the 
 16.1   association or municipality with, and divests the record owner 
 16.2   and dependents of, the title to the part of the cemetery lot 
 16.3   unused for burial purposes as though the lot had never been 
 16.4   conveyed to any person.  The association or municipality then 
 16.5   owns the reclaimed part of the lot for its own purposes, subject 
 16.6   to state law and to the charter, bylaws, rules, and regulations 
 16.7   of the association or municipality.  The association or 
 16.8   municipality may not transfer the title of the lot for one year 
 16.9   after the adoption of the resolution provided for in section 
 16.10  306A.11.  If during the one-year period a person entitled by 
 16.11  state law to the cemetery lot pays to the association or public 
 16.12  cemetery all the unpaid lot care, the expenses of the service of 
 16.13  the notice provided for in section 306A.11, and any additional 
 16.14  amount due for lot care after the date of the notice under the 
 16.15  bylaws, rules, and regulations of the cemetery association or 
 16.16  public cemetery, and contracts and pays for the perpetual care 
 16.17  of the lot, the association or cemetery shall reconvey the lot 
 16.18  to the person lawfully entitled to it.  
 16.19     Sec. 15.  [306A.14] [LIMITATION.] 
 16.20     Sections 306A.11 to 306A.13 do not apply to a lot in a 
 16.21  cemetery for which a perpetual care contract has been entered 
 16.22  into between the cemetery association and the lot owner.  
 16.23     Sec. 16.  [306A.15] [UPKEEP OF LOTS; ABANDONMENT.] 
 16.24     Subdivision 1.  [LOTS CONVEYED AND ABANDONED.] (a) In the 
 16.25  instances provided in paragraph (b), an incorporated cemetery 
 16.26  association may, by a resolution of its governing board, require 
 16.27  that grantees of lots or parcels, or parties claiming through 
 16.28  grantees of lots or parcels, within the cemetery either:  
 16.29     (1) file with the corporation a written notice of claim of 
 16.30  their interest in their lot or parcel, supported by satisfactory 
 16.31  evidence of the interest, within 60 days after service of a copy 
 16.32  of the resolution; or 
 16.33     (2) keep the lots clear of weeds and in a condition in 
 16.34  harmony with other adjoining lots or parcels.  
 16.35     A copy of the resolution must be served upon all parties in 
 16.36  the same manner as a complaint in a civil action.  
 17.1      (b) Paragraph (a) may be applied in all cases where an 
 17.2   incorporated association has owned a site for a cemetery for 
 17.3   more than 40 years and has sold lots and parcels for burial 
 17.4   purposes, and has conveyed them by deed of conveyance with or 
 17.5   without restrictions and the grantee, or parties claiming 
 17.6   through the grantee: 
 17.7      (1) for more than 75 years in counties having a population 
 17.8   over 50,000 according to the 1960 federal decennial census, and 
 17.9   50 years in all other counties, have not used parts of the lots 
 17.10  or parcels for the purposes of burial and during that time have 
 17.11  not provided care for the lots beyond that provided uniformly to 
 17.12  all lots within the cemetery, and during that time have not 
 17.13  given to the corporation a written notice of claim or interest 
 17.14  in the lots or parcels; or 
 17.15     (2) have not used parts of the lots or parcels for the 
 17.16  purposes of burial and have not kept the lots or plots free of 
 17.17  weeds or brush but have allowed the lots to remain entirely 
 17.18  unimproved for more than 20 years, and the lots or parcels are 
 17.19  located in the cemetery adjacent to improved parts of the 
 17.20  cemetery and by reason of their unimproved condition detract 
 17.21  from the appearance of the cemetery and interfere with its 
 17.22  harmonious improvement and furnish a place for the propagation 
 17.23  of growth of weeds and brush. 
 17.24     Subd. 2.  [LOTS CONVEYED BEFORE 1925.] If an incorporated 
 17.25  cemetery association has sold lots and parcels for burial 
 17.26  purposes before 1925, with or without restriction, that have not 
 17.27  been used for burial purposes and the owners have not maintained 
 17.28  the lots or paid the fees required by the association of lot 
 17.29  owners for care and upkeep for a period of at least 15 years, 
 17.30  the association may, by resolution of its governing body, demand 
 17.31  that the owners or holders of the lots pay the association the 
 17.32  fees owed for care and upkeep in the period during which the 
 17.33  fees were not paid.  The resolution must state the amount of 
 17.34  fees due for each lot, without interest, and declare that if 
 17.35  that amount is not paid to the association by the persons 
 17.36  claiming to be owners within 90 days that the described lots and 
 18.1   all interest in them will be considered abandoned to the 
 18.2   association.  The resolution must name all of the persons shown 
 18.3   by the records of the association to have a claim of ownership 
 18.4   to the lots described and must be served in the manner required 
 18.5   for service of a resolution by subdivision 1. 
 18.6      Sec. 17.  [306A.16] [ACTION TO QUIET TITLE.] 
 18.7      If, for 30 days after May 1 following service or 
 18.8   publication, the party or parties fail to conform with the 
 18.9   demands of the resolution authorized by section 306A.15, the 
 18.10  rights of the party or parties may be considered abandoned, and 
 18.11  the corporation may, with the approval of its governing board, 
 18.12  bring an action in the district court of the county against all 
 18.13  parties in default, uniting as many parties in default as it may 
 18.14  desire in one action, to have their rights in the lots or 
 18.15  parcels terminated and the property restored to the corporation 
 18.16  free of any right, title, or interest of the parties, their 
 18.17  heirs or assigns.  The action in all other respects must be 
 18.18  brought and determined in the same manner as ordinary actions to 
 18.19  determine title to real estate.  However, that part of a tract 
 18.20  in which a body lies buried must not be included in any of these 
 18.21  proceedings.  Sufficient ground must be left adjoining the grave 
 18.22  or burial place to provide a proper approach.  The excepted 
 18.23  portions, if any, must be particularly and fully described.  
 18.24     Sec. 18.  [306A.17] [EVIDENCE OF ABANDONMENT.] 
 18.25     In all cases brought under section 306A.16, the following 
 18.26  facts are prima facie evidence that the grantee or holder has 
 18.27  abandoned the lot:  
 18.28     (1) the fact that the grantee or holder has not used 
 18.29  portions of the lots or parcels for burial purposes for more 
 18.30  than 75 years in counties having a population over 50,000 
 18.31  according to the 1960 federal decennial census, and 50 years in 
 18.32  all other counties, and during that time has not made any 
 18.33  provision for the care of the lots beyond that provided 
 18.34  uniformly to all lots within the cemetery, and during that time 
 18.35  has not given to the corporation a written notice of claim or 
 18.36  interest in the lots or parcels; or 
 19.1      (2) the fact that the party has, for a term of 20 years or 
 19.2   more, not used the plot or definite parts of it and has failed 
 19.3   to keep the lot or parts of it clear of weeds or brush. 
 19.4      Sec. 19.  [306A.18] [FILING OF JUDGMENT.] 
 19.5      A certified copy of the judgment in an action to quiet 
 19.6   title under section 306A.16 may be filed in the office of the 
 19.7   county recorder in the county in which the parcel is located. 
 19.8      Sec. 20.  [306A.19] [TITLE TO LOTS REGAINED BY ASSOCIATION 
 19.9   AFTER 60 YEARS.] 
 19.10     Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] As an alternative to the procedure 
 19.11  in sections 306A.15 to 306A.18, a cemetery association 
 19.12  incorporated in Minnesota may use the procedures in this section 
 19.13  to revest itself with the title to part of a cemetery that was 
 19.14  conveyed by deed to a person but that has not been used for the 
 19.15  purposes of burial for more than 60 years.  
 19.16     Subd. 2.  [REQUIRED STATEMENT OF OWNER'S INTEREST.] The 
 19.17  governing board of a cemetery association may pass a resolution 
 19.18  demanding that the owner of part of a cemetery that has been 
 19.19  unused for more than 60 years express an interest in the 
 19.20  cemetery plot.  The board shall personally serve a copy of its 
 19.21  resolution on the owner in the same manner as personal service 
 19.22  of process in a civil action.  The resolution must notify the 
 19.23  owner that the owner shall, within 60 days of service of the 
 19.24  resolution on the owner, express an interest in retaining the 
 19.25  cemetery plot and submit satisfactory evidence of an intention 
 19.26  to use the plot for a future burial.  
 19.27     Subd. 3.  [SERVICE BY PUBLICATION.] If the owner cannot be 
 19.28  personally served with the resolution of the board, as required 
 19.29  in subdivision 2, because the owner cannot be found in this 
 19.30  state or for another valid reason, the board shall publish its 
 19.31  resolution for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper 
 19.32  published in the county and mail a copy of the resolution within 
 19.33  14 days after the third publication to the owner's last known 
 19.34  address.  
 19.35     Subd. 4.  [REINVESTMENT.] If for 60 days after the personal 
 19.36  service or publication of the board's resolution the owner or 
 20.1   person with a legal interest in the cemetery plot fails to state 
 20.2   a valid interest in the use of the cemetery plot for burial 
 20.3   purposes, the owner's rights are terminated and that part of the 
 20.4   cemetery again belongs to the cemetery association. 
 20.5      Sec. 21.  [306A.20] [DEPOSIT OF NET PROCEEDS FROM LOT 
 20.6   RESALES.] 
 20.7      The proceeds from the subsequent resale of lots or parcels 
 20.8   the title to which has revested in the corporation under 
 20.9   sections 306A.15 to 306A.18 or 306A.19, less the costs and 
 20.10  expenses incurred in proceedings approved by the district court, 
 20.11  become a part of the permanent care and improvement fund of the 
 20.12  corporation.  
 20.13     Sec. 22.  [306A.21] [CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION OF 
 20.14  CONTRACTS FOR PURCHASE OF LOTS BY CERTAIN ASSOCIATIONS; 
 20.15  REFUNDS.] 
 20.16     When a cemetery association organized under state law 
 20.17  agrees to convey to a person the right of burial upon any 
 20.18  platted lot or designated piece of ground or in an entombment or 
 20.19  inurnment space in a mausoleum within the cemetery, by which 
 20.20  contract the association reserves the right to terminate the 
 20.21  contract in case of default by the purchaser, and to forfeit the 
 20.22  payments made as liquidated damages, it may do so by serving 
 20.23  upon the purchaser, a personal representative, or assigns the 
 20.24  notice provided in section 559.21.  The notice must specify the 
 20.25  conditions defaulted upon, and state that the contract will 
 20.26  terminate 30 days after the service of the notice, unless before 
 20.27  the expiration of that time the purchaser complies with the 
 20.28  conditions and pays the costs of service.  If the contract 
 20.29  allows it, the notice may be served upon the purchaser by 
 20.30  certified mail with return receipt requested by depositing the 
 20.31  notice in the post office, with the postage prepaid, and 
 20.32  addressed to the purchaser at the address given in the contract 
 20.33  or as later changed by written notice to the association.  If 
 20.34  the notice of default is served by mail, the 30-day period 
 20.35  provided in this section begins to run on the date the notice is 
 20.36  deposited in the post office.  
 21.1      If a burial has been made on the platted lot or designated 
 21.2   piece of ground, or in an entombment or inurnment space in a 
 21.3   mausoleum sold under the previously mentioned contract, the 
 21.4   contract may be terminated only as to the part of the premises 
 21.5   or entombment or inurnment space not actually occupied by the 
 21.6   burial or by an entombment or inurnment. 
 21.7      Laws 1943, chapter 216, does not apply to contracts 
 21.8   existing prior to its passage.  
 21.9      Sec. 23.  [306A.22] [EXISTING CONTRACTS.] 
 21.10     A contract entered into by a cemetery association before 
 21.11  April 14, 1927, for the sale of lots or tracts for burial 
 21.12  purposes that contains a provision for the termination of the 
 21.13  contract may be terminated as provided in section 306A.21.  
 21.14     Sec. 24.  [306A.23] [LIMITATION.] 
 21.15     Nothing in sections 306A.21 and 306A.22 repeals, expressly 
 21.16  or by implication, any of the provisions of sections 306A.11 to 
 21.17  306A.13 or 306A.14 and 306A.15.  
 21.18     Sec. 25.  [306A.25] [ASSESSMENTS LEVIED FOR LOT CARE; 
 21.19  ENFORCEMENT.] 
 21.20     When assessments are levied by a cemetery association 
 21.21  authorized to levy assessments by its articles of incorporation, 
 21.22  bylaws, or otherwise for the care, upkeep, and maintenance of 
 21.23  any lot or lots in the cemetery and remain unpaid for a period 
 21.24  of five years, the unused portion of the lot or lots reverts to 
 21.25  and becomes the property of the cemetery association in which 
 21.26  the lot or lots are located.  The reversion becomes effective 
 21.27  upon entry of judgment in the district court of the county in 
 21.28  which the cemetery is located, in proceedings instituted for 
 21.29  that purpose after petition by the association to the court and 
 21.30  after a hearing on the petition, upon notice to interested 
 21.31  parties as prescribed by the court.  
 21.32     Sec. 26.  [306A.26] [DISPOSAL OF LOTS BY OWNERS.] 
 21.33     An owner of a cemetery lot may dispose of the lot by will 
 21.34  to a relative who may be a survivor, or to the cemetery 
 21.35  association or private cemetery, as the case may be, in trust 
 21.36  for the use and benefit of any person or persons designated in 
 22.1   the will.  However, no lot may be affected by a testamentary 
 22.2   devise unless the lot is specifically mentioned in the will and 
 22.3   limited by it to one particular person.  An owner of a cemetery 
 22.4   lot may, while living, convey the lot to the cemetery 
 22.5   association or the private cemetery in trust for the use and 
 22.6   benefit of a person named in the trust conveyance.  The 
 22.7   conveyance may contain conditions, provisions, and covenants as 
 22.8   the parties agree upon.  No interment shall be made in any lot, 
 22.9   except by written consent of the cemetery association or private 
 22.10  cemetery, as the case may be, of a person who was not at the 
 22.11  time of death, the owner of the lot or a relative of the owner 
 22.12  by blood or marriage.  Every conveyance or alienation or attempt 
 22.13  at conveyance or alienation of any right, title, or interest in 
 22.14  or to the lot contrary to the conditions and reservations of 
 22.15  this section is void.  Every cemetery association, or private 
 22.16  cemetery, as the case may be, shall keep a record of all deeds, 
 22.17  conveyances, judgments, decrees, or other documents affecting 
 22.18  the title to lots in the cemetery.  Certified copies of any of 
 22.19  these documents must be received in evidence by the courts.  The 
 22.20  cemetery association or private cemetery may, instead of deeding 
 22.21  the fee title to this lot, grant only the exclusive right of 
 22.22  interment in the lot.  
 22.23     Sec. 27.  [306A.27] [PROPERTY SALES BY PUBLIC CEMETERY 
 22.24  ASSOCIATIONS.] 
 22.25     A public cemetery association which owns land that is or 
 22.26  may be no longer used for the burial of the dead may: 
 22.27     (1) institute and prosecute to final judgment an action to 
 22.28  determine adverse claims to the land in accordance with the laws 
 22.29  relating to actions to determine adverse claims; 
 22.30     (2) sell and convey the land; or 
 22.31     (3) transfer and assign any funds or other property it may 
 22.32  possess to another public cemetery association serving the same 
 22.33  community in the burial of the dead. 
 22.34     None of these powers may be exercised as long as any dead 
 22.35  remain buried in the cemetery.  
 22.36     Sec. 28.  [306A.28] [SALE OF CERTAIN REAL ESTATE.] 
 23.1      A cemetery corporation incorporated under state law before 
 23.2   April 19, 1911, may sell and convey, for other than burial or 
 23.3   cemetery purposes, any real estate lawfully acquired by it that 
 23.4   is not suitable for cemetery purposes and that has not been 
 23.5   platted for those purposes.  
 23.6      Sec. 29.  [306A.29] [CERTAIN CEMETERY CORPORATIONS; SALE OF 
 23.7   EXCESS REAL ESTATE.] 
 23.8      A public cemetery corporation incorporated under state law 
 23.9   before April 23, 1913, that has acquired more than 100 acres of 
 23.10  land may sell and convey, for other than burial or cemetery 
 23.11  purposes, any real estate in excess of that 100 acres.  The sale 
 23.12  must not include land in which any interments have been made.  
 23.13  Any sale must be approved by the unanimous vote of all the 
 23.14  trustees of the corporation.  
 23.15     Sec. 30.  [306A.30] [CONVEYANCES OF CEMETERY LOTS AND LANDS 
 23.16  TO HOLDING CORPORATIONS LEGALIZED; RECONVEYANCE TO CITIES OF THE 
 23.17  FIRST CLASS FOR CEMETERY PURPOSES.] 
 23.18     A deed or other instrument of conveyance of a right, title, 
 23.19  or interest in any cemetery land or lot in a cemetery in this 
 23.20  state executed before March 31, 1927, conveying the land or plot 
 23.21  to a corporation authorized to acquire, hold, and convey title 
 23.22  to real estate is lawful and conveys all right, title, and 
 23.23  interest of the grantor to the corporation.  By the conveyance, 
 23.24  the corporation acquires all right, title, and interest that the 
 23.25  grantor had in the land and property subject to any limitations 
 23.26  contained in the instrument of conveyance.  The corporation has 
 23.27  the right to convey the property for cemetery purposes to any 
 23.28  city of the first class in this state, including those organized 
 23.29  and operating under a home rule charter adopted under the 
 23.30  Minnesota Constitution and the state laws relating to it.  
 23.31     Sec. 31.  [306A.31] [CERTAIN CEMETERIES; RECORDING AREA AND 
 23.32  LOCATION; REARRANGEMENT.] 
 23.33     Subdivision 1.  [PLATS FILED, CITIES OF OVER 50,000.] A 
 23.34  cemetery corporation organized under state law that maintains a 
 23.35  cemetery of more than 80 acres in a city in this state with a 
 23.36  population of more than 50,000, shall file in the office of the 
 24.1   county recorder of the county in which its cemetery is located a 
 24.2   plat showing the area and location of the cemetery. 
 24.3      Subd. 2.  [SUBDIVISION OR REARRANGEMENT OF CEMETERIES.] A 
 24.4   cemetery corporation covered by subdivision 1 may from time to 
 24.5   time subdivide or rearrange its cemetery as necessary in the 
 24.6   conduct of the business, but no plat of the subdivision or 
 24.7   rearrangement may interfere with the rights and privileges of 
 24.8   the lot owners of the cemetery without their consent and the 
 24.9   plat need not be filed in the office of the county recorder.  A 
 24.10  plat of the subdivision or rearrangement must be kept for public 
 24.11  inspection at the cemetery.  Cement or other nondestructible 
 24.12  markers at least three inches in diameter and at least eight 
 24.13  inches in length, with one of the markers showing the number of 
 24.14  the lot, must be placed at the corners of each lot of the 
 24.15  subdivision or rearrangement. 
 24.16     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION.] This section does not apply to 
 24.17  home rule charter cities that have a population of 300,000 or 
 24.18  less. 
 24.19     Sec. 32.  [306A.34] [ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT CARE AND 
 24.20  IMPROVEMENT FUND.] 
 24.21     (a) An entity covered by paragraph (b) may, by a unanimous 
 24.22  vote taken at any regular meeting or special meeting called for 
 24.23  that purpose, provide in accordance with sections 306A.34 to 
 24.24  306A.47 for the establishment of a permanent fund to be 
 24.25  deposited or invested as provided in section 306A.37.  The 
 24.26  income of the fund must be devoted to the care, maintenance, and 
 24.27  improvement of the cemetery.  The fund must be known as the 
 24.28  permanent care and improvement fund of the cemetery of the 
 24.29  municipality or incorporation.  The establishment of a permanent 
 24.30  care and improvement fund does not violate any existing law 
 24.31  against perpetuities or suspend the power of alienation.  The 
 24.32  fund must not be allowed to exceed $25,000 per acre of the 
 24.33  cemetery to be cared for. 
 24.34     (b) Any of the following entities may provide for the 
 24.35  establishment of a fund if it has established and is maintaining 
 24.36  a cemetery of at least one-half acre, a plat of which is on file 
 25.1   in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the 
 25.2   cemetery is located: 
 25.3      (1) the board of supervisors of a town; 
 25.4      (2) the governing body of a home rule charter city or 
 25.5   statutory city; or 
 25.6      (3) the board of trustees or the directors, not less than 
 25.7   three in number, of a religious corporation or of an association 
 25.8   formed under state law to maintain a cemetery in this state. 
 25.9      Sec. 33.  [306A.35] [USE OF INTEREST.] 
 25.10     The board of directors of a cemetery covered by section 
 25.11  306A.45 may provide that any part of the price paid for a lot in 
 25.12  the cemetery must be deposited as a part of the permanent care 
 25.13  and improvement fund and that the interest accruing from the 
 25.14  amount set aside from the lot be used by the board of directors 
 25.15  of the cemetery to care for and beautify the lot, except as 
 25.16  provided in sections 306A.34 to 306A.47.  
 25.17     Sec. 34.  [306A.36] [USE OF GIFTS TO FUND.] 
 25.18     The board of directors referred to in section 306A.34 may 
 25.19  accept and deposit any donation or gift of money made to the 
 25.20  fund and may provide that the interest on the money be used in 
 25.21  the care, maintenance, and beautification of the cemetery or any 
 25.22  particular lot and shall use the money and the interest on it 
 25.23  for the purpose specified by the donor.  If funds are lacking 
 25.24  for the general care of the cemetery, the board of directors may 
 25.25  use one-fifth of the income received annually from the part of 
 25.26  the permanent fund credited to any particular lot or lots, by 
 25.27  sale or gift, for the general care of the cemetery.  
 25.28     Sec. 35.  [306A.37] [INVESTMENT AND USE OF FUNDS.] 
 25.29     Subdivision 1.  [INVESTMENT.] (a) On each January 1, April 
 25.30  1, July 1, and October 1, a cemetery board of directors voting 
 25.31  to establish a fund under section 306A.34 shall deposit or 
 25.32  invest all money belonging to the fund as provided in this 
 25.33  section.  
 25.34     (b) The money may be deposited in the treasury of the 
 25.35  county in which the cemetery is located and the treasurer of 
 25.36  that county shall deposit it as provided in this section.  
 26.1      (c) The money may be invested as provided in this 
 26.2   paragraph.  In the case of cemeteries not operated and 
 26.3   maintained by cities or towns, the money may be invested in the 
 26.4   same securities in which savings banks are by law permitted to 
 26.5   invest.  In the case of cemeteries operated and maintained by a 
 26.6   city or town, the money may be invested in the same securities 
 26.7   in which governmental entities are permitted to invest under 
 26.8   chapter 118A.  Any of the income unexpended and unappropriated 
 26.9   for one year after becoming available for care, maintenance, or 
 26.10  improvement must be returned to the fund and become a part of 
 26.11  the principal.  
 26.12     (d) The money may be deposited or invested as provided in 
 26.13  paragraphs (b) and (c) and may be withdrawn from either and 
 26.14  deposited in the other.  The county treasurer shall return to 
 26.15  the board any money deposited in the county treasury which the 
 26.16  board, by resolution, withdraws. 
 26.17     (e) When money is deposited in the county treasury, the 
 26.18  board of directors shall also file with the county auditor for 
 26.19  record and future reference, at the time of the deposit, a 
 26.20  statement of each particular amount so set aside from the sale 
 26.21  of a lot or the amount received by a gift or donation of money, 
 26.22  with the name of the owner of the lot, the name of the donor of 
 26.23  each particular gift, and a description of the lot to which the 
 26.24  income from the particular amount as a part of the permanent 
 26.25  fund is applicable.  
 26.26     (f) If the board of directors invests permanent care and 
 26.27  improvement funds as provided in paragraph (c), the board shall 
 26.28  designate certain of its members to handle those funds.  The 
 26.29  designated persons shall give bond to the association, 
 26.30  corporation, or municipality maintaining the cemetery in an 
 26.31  amount at least equal to the total amount of the fund at the 
 26.32  time of posting the bond, conditioned upon the faithful 
 26.33  discharge of the trust.  On July 1 of each even-numbered year 
 26.34  after making the original bond, the person shall give a new bond 
 26.35  in the same amount and with the same conditions.  
 26.36     Subd. 2.  [USE.] The directors may retain annually out of 
 27.1   the money received not more than $100 for upkeep, improvements, 
 27.2   and expenses.  
 27.3      Sec. 36.  [306A.38] [COUNTY CEMETERY FUND; MANAGEMENT, 
 27.4   INVESTMENT, INTEREST.] 
 27.5      Money deposited under section 306A.37 in the treasury of a 
 27.6   county by the boards of directors of all the cemeteries in the 
 27.7   county under sections 306A.34 to 306A.47 constitutes the county 
 27.8   cemetery fund.  The money in the fund must be managed and 
 27.9   invested by the board of county commissioners.  As soon as the 
 27.10  money in the fund is received by the county treasurer, it must 
 27.11  be deposited in a bank designated as a depository of county 
 27.12  funds by the board of county commissioners.  The interest due on 
 27.13  the fund becomes due and payable, as far as possible, on or 
 27.14  about February 1 of each year. 
 27.15     Sec. 37.  [306A.39] [DEPOSIT OF AND INTEREST ON COUNTY 
 27.16  FUND.] 
 27.17     Except as otherwise provided, money deposited under section 
 27.18  306A.38 must be treated the same as other funds in the county 
 27.19  treasury and draw at least the rate of interest paid on other 
 27.20  funds of the county deposited in the depository.  The county 
 27.21  board may require all or part of the funds to be deposited on 
 27.22  time certificates in the depository in the name of the county 
 27.23  treasurer, payable to the treasurer or the treasurer's 
 27.24  successors in office.  The county treasurer shall secure on the 
 27.25  time deposit the highest rate of interest that the depository 
 27.26  will pay on it and not less than the current rate paid on time 
 27.27  certificates by the depository.  The county treasurer is liable 
 27.28  for the principal and interest deposited on time certificates in 
 27.29  the same way and to the same extent that the treasurer is liable 
 27.30  upon the treasurer's bond for money deposited on behalf of the 
 27.31  county. 
 27.32     Sec. 38.  [306A.40] [DEPOSITORY FOR COUNTY FUND; BOND.] 
 27.33     The county cemetery fund must be deposited in a depository 
 27.34  designated by the county board in the name of the county and at 
 27.35  the highest rate of interest that the depository will pay on the 
 27.36  fund.  The bond or security given to the county by the 
 28.1   depository must be taken and held as security for the fund.  The 
 28.2   treasurer of the county shall keep an accurate and separate 
 28.3   account of the fund and annually draw from the depository the 
 28.4   interest accruing on the fund to distribute as hereinafter 
 28.5   provided.  
 28.6      Sec. 39.  [306A.41] [INVESTMENT OF COUNTY CEMETERY FUND.] 
 28.7      If required by a petition of at least two-thirds of the 
 28.8   boards of directors of the cemeteries in a county requesting 
 28.9   action, the board of county commissioners shall, with the 
 28.10  approval of the county attorney, invest all or a part of the 
 28.11  county cemetery fund in the same kind of bonds and securities 
 28.12  that the permanent school fund of the state may be invested in.  
 28.13  The law as it exists at the time any money is received into this 
 28.14  fund controls the investment of the fund and no subsequent 
 28.15  amendment of the law authorizes the investment of any fund 
 28.16  differently or in any other class of securities.  The county 
 28.17  board may require the treasurer of the county to withdraw all or 
 28.18  part of the fund from the depository for investment.  If the 
 28.19  fund or part of it is invested, the bonds or other securities 
 28.20  must remain with the county treasurer.  The bond of the county 
 28.21  treasurer is security for the proper care of the bonds or other 
 28.22  securities and the payment of interest received on them to the 
 28.23  directors of the cemeteries.  On payment of the bonds or other 
 28.24  securities, the treasurer of the county shall deposit them in 
 28.25  the depository in which county funds are deposited and collect 
 28.26  the interest upon the funds so loaned and pay it to the 
 28.27  treasurers of the cemeteries, as provided in sections 306A.34 to 
 28.28  306A.47. 
 28.29     Sec. 40.  [306A.42] [ACCOUNTS KEPT BY AUDITOR.] 
 28.30     The auditor of any county in which the board of directors 
 28.31  of a cemetery is acting under sections 306A.34 to 306A.47 shall 
 28.32  keep an account of the funds deposited in the county treasury.  
 28.33  The auditor shall credit to the permanent fund of each cemetery 
 28.34  all money deposited by its board of directors and record the 
 28.35  following information for historical reference and record: 
 28.36     (1) the amount of each gift or part set aside from the sale 
 29.1   of each lot; 
 29.2      (2) the name of the donor of each gift and of the buyer of 
 29.3   each lot; and 
 29.4      (3) the description of each particular lot or portion of 
 29.5   the cemetery to which income from the permanent fund is 
 29.6   applicable for care, as provided in sections 306A.34 to 306A.47. 
 29.7      Sec. 41.  [306A.43] [ANNUAL REPORT BY SECRETARY; DEPOSIT OF 
 29.8   EXCESS INTEREST.] 
 29.9      On or before February 1 of each year, the clerk or 
 29.10  secretary of the board of directors of each cemetery referred to 
 29.11  in section 306A.42 shall file with the county auditor a report 
 29.12  showing in detail the amount spent of the interest received from 
 29.13  the county cemetery fund during the preceding calendar year.  
 29.14  All of the interest not necessary for the care and beautifying 
 29.15  of the lots or cemetery, or that has not been spent, in any one 
 29.16  year, must be deposited in the treasury of the county and added 
 29.17  to the permanent fund credited to the cemetery, no part of which 
 29.18  shall ever be used.  
 29.19     Sec. 42.  [306A.44] [INTEREST ON COUNTY FUND, 
 29.20  APPORTIONMENT.] 
 29.21     On or before March 1 of each year, the county auditor shall 
 29.22  apportion the interest from the county cemetery fund that has 
 29.23  been collected by the county treasurer during the year to each 
 29.24  cemetery with a permanent fund in the proportion that the amount 
 29.25  of the cemetery's permanent fund in the county treasury bears to 
 29.26  the county cemetery fund.  If the legal existence of a religious 
 29.27  corporation or an association formed under law to maintain a 
 29.28  cemetery has ended, the interest due from the fund to the 
 29.29  defunct cemetery association or corporation must be paid to the 
 29.30  treasurer of the city or town in which the cemetery is located, 
 29.31  to be spent by the municipality for the care, maintenance, or 
 29.32  improvement of the cemetery.  Funds deposited according to 
 29.33  section 306A.37 just before the close of the year, on which no 
 29.34  interest has been collected, must not be considered as a part of 
 29.35  the permanent fund for that apportionment.  
 29.36     Sec. 43.  [306A.45] [REPORT BY AUDITOR TO SECRETARY.] 
 30.1      Immediately after the apportionment required by section 
 30.2   306A.43 the county auditor shall report to the secretary of the 
 30.3   cemetery the apportionment of interest due the cemetery.  The 
 30.4   auditor shall also give the secretary a statement of the total 
 30.5   funds received by the county treasurer under sections 306A.34 to 
 30.6   306A.47 during the preceding year closing on January 1 of each 
 30.7   year, and also a statement of the total amount of the permanent 
 30.8   care and improvement fund belonging to that cemetery.  
 30.9      Sec. 44.  [306A.46] [INTEREST PAID TO TREASURER OF BOARD.] 
 30.10     On or after March 1 of each year, if the board of each 
 30.11  cemetery has made its report and deposited the excess of 
 30.12  interest as required by section 306A.43, the county treasurer, 
 30.13  under the warrant of the county auditor, shall pay to the 
 30.14  treasurer of the board of directors of each cemetery acting 
 30.15  under sections 306A.34 to 306A.47 its apportioned share of the 
 30.16  interest from the cemetery fund.  
 30.17     Sec. 45.  [306A.47] [AUDIT OF COUNTY FUND.] 
 30.18     The first time in each year that the county board of a 
 30.19  county governed by sections 306A.34 to 306A.47 examines and 
 30.20  audits the accounts, books, and vouchers of the county 
 30.21  treasurer, it shall examine the county cemetery fund of the 
 30.22  county.  A statement of the condition of this fund must be 
 30.23  published in the official newspaper of the county at the expense 
 30.24  of the cemetery fund.  The statement must show the total of all 
 30.25  money received under sections 306A.45 to 306A.58 during the 
 30.26  preceding calendar year, a statement of the total amount then in 
 30.27  the county cemetery fund on the first day of the calendar year, 
 30.28  the amount and kind of securities in which the fund is invested, 
 30.29  and a statement of the amount of interest collected on the fund 
 30.30  during that year.  Sections 306A.45 to 306A.58 do not apply to a 
 30.31  county that has a population of 50,000 or more according to the 
 30.32  last United States census.  
 30.33     Sec. 46.  [306A.48] [APPLICATION TO CERTAIN ENTITIES.] 
 30.34     Sections 306A.34 to 306A.47 apply to cemeteries that 
 30.35  established a permanent care and improvement fund under sections 
 30.36  306A.34 to 306A.47 before the effective date of this chapter.  
 31.1   After the effective date of this chapter, only the entities 
 31.2   mentioned in section 306A.34, paragraph (b), clauses (1) and 
 31.3   (2), may establish a permanent care and improvement fund under 
 31.4   sections 306A.34 to 306A.47. 
 31.5      Sec. 47.  [306A.49] [PERMANENT CARE AND IMPROVEMENT FUND 
 31.6   MAINTAINED BY CEMETERY ASSOCIATIONS AND OTHER ENTITIES.] 
 31.7      Subdivision 1.  [CEMETERY ASSOCIATIONS.] A cemetery 
 31.8   association organized under state law that operates a cemetery 
 31.9   shall establish a permanent care and improvement fund for the 
 31.10  care, maintenance, and improvement of the cemetery.  The fund 
 31.11  must be known as the permanent care and improvement fund of the 
 31.12  cemetery association.  As used in this section, "association" 
 31.13  includes any person, firm, partnership, association, or 
 31.14  corporation. 
 31.15     Subd. 2.  [OTHER ENTITIES.] An association owning or 
 31.16  operating a mausoleum or columbarium, or both, within or without 
 31.17  the boundaries of a cemetery, must establish a permanent care 
 31.18  and improvement fund for the care and improvement of the 
 31.19  mausoleum or columbarium.  The fund must be known as the 
 31.20  permanent care and improvement fund for the mausoleum and 
 31.21  columbarium. 
 31.22     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION.] This section does not apply to a 
 31.23  cemetery, mausoleum, or columbarium owned and operated by a 
 31.24  municipality, church, religious corporation, or religious 
 31.25  association. 
 31.26     Sec. 48.  [306A.50] [APPOINTMENT OF TRUST COMPANY OR BOARD 
 31.27  OF TRUSTEES.] 
 31.28     The board of trustees of an association mentioned in 
 31.29  section 306A.49 shall, by a resolution adopted by a vote of at 
 31.30  least two-thirds of its members, appoint one or more trust 
 31.31  companies organized under state law, or a board consisting of at 
 31.32  least three individuals, to act as trustees of the permanent 
 31.33  care and improvement fund.  If more than one trust company is 
 31.34  appointed, the board of trustees shall, from time to time, 
 31.35  apportion all money available for the fund between these trust 
 31.36  companies in the proportion that the board determines.  The 
 32.1   appointment must be evidenced by a written instrument executed 
 32.2   by the proper officers of the association under its corporate 
 32.3   seal.  Each trust company and the appointed individuals shall 
 32.4   qualify as a trustee by filing a written acceptance of the 
 32.5   appointment with the secretary of the association.  All 
 32.6   instruments of appointment, any revocation of appointment, and 
 32.7   the written acceptances must be recorded at length by the 
 32.8   secretary of the association in its corporate records.  The 
 32.9   appointment of any trustee may be revoked by the board of 
 32.10  trustees of the association at any time by a vote of two-thirds 
 32.11  of its members.  No trustee of the fund is liable as a trustee 
 32.12  except for neglect or willful default in the discharge of duties.
 32.13     Seven days before any portion of the principal of a 
 32.14  permanent care and improvement fund is transferred or withdrawn 
 32.15  from its present location, the board of trustees must, in 
 32.16  writing, notify the county auditor of the transfer or withdrawal 
 32.17  and of the destination of the funds.  A person, firm, 
 32.18  partnership, association, or corporation knowingly violating the 
 32.19  provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and for a 
 32.20  second offense is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. 
 32.21     Sec. 49.  [306A.51] [DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY TO SUCCESSOR 
 32.22  TRUSTEE.] 
 32.23     Upon the revocation of the appointment, resignation, death, 
 32.24  or removal of any sole trustee or individual appointed under 
 32.25  section 306A.50, the board of trustees of the association shall 
 32.26  promptly appoint a successor.  The resigning or removed trustee 
 32.27  shall then immediately turn over to the successor all property 
 32.28  belonging to or pertaining to the fund.  When the board of 
 32.29  trustees of the association gives written notice of the 
 32.30  resignation, death, or removal of a trustee, or of an 
 32.31  application to the court for an accounting by or removal of any 
 32.32  trustee, a bank, trust company, safety deposit company, or other 
 32.33  corporation, institution, or individual possessing money, 
 32.34  securities, papers, or other property belonging or pertaining to 
 32.35  the fund, shall refuse payment or delivery of all or part of it 
 32.36  to the trustee named in the notice.  Upon its or their check or 
 33.1   other authorization, except upon a check or other authorization 
 33.2   for the transfer, surrender, or delivery of the same, or any 
 33.3   part thereof, the bank, company, or other entity shall pay or 
 33.4   deliver the money, securities, papers, or other property to the 
 33.5   successor.  
 33.6      Sec. 50.  [306A.52] [BONDS.] 
 33.7      Before entering upon duties, each person chosen as a 
 33.8   trustee of the fund shall give a bond to the association equal 
 33.9   to one-third the amount of the fund at that time, or $500, 
 33.10  whichever is more, conditioned upon the faithful discharge of 
 33.11  the trust.  On July 1 of each even-numbered year, every trustee 
 33.12  shall give a new bond, in that amount and with those conditions. 
 33.13  The bond must be filed with the treasurer of the association.  A 
 33.14  trustee who fails to renew a bond within 30 days after the time 
 33.15  provided in this section may be removed on application of an 
 33.16  interested person.  No trustee of the fund is liable as a 
 33.17  trustee except for neglect or willful default in the discharge 
 33.18  of duties. 
 33.19     Sec. 51.  [306A.53] [NEW BOARD; ORGANIZATION.] 
 33.20     In case of the death, removal, resignation, or disability 
 33.21  of all the members of the board, the trust, until the 
 33.22  organization of a new board, vests in the district court of the 
 33.23  county in which the cemetery is located.  The board may be 
 33.24  reconstituted by the court on application of any person 
 33.25  interested and on notice as the court may direct.  Upon 
 33.26  qualifying, the appointed trustees have the rights and powers of 
 33.27  the original board.  A vacancy in the board continuing for one 
 33.28  year may be filled by the court.  
 33.29     Sec. 52.  [306A.54] [POWER OF COURT TO REMOVE TRUSTEE OR 
 33.30  COMPEL ACCOUNTING.] 
 33.31     The district court for the judicial district in which the 
 33.32  trust estate is located has the power, for good cause shown, 
 33.33  upon the application of one or more trustees of the association 
 33.34  or of any other interested party, to remove any trustee of the 
 33.35  fund, or to compel an accounting by a trustee of the fund.  The 
 33.36  district court also has all the powers conferred by law upon 
 34.1   district courts for the enforcement, execution, or regulation of 
 34.2   express trusts.  
 34.3      Sec. 53.  [306A.55] [PERCENTAGE OF SALE OF LOTS AND SPACE 
 34.4   IN MAUSOLEUMS PAID INTO PERMANENT CARE AND IMPROVEMENT FUND; 
 34.5   OTHER ADDITIONS TO FUND.] 
 34.6      Subdivision 1.  [REQUIRED ADDITIONS TO FUND.] Each cemetery 
 34.7   association creating a permanent care and improvement fund under 
 34.8   section 306A.50 shall take for its cemetery fund at least 20 
 34.9   percent of the proceeds of all sales of all cemetery lots and 
 34.10  ten percent of the proceeds of all sales of all burial space in 
 34.11  mausoleums or columbariums sold on or after December 31, 1927.  
 34.12  That percentage must be paid on January 1, April 1, July 1, and 
 34.13  October 1 of each year to the trustees of the fund, and the 
 34.14  payments then become a part of the permanent care and 
 34.15  improvement fund.  Each person, firm, partnership, association, 
 34.16  or corporation creating a permanent care and improvement fund 
 34.17  shall take for its fund at least ten percent of the proceeds of 
 34.18  all sales of all burial space in mausoleums or columbariums.  
 34.19  "Proceeds" includes any installment payment made towards the 
 34.20  purchase of a cemetery lot or burial space in a mausoleum or 
 34.21  columbarium. 
 34.22     Subd. 2.  [ADDITION OF OTHER MONEY.] Any other income or 
 34.23  funds not required by the association for other purposes may 
 34.24  from time to time be added to the fund by a vote of two-thirds 
 34.25  of the members of the board of trustees of the association. 
 34.26     Subd. 3.  [DEFINITIONS.] The term "cemetery lots" as used 
 34.27  in this section does not include burial space in a mausoleum or 
 34.28  columbarium.  The term "burial space" as used in this section 
 34.29  includes private rooms, crypts, niches, or other designated 
 34.30  space in which the bodies or cremated remains of deceased 
 34.31  persons are placed for permanent burial in a mausoleum or 
 34.32  columbarium.  
 34.33     Subd. 4.  [PENALTY.] A person, firm, partnership, 
 34.34  association, or corporation knowingly violating the provisions 
 34.35  of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and for a second 
 34.36  offense is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. 
 35.1      Sec. 54.  [306A.56] [INVESTMENT OF FUNDS; SECURITIES; 
 35.2   PRINCIPAL; COMPENSATION.] 
 35.3      Subdivision 1.  [INVEST IN CERTAIN SECURITIES; INCOME.] The 
 35.4   principal of a permanent care and improvement fund created under 
 35.5   section 306A.49 must remain intact and invested by the trustees 
 35.6   only in the same class of securities in which savings banks are 
 35.7   authorized by the laws of this state to invest their funds, 
 35.8   except as provided in section 306A.57.  The trustees of the 
 35.9   funds shall, at least semiannually, turn over to the association 
 35.10  the entire net income of the fund, which shall be used by the 
 35.11  association solely for the care, maintenance, and improvement of 
 35.12  the cemetery and the avenues leading to it.  But if any part of 
 35.13  the fund is not spent or appropriated by the association for a 
 35.14  period of one year after the income has been receive by it, the 
 35.15  income must be returned to the trustees and invested by them as 
 35.16  a part of the principal of the fund. 
 35.17     Subd. 2.  [WITHDRAWAL AND USE OF PRINCIPAL.] The cemetery 
 35.18  association may, by resolution adopted by vote of at least 
 35.19  two-thirds of the members of its board of trustees at any 
 35.20  authorized meeting of the board, authorize the withdrawal and 
 35.21  use of up to half of the principal of the fund for any or all of 
 35.22  the following purposes: 
 35.23     (1) to acquire land for the erection of a chapel, 
 35.24  greenhouse, or other buildings necessary for the operation of 
 35.25  the cemetery; or 
 35.26     (2) to build and improve roads and avenues in the cemetery. 
 35.27  However, the fund must not be diminished to an amount less than 
 35.28  $1,000 per acre for each acre of land in the cemetery.  Upon 
 35.29  presentation to the trustees of a certified copy of the adopted 
 35.30  resolution, the trustees shall at once comply with it and are 
 35.31  then released from further liability for the part of the funds 
 35.32  withdrawn and delivered to the association.  
 35.33     Subd. 3.  [COMPENSATION.] The compensation of a trust 
 35.34  company acting as trustee of the fund shall be fixed by 
 35.35  agreement with the board of trustees or directors of the 
 35.36  cemetery, provided that no trust company may receive as 
 36.1   compensation for acting as trustee in each year a sum in excess 
 36.2   of five percent of the income derived from the fund in its 
 36.3   hands.  An individual acting as a trustee of the fund may not 
 36.4   receive a sum in excess of $20 for each day actually employed in 
 36.5   the duties of the trust, and not exceeding $500 in each year.  
 36.6   Compensation shall be paid out of the general funds of the 
 36.7   cemetery, until the fund amounts to $200,000 or $2,000 for each 
 36.8   acre of the cemetery.  Thereafter, compensation shall be paid 
 36.9   out of the annual income of the fund. 
 36.10     Sec. 55.  [306A.57] [INVESTMENT OF FUND; CERTAIN CEMETERY 
 36.11  ASSOCIATIONS.] 
 36.12     Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORIZATION.] A cemetery association 
 36.13  organized under state law that provides for a permanent care and 
 36.14  improvement fund administered by one or more trust companies 
 36.15  acting as trustees of the fund under section 306A.50 may adopt a 
 36.16  resolution as provided in this subdivision.  If the principal of 
 36.17  the fund remaining after lawful withdrawals equals more than 
 36.18  $350,000, the association may adopt a resolution by a vote of at 
 36.19  least two-thirds of the members of its board of trustees at any 
 36.20  authorized meeting of the board authorizing the trust companies 
 36.21  acting as trustees in investing, reinvesting, exchanging, and 
 36.22  managing the fund, to acquire any kind of investment, including, 
 36.23  but not limited to, bonds, debentures, and other corporate 
 36.24  obligations, and corporate stocks, that an ordinarily prudent 
 36.25  person of discretion and intelligence who is a trustee of the 
 36.26  property of others would acquire as the trustee.  
 36.27     Subd. 2.  [TRUST LIMITATIONS INAPPLICABLE.] The trustees 
 36.28  may invest the trust property according to this section, 
 36.29  notwithstanding any contrary limitation or condition contained 
 36.30  in the trust instrument.  
 36.31     Subd. 3.  [CERTAIN CEMETERY ASSOCIATIONS.] This section 
 36.32  applies to a private cemetery association that maintains a 
 36.33  public cemetery of at least 20 acres in or adjacent to a city of 
 36.34  the first class that has established a permanent care and 
 36.35  improvement fund. 
 36.36     Sec. 56.  [306A.58] [ANNUAL REPORT.] 
 37.1      A trust company or board of trustees acting as trustees 
 37.2   shall on the first day of each year make a complete written 
 37.3   report to the association of the condition and state of the fund 
 37.4   in its hands.  The report must at all times be open to the 
 37.5   inspection of all owners of lots in the cemetery.  
 37.6      Sec. 57.  [306A.59] [OTHER REQUIREMENTS; NOTICE; REPORT; 
 37.7   PENALTY.] 
 37.8      Subdivision 1.  [NOTICE.] A cemetery association having a 
 37.9   permanent care and improvement fund under section 306A.49 shall 
 37.10  annually file, as part of the report required in subdivision 2, 
 37.11  a notice with the county auditor of the county in which the 
 37.12  cemetery is located.  The notice must include the names and 
 37.13  addresses of each person or entity owning a five percent or 
 37.14  greater interest in the cemetery and the names and addresses of 
 37.15  all officers if any change has taken place since the previous 
 37.16  notice.  As used in this section, "association" includes a 
 37.17  person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation. 
 37.18     Subd. 2.  [REPORT.] A cemetery association mentioned in 
 37.19  section 306A.49 and an association owning or operating a 
 37.20  mausoleum or columbarium, or constructing or selling space in a 
 37.21  mausoleum or columbarium to be built, which has a permanent care 
 37.22  and improvement fund shall annually make a complete written 
 37.23  report to the county auditor of the county in which the cemetery 
 37.24  or mausoleum or columbarium or future site of the mausoleum or 
 37.25  columbarium is located on the state of the fund, including all 
 37.26  deposits and withdrawals of principal amounts and all receipts 
 37.27  and disbursements.  The report must be filed on forms prescribed 
 37.28  by the state auditor by March 31 for any entity described in 
 37.29  this subdivision which operates on a calendar year basis and by 
 37.30  90 days after the end of the fiscal year for any entity 
 37.31  described in this subdivision which operates on a fiscal year 
 37.32  basis.  The report must be signed and notarized under oath.  A 
 37.33  filing fee of $15 for each report must be paid to the county 
 37.34  auditor. 
 37.35     Subd. 3.  [MONEY IN TRUST.] An association holding money in 
 37.36  trust under this section shall provide written notice to the 
 38.1   person purchasing the cemetery lot, or the burial space in a 
 38.2   mausoleum or columbarium, at the time of the first payment.  The 
 38.3   notice must identify the location where the money will be held 
 38.4   in trust including any identifying account numbers and the name 
 38.5   and address of the institution in which the money is held.  An 
 38.6   association holding money in trust under this section shall 
 38.7   notify the county auditor receiving the annual report if there 
 38.8   is a change in the identifying account numbers or location of 
 38.9   the fund within seven days of the change.  
 38.10     Subd. 4.  [NOTICE OF CHANGE OF TRUSTEE.] An association 
 38.11  subject to this section must file a notice of change of trustee 
 38.12  of any trust funds with the same county auditor who should 
 38.13  receive the annual report required by this section within 30 
 38.14  days after the change of trustees. 
 38.15     Subd. 5.  [PENALTY.] An association knowingly violating 
 38.16  this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and for a second offense 
 38.17  is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.  
 38.18     Subd. 6.  [APPLICATION.] This section does not apply to a 
 38.19  cemetery, mausoleum, or columbarium owned and operated by a 
 38.20  municipality, church, religious corporation, or religious 
 38.21  association. 
 38.22     Sec. 58.  [306A.60] [GIFTS PERMITTED FOR PERMANENT CARE OF 
 38.23  LOTS AND OTHER CEMETERY PURPOSES.] 
 38.24     Subdivision 1.  [ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS.] The board of 
 38.25  trustees or directors of a public cemetery organized under the 
 38.26  laws of this state may accept, hold and use any gift or the 
 38.27  income and proceeds of any gift, as may be made in trust or 
 38.28  otherwise, for the care, maintenance, improvement, or 
 38.29  beautification of the cemetery on a particular lot, according to 
 38.30  the terms of the gift and regulations of the cemetery. 
 38.31     Subd. 2.  [GIFTS TO BE USED AS SPECIFIED BY DONOR.] Any 
 38.32  gift and income and proceeds of the gift must be used according 
 38.33  to the directions of the donor, and where no specific directions 
 38.34  are given, or where given and the purpose is incapable of 
 38.35  performance, or where there is a surplus income after the 
 38.36  directions of the donor have been performed, must be used for 
 39.1   the general care of the cemetery. 
 39.2      Subd. 3.  [TAX AND OTHER EXEMPTIONS.] Gifts and trusts 
 39.3   under this section shall be exempt from taxation and any rule or 
 39.4   law against perpetuities, suspension of the power of alienation 
 39.5   and accumulations. 
 39.6      Sec. 59.  [306A.61] [CONSTRUCTION PERFORMANCE BOND.] 
 39.7      Subdivision 1.  [OBTAIN BOND.] Any person, firm, 
 39.8   partnership, association, or corporation selling burial space in 
 39.9   a mausoleum or columbarium before the mausoleum or columbarium 
 39.10  is completed and usable shall obtain a performance bond in an 
 39.11  amount sufficient to cover all construction costs associated 
 39.12  with building the mausoleum or columbarium as promised at the 
 39.13  time of sale.  The bond must be executed by an insurance company 
 39.14  authorized to do business in Minnesota that has sufficient net 
 39.15  worth to satisfy the amount of the bond and that has given 
 39.16  consent to be sued in Minnesota. 
 39.17     Subd. 2.  [CLAIMS ON BOND.] The bond must be in favor of 
 39.18  the state for the benefit of any purchaser who suffers a loss 
 39.19  due to failure of the seller to deliver the promised structure.  
 39.20  A person claiming against the bond may file a claim with the 
 39.21  surety, and if the claim is not paid, may maintain an action 
 39.22  based on the bond and recover against the surety.  The attorney 
 39.23  general may file a claim with the surety on behalf of any 
 39.24  purchaser.  The surety shall pay the amount of the claims to the 
 39.25  attorney general for distribution to the claimants entitled to 
 39.26  restitution and is relieved of liability to that extent.  If the 
 39.27  claim is not paid, the attorney general may maintain an action 
 39.28  against the surety on behalf of the claimants. 
 39.29     Subd. 3.  [AGGREGATE LIABILITY LIMIT.] The aggregate 
 39.30  liability of the surety to all persons buying space in the 
 39.31  mausoleum or columbarium does not exceed the amount of the bond. 
 39.32     Subd. 4.  [FILE COPY OF BOND.] A person, firm, partnership, 
 39.33  association, or corporation selling burial space in a mausoleum 
 39.34  or columbarium before the mausoleum or columbarium is completed 
 39.35  and usable shall file a copy of the performance bond with the 
 39.36  county auditor of the county in which the mausoleum or 
 40.1   columbarium will be built 30 days before the entity may sell 
 40.2   space and begin construction.  A filing fee of $15 for each copy 
 40.3   of the bond must be paid to the county auditor. 
 40.4      Subd. 5.  [APPLICATION.] This section does not apply to a 
 40.5   cemetery, mausoleum, or columbarium owned and operated by a 
 40.6   municipality, church, religious corporation, or religious 
 40.7   association. 
 40.8      Subd. 6.  [PENALTY.] A person, firm, partnership, 
 40.9   association, or corporation knowingly violating this section is 
 40.10  guilty of a misdemeanor and for a second offense is guilty of a 
 40.11  gross misdemeanor. 
 40.12     Sec. 60.  [306A.62] [PERMANENT RETENTION OF RECORDS.] 
 40.13     Subdivision 1.  [RECORDS.] A cemetery association and a 
 40.14  person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation owning or 
 40.15  operating a mausoleum or columbarium or constructing or selling 
 40.16  space in a mausoleum or columbarium to be built, who is required 
 40.17  to deposit trust money in a permanent care and improvement fund, 
 40.18  must permanently retain records of the trust account in 
 40.19  Minnesota.  The records of the trust account must include the 
 40.20  name of the person purchasing the cemetery lot or burial space, 
 40.21  the name of the living representative of that person if one was 
 40.22  designated, and the location of the money including any 
 40.23  identifying numbers and the name and address of the institution 
 40.24  in which the money is held.  
 40.25     Subd. 2.  [PENALTY.] A person, firm, partnership, 
 40.26  association, or corporation knowingly violating this section is 
 40.27  guilty of a misdemeanor and for a second offense is guilty of a 
 40.28  gross misdemeanor. 
 40.29     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION.] This section does not apply to a 
 40.30  cemetery, mausoleum, or columbarium owned and operated by a 
 40.31  municipality, church, religious corporation, or religious 
 40.32  association. 
 40.33     Sec. 61.  [306A.63] [CERTAIN ENTITIES; FILING OF 
 40.34  INDEPENDENT AUDIT OR COMPILATION; PENALTY.] 
 40.35     Subdivision 1.  [ENTITIES TO FILE.] A person, firm, 
 40.36  partnership, association, or corporation that is subject to 
 41.1   section 306A.59 and a cemetery association operating a cemetery 
 41.2   larger than ten acres must file, by March 31 if operating on a 
 41.3   calendar year basis and by 90 days after the end of the fiscal 
 41.4   year if operating on a fiscal year basis, either its 
 41.5   independently audited financial statement or a compilation 
 41.6   prepared by a certified public accountant which reviews the 
 41.7   permanent care and improvement fund and construction performance 
 41.8   bond of the cemetery, mausoleum, or columbarium.  The 
 41.9   compilation or audited financial statement must, at a minimum, 
 41.10  review whether the amounts in the entity's permanent care and 
 41.11  improvement fund and construction performance bond comply with 
 41.12  the requirements of this chapter.  The independently audited 
 41.13  financial statement or the compilation must be filed with the 
 41.14  county auditor of the county in which the cemetery, mausoleum, 
 41.15  or columbarium is situated.  A filing fee of $15 must be paid to 
 41.16  the county auditor for each compilation or independently audited 
 41.17  financial statement. 
 41.18     For purposes of this section the term "larger than ten 
 41.19  acres" means a total area of land of more than ten acres in size 
 41.20  that is established and maintained as a cemetery and which land 
 41.21  is exempt from property taxes. 
 41.22     Subd. 2.  [PENALTY.] A person, firm, partnership, 
 41.23  association, or corporation knowingly violating this section is 
 41.24  guilty of a misdemeanor and for a second offense is guilty of a 
 41.25  gross misdemeanor. 
 41.26     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION.] This section does not apply to a 
 41.27  cemetery, mausoleum, or columbarium owned and operated by a 
 41.28  municipality, church, religious corporation, or religious 
 41.29  association. 
 41.30     Sec. 62.  [306A.64] [DUTIES OF THE COUNTY AUDITOR.] 
 41.31     Subdivision 1.  [NOTIFICATION OF VIOLATION.] A county 
 41.32  auditor who finds evidence of a violation of this chapter when 
 41.33  reviewing reports or bonds filed by a person, firm, partnership, 
 41.34  association, or corporation operating a cemetery, mausoleum, or 
 41.35  columbarium shall notify the state auditor's office in a timely 
 41.36  manner of the finding. 
 42.1      Subd. 2.  [ANNUAL LETTER.] A county auditor shall file an 
 42.2   annual letter by May 31 with the state auditor's office 
 42.3   disclosing whether the county auditor has detected any 
 42.4   indications of violations of this chapter in the reports or 
 42.5   bonds which were filed or should have been filed.  If the county 
 42.6   auditor has not detected from the information supplied to the 
 42.7   county auditor any such indications, that fact must be reported 
 42.8   to the state auditor in the annual letter. 
 42.9      Sec. 63.  [306A.65] [DUTIES OF THE STATE AUDITOR.] 
 42.10     On notification from a county auditor or on reliable 
 42.11  written verification by any person of indications of violations 
 42.12  of this chapter, the state auditor shall make an independent 
 42.13  determination of whether a violation of this chapter is 
 42.14  occurring or is about to occur.  On finding such evidence, the 
 42.15  state auditor shall conduct examinations of accounts and records 
 42.16  of the cemetery, mausoleum, or columbarium that the state 
 42.17  auditor considers the public interest to demand and shall inform 
 42.18  the appropriate agency of any finding of misconduct.  The state 
 42.19  auditor may require the entity being examined to send all books, 
 42.20  accounts, and vouchers pertaining to the receipt, disbursement, 
 42.21  and custody of funds to the office of the state auditor for 
 42.22  examination.  The person, firm, partnership, association, or 
 42.23  corporation examined under this section by the state auditor 
 42.24  shall reimburse the state auditor for expenses incurred in 
 42.25  conducting the examination within 30 days after the state 
 42.26  auditor's office submits its expenses.  Interest at the rate 
 42.27  established in section 549.09 accrues on the outstanding balance 
 42.28  starting on the 31st day after the state auditor demands payment 
 42.29  for expenses. 
 42.30     Sec. 64.  [306A.66] [FUND FOR PERPETUAL CARE OF GRAVES SET 
 42.31  ASIDE BY COURT.] 
 42.32     A court having jurisdiction of the estate of a deceased 
 42.33  person may, before its final distribution, order set aside from 
 42.34  the estate the reasonable and uniform amount determined by the 
 42.35  governing board of the cemetery in which the person is interred 
 42.36  for the perpetual care of the lot or grave of the deceased.  The 
 43.1   court may direct payment of the amount to the treasurer of the 
 43.2   permanent care and improvement fund of the cemetery association 
 43.3   or other governing board having control of the cemetery where 
 43.4   the lot is located.  
 43.5      Sec. 65.  [306A.67] [APPLICATION.] 
 43.6      Section 306A.66 does not apply to a cemetery association or 
 43.7   other governing board in a city of the first class or to a 
 43.8   cemetery association or board that has included the cost of 
 43.9   perpetual maintenance of graves in the price of its cemetery 
 43.10  lots.  The section also does not apply when payment for the 
 43.11  perpetual care of the lot or grave has been made to the cemetery 
 43.12  association or if the deceased person has provided for care 
 43.13  either while living or by last will and testament that has been 
 43.14  admitted to probate. 
 43.15     Sec. 66.  [306A.69] [TRANSFER OF CEMETERY LAND AND 
 43.16  PROPERTY.] 
 43.17     Subdivision 1.  [TRANSFER BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT.] 
 43.18  Cemetery land and property or a public burial ground owned or 
 43.19  controlled by a town, statutory or home rule charter city, or 
 43.20  county may be transferred by deed or otherwise to an existing 
 43.21  cemetery association or corporation or one formed under this 
 43.22  chapter.  The transfer may be with or without condition, as 
 43.23  determined by the town, statutory or home rule charter city, or 
 43.24  county.  The town, statutory or home rule charter city, or 
 43.25  county may, as a part of the transaction, enter into a contract 
 43.26  or agreement with the cemetery association to provide for the 
 43.27  management and maintenance of the cemetery, for the sale of lots 
 43.28  or land in the cemetery, and for those other matters concerning 
 43.29  the care and control of the cemetery as the town, statutory or 
 43.30  home rule charter city, or county considers advisable. 
 43.31     Subd. 2.  [TRANSFER BY RELIGIOUS CORPORATION.] Cemetery 
 43.32  land or property owned by a religious corporation existing under 
 43.33  state laws may be transferred to a cemetery association under 
 43.34  state laws without any express consideration.  In this case, the 
 43.35  articles of incorporation of the cemetery association may 
 43.36  provide, or may be amended to provide, for the appointment of 
 44.1   its directors or trustees by the board of directors of the 
 44.2   religious corporation or by some specified officer of the 
 44.3   corporation.  A cemetery association affiliated with a religious 
 44.4   corporation by such a provision in its articles may provide for 
 44.5   the acquisition of other cemetery properties within the state 
 44.6   exclusively for the burial of persons of the same religious 
 44.7   faith. 
 44.8      Subd. 3.  [TRANSFER TO RELIGIOUS CORPORATION.] A cemetery 
 44.9   corporation or association governed by this chapter may transfer 
 44.10  cemetery land or property to a religious corporation existing 
 44.11  under state laws without any express consideration.  Money held 
 44.12  by the cemetery corporation or association for maintenance of 
 44.13  transferred land containing cemetery burial plots must also be 
 44.14  transferred to the religious corporation to which the land is 
 44.15  transferred and the religious corporation shall use the money 
 44.16  for maintenance of the land and plots. 
 44.17     Sec. 67.  [306A.70] [TRANSFER BY FRATERNAL CORPORATIONS FOR 
 44.18  CEMETERY PURPOSES.] 
 44.19     Subdivision 1.  [CERTAIN CORPORATIONS MAY TRANSFER 
 44.20  LANDS.] A fraternal corporation organized under state law that 
 44.21  acquired land upon which it established a cemetery before 1885 
 44.22  and that operated a cemetery after that date may convey to a 
 44.23  corporation incorporated under state law to operate a public 
 44.24  cemetery any part of the cemetery that the corporation has not 
 44.25  conveyed to individuals to be used for the burial of the dead.  
 44.26  The corporation may also convey all its interest in any part of 
 44.27  the cemetery that has previously been conveyed by the public 
 44.28  cemetery association, without ownership or control of it, to 
 44.29  individuals to be used for the burial of the dead.  
 44.30     Subd. 2.  [LANDS TO BE SUBJECT TO RULES OF CEMETERY 
 44.31  ASSOCIATIONS.] A conveyance by a fraternal corporation may 
 44.32  transfer all right, title, and control in the acquired land that 
 44.33  is devoted to cemetery purposes.  Upon transfer, the public 
 44.34  cemetery association to which the conveyance is made acquires 
 44.35  and may exercise all of the rights, privileges, and control that 
 44.36  the fraternal corporation previously had, and the cemetery and 
 45.1   all premises constituting it are subject to the rules of the 
 45.2   cemetery association.  
 45.3      Sec. 68.  [306A.71] [ACQUISITION OF CEMETERY; CERTAIN 
 45.4   ENTITIES.] 
 45.5      Subdivision 1.  [CONDITIONS OF ACQUISITION.] A lodge, 
 45.6   order, or association of a purely religious, charitable, or 
 45.7   benevolent description, may acquire the cemetery property of a 
 45.8   cemetery association by gift or purchase and maintain and 
 45.9   enlarge it if: 
 45.10     (1) it does not operate for purposes of profit; 
 45.11     (2) it is exempt from chapter 64B under section 64B.38; 
 45.12     (3) it has been organized under state law; 
 45.13     (4) it has been in existence for 20 years; 
 45.14     (5) one of its purposes under its charter is to provide 
 45.15  free burial ground for its members and their families; and 
 45.16     (6) all of its members are also members of a cemetery 
 45.17  association by virtue of a specific provision in the charter of 
 45.18  the association and the provision has been in effect for 15 
 45.19  years before enactment of this section.  The cemetery 
 45.20  association may convey to the lodge, order, or association any 
 45.21  cemetery land or property.  
 45.22     A lodge, order, or association that acquires cemetery land 
 45.23  under this section in a county with a population of 600,000 or 
 45.24  more and maintains the land for cemetery purposes may also 
 45.25  acquire by gift or purchase the cemetery land or any part of it 
 45.26  owned by a public or other cemetery association that is adjacent 
 45.27  to the land maintained for cemetery purposes or is separated 
 45.28  from it by a public highway or street.  A public or other 
 45.29  cemetery association owning the land may convey it or any part 
 45.30  of it to the previously described lodge, order, or association 
 45.31  by deed, in accordance with authorization by its board of 
 45.32  directors or trustees.  Sections 306A.49 to 306A.60 do not apply 
 45.33  to the proceeds of the sale.  On acquisition, the lodge, order, 
 45.34  or association succeeds to all the rights to maintain and use 
 45.35  the other land for cemetery purposes as were possessed by the 
 45.36  public or other cemetery association from which the land was 
 46.1   acquired.  
 46.2      Subd. 2.  [APPLICATION.] Sections 306A.10, subdivision 3, 
 46.3   and 306A.49 to 306A.60 do not apply to lodges, orders, or 
 46.4   associations acquiring, maintaining, or enlarging cemeteries as 
 46.5   authorized by this section.  Section 306A.82 applies to land or 
 46.6   property acquired or maintained by the lodge, order, or 
 46.7   association for cemetery purposes.  Sections 307.01 to 307.12, 
 46.8   in so far as they relate to cemeteries owned or managed by 
 46.9   religious corporations, also apply to cemeteries acquired, 
 46.10  owned, and managed by the lodge, order, or association under 
 46.11  this section. 
 46.12     Sec. 69.  [306A.72] [TRANSFER OF CEMETERY TO LOCAL 
 46.13  GOVERNMENT UNIT.] 
 46.14     Subdivision 1.  [ACCEPTANCE.] A public cemetery association 
 46.15  owning a cemetery may transfer it to a statutory or home rule 
 46.16  charter city, town, or county in which the cemetery is wholly or 
 46.17  partly located, together with all the funds and property of the 
 46.18  association, whether the funds are of a trust character or 
 46.19  otherwise.  The statutory or home rule charter city, town, or 
 46.20  county in which the cemetery is wholly or partly located may 
 46.21  accept a transfer of the cemetery and of its property and funds, 
 46.22  and may continue to operate, maintain, manage, and conduct the 
 46.23  cemetery, and to sell lots and provide for the burial of the 
 46.24  dead in the cemetery.  Funds received from the cemetery 
 46.25  association, upon transfer, must be administered by the 
 46.26  statutory or home rule charter city, town, or county for the 
 46.27  same purposes and upon the same trusts for which they were 
 46.28  originally established. 
 46.29     Subd. 2.  [TRANSFER, HOW MADE.] To accomplish a transfer, 
 46.30  the board of trustees of the cemetery association shall first 
 46.31  adopt a resolution to that effect by a unanimous vote of the 
 46.32  members of the board of trustees, after which the chair or 
 46.33  president of the board of trustees and the secretary are 
 46.34  authorized to execute the proper instruments to evidence the 
 46.35  transfer.  However, the transfer must first have been authorized 
 46.36  by a majority vote of all the members of the association at a 
 47.1   regular or special meeting called for that purpose.  
 47.2      Subd. 3.  [LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT TO ACCEPT BY RESOLUTION.] 
 47.3   Before the transfer is made, the governing body of the statutory 
 47.4   or home rule charter city, town, or county in which the cemetery 
 47.5   is wholly or partly located shall first adopt a resolution 
 47.6   agreeing to accept the transfer of the property and funds of the 
 47.7   association, and agree to continue to operate, maintain, manage, 
 47.8   conduct, and control the cemetery, to sell lots in it, and to 
 47.9   administer its funds for the same purposes and upon the same 
 47.10  trusts for which they were originally established.  
 47.11     Subd. 4.  [TRUST FUND FOR PERPETUAL CARE.] If a trust fund 
 47.12  for the perpetual care of cemetery lots is transferred to a 
 47.13  statutory or home rule charter city, town, or county under this 
 47.14  section, then the fund must be preserved and kept and used and 
 47.15  administered for the same purposes and upon the same trusts as 
 47.16  if the transfer had not been made.  Lots for which payment in 
 47.17  full for perpetual care has been made to the cemetery 
 47.18  association are entitled to receive perpetual care, and the 
 47.19  statutory or home rule charter city, town, or county shall 
 47.20  provide it.  
 47.21     Subd. 5.  [RIGHTS OF LOT OWNERS.] After transfer, lot 
 47.22  owners are entitled to the same rights and privileges concerning 
 47.23  their lots as if the transfer had not been made.  
 47.24     Subd. 6.  [MAINTENANCE.] After the transfer has been made 
 47.25  and accepted by the statutory or home rule charter city, town, 
 47.26  or county, the governing body of the statutory or home rule 
 47.27  charter city, town, or county shall operate, maintain, conduct, 
 47.28  control, and manage the transferred cemetery.  For that purpose, 
 47.29  it may appoint a committee of the governing body. 
 47.30     Subd. 7.  [RULES.] The governing body of the statutory or 
 47.31  home rule charter city, town, or county may adopt rules and 
 47.32  regulations to conduct, manage, maintain, and operate the 
 47.33  cemetery, but the rules may not infringe upon the rights of 
 47.34  persons who were lot owners at the time the transfer was made.  
 47.35     Sec. 70.  [306A.73] [UNUSED PUBLIC CEMETERY; TRANSFER TO 
 47.36  OPERATING PUBLIC CEMETERY.] 
 48.1      Subdivision 1.  [TRANSFER AUTHORIZED.] A public cemetery 
 48.2   association that owns a cemetery in which no interments have 
 48.3   been made for 40 years may transfer the cemetery and real estate 
 48.4   owned by it, together with funds or property that it possesses, 
 48.5   to another public cemetery association or corporation serving 
 48.6   the same community in the burial of the dead.  
 48.7      Subd. 2.  [METHOD OF TRANSFER.] To accomplish the transfer, 
 48.8   the board of trustees of the transferring cemetery association 
 48.9   shall adopt a resolution to that effect by an unanimous vote of 
 48.10  the board of trustees.  The chair or president of the board of 
 48.11  trustees and the secretary may then execute the proper 
 48.12  instruments and a deed in the name of the association to 
 48.13  evidence the transfer.  However, the transfer must first have 
 48.14  been authorized by a majority vote of all members of the 
 48.15  association, present and voting, at any regular meeting or at 
 48.16  any special meeting called for that purpose, after written 
 48.17  notice to the members specifying the time, place, and purpose of 
 48.18  the meeting.  
 48.19     If the association is an unincorporated association, a deed 
 48.20  executed in the name of the association by the chair or 
 48.21  president and the secretary or treasurer of the board of 
 48.22  trustees is a valid conveyance of the lands of the association.  
 48.23     Subd. 3.  [ACCEPTANCE OF TRANSFER.] A public cemetery 
 48.24  association or corporation serving the community in the burial 
 48.25  of the dead may accept a transfer of a cemetery and its lands, 
 48.26  property, and funds.  Before a transfer is made, the public 
 48.27  cemetery association to which the transfer is being made shall 
 48.28  adopt a resolution agreeing to accept the cemetery and its real 
 48.29  and personal property and funds and agreeing to operate, 
 48.30  maintain, control, and manage the cemetery and administer its 
 48.31  property and funds in the name of, and in accordance with the 
 48.32  rules and laws governing the accepting public cemetery 
 48.33  association.  
 48.34     Subd. 4.  [EFFECT OF TRANSFER.] After transfer, lot owners 
 48.35  of the former association continue their ownership.  They are 
 48.36  entitled to the same rights and privileges with respect to their 
 49.1   lots accorded to lot owners by the public cemetery association 
 49.2   to which the transfer was made and are thereafter subject to all 
 49.3   the rules and laws governing the public cemetery association.  
 49.4      Sec. 71.  [306A.74] [MERGER OF CEMETERIES.] 
 49.5      The ownership of a cemetery owned by a cemetery association 
 49.6   or corporation, a municipality or town, a religious corporation, 
 49.7   or any other body, or of a privately owned cemetery, may be 
 49.8   merged with that of any other cemetery upon the terms set by its 
 49.9   governing body, board of trustees, or owner.  The surviving 
 49.10  association, corporation, municipality, town, religious 
 49.11  corporation, or other body or private person owning the 
 49.12  cemeteries is subject to the laws appropriate for the particular 
 49.13  type of cemetery ownership.  No interests of third parties may 
 49.14  be impaired by the merger and after the merger lot owners of the 
 49.15  former cemeteries shall continue their ownership and be entitled 
 49.16  to the same rights and privileges concerning their lots that 
 49.17  were accorded to them under the previous ownership.  
 49.18     Sec. 72.  [306A.76] [MAINTAINING ABANDONED CEMETERIES.] 
 49.19     Subdivision 1.  [APPROPRIATION FOR IMPROVEMENT.] A county 
 49.20  board may appropriate the general revenue funds it determines 
 49.21  necessary for the improvement and maintenance of the cemetery if 
 49.22  there is in the county, whether or not within the corporate 
 49.23  limits of a town or statutory city, either of the following:  
 49.24     (1) a cemetery that has been abandoned or neglected and the 
 49.25  association having had charge of the cemetery has disbanded or 
 49.26  fails to act; or 
 49.27     (2) an abandoned or neglected private cemetery containing 
 49.28  the remains of pioneers or residents of this state, deceased 
 49.29  before 1875 or civil war veterans or veterans of the armed 
 49.30  services of the United States of any previous war.  
 49.31     Subd. 2.  [DUTIES OF COUNTY BOARD.] If there is an isolated 
 49.32  grave or graves located outside the boundaries of a cemetery or 
 49.33  outside an abandoned or neglected private cemetery, as described 
 49.34  in subdivision 1, the county board of the county where the grave 
 49.35  is located may order the disinterment and the reinterment of the 
 49.36  body in some cemetery controlled by an organized cemetery 
 50.1   association.  The county board may appropriate funds for paying 
 50.2   perpetual care to that association for the care of the grave or 
 50.3   graves.  
 50.4      Subd. 3.  [DELEGATION OF DUTIES.] The management and 
 50.5   supervision of the maintenance and care of the abandoned 
 50.6   cemeteries, and abandoned or neglected private cemeteries, or 
 50.7   the removal of bodies as provided in this section must be 
 50.8   delegated by the county board to the county highway department 
 50.9   or to some existing cemetery association, veterans organization, 
 50.10  Boy Scouts of America Area Council, or other charitable 
 50.11  institution.  That organization is responsible to the county 
 50.12  board for its acts. 
 50.13     Subd. 4.  [DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.] If funds for the care 
 50.14  and maintenance of an abandoned or neglected private cemetery 
 50.15  described in subdivision 1 are raised by an organization or 
 50.16  institution other than an existing cemetery association, the 
 50.17  funds may be paid to the county treasurer to be held or 
 50.18  disbursed by the county board for the purposes for which the 
 50.19  funds are raised.  
 50.20     Subd. 5.  [TRANSFER.] A county that has assumed maintenance 
 50.21  of an abandoned cemetery under this section for a period of at 
 50.22  least one year may transfer the cemetery land and property as 
 50.23  provided in section 306A.69. 
 50.24     Sec. 73.  [306A.77] [NEGLECTED CEMETERIES; DUTIES OF TOWN 
 50.25  BOARD.] 
 50.26     The town board of supervisors may maintain in a proper 
 50.27  manner, and keep free of weeds, a cemetery that has been 
 50.28  neglected for at least ten years.  
 50.29     Sec. 74.  [306A.78] [CEMETERY MAINTENANCE FUNDS.] 
 50.30     A county, city, or town may disburse funds for the general 
 50.31  maintenance of abandoned or neglected cemeteries.  
 50.32     Sec. 75.  [306A.80] [ACTION FOR DAMAGES.] 
 50.33     Every public cemetery association may recover, in its own 
 50.34  name, all damages resulting from injury to or destruction of any 
 50.35  stone, monument, building, fence, railing, or other work for 
 50.36  protection or ornament, or any tree, shrub, or plant within the 
 51.1   limits of the cemetery.  
 51.2      Sec. 76.  [306A.81] [EMPLOYEES TO HAVE POLICE POWERS.] 
 51.3      The trustees or officers of a cemetery association may 
 51.4   appoint superintendents, security guards, gardeners, and agents 
 51.5   as they may determine.  Upon taking and subscribing an oath 
 51.6   similar to that required from constables, an appointee has all 
 51.7   the rights and powers of a police officer within and adjacent to 
 51.8   the cemetery grounds.  
 51.9      Sec. 77.  [306A.82] [TAXES; ROADS; SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS.] 
 51.10     Subdivision 1.  [TAX EXEMPTION.] The lands and property of 
 51.11  any public cemetery association are exempt from all public taxes 
 51.12  and assessments and shall not be sold on execution against the 
 51.13  association or any lot owner.  The owners of cemetery lots, 
 51.14  their heirs or legal representatives, may hold the lots exempt 
 51.15  from taxation so long as the lots are used for a cemetery.  No 
 51.16  road or street shall be laid through the cemetery or any part of 
 51.17  the lands of the association without the consent of the trustees.
 51.18     Subd. 2.  [SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS.] Subdivision 1 does not 
 51.19  exempt cemetery property owned or leased by a corporation, 
 51.20  association, partnership, proprietorship, or other organization 
 51.21  from any special assessment unless the corporation, association, 
 51.22  partnership, proprietorship, or other organization:  
 51.23     (1) was formed for a purpose not involving pecuniary gain 
 51.24  to its shareholders or members; and 
 51.25     (2) pays no dividends or other pecuniary remuneration 
 51.26  directly or indirectly to its shareholders or members.  
 51.27     Sec. 78.  [306A.83] [RELOCATION.] 
 51.28     A cemetery may not be relocated without the consent of the 
 51.29  trustees. 
 51.30     Sec. 79.  [306A.84] [WINTER BURIALS.] 
 51.31     Each municipal, town, or other cemetery governed by this 
 51.32  chapter or other law shall, so far as possible, provide for 
 51.33  burials at any time of the year.  A cemetery may make an 
 51.34  additional charge for the actual cost of a burial during 
 51.35  difficult weather. 
 51.36     Sec. 80.  [306A.85] [PUBLIC CEMETERIES FOR THE POOR.] 
 52.1      A public cemetery association organized under the laws of 
 52.2   Minnesota for the purpose of providing free burial for the poor 
 52.3   and not for purposes of profit, which has been in existence for 
 52.4   over 25 years before March 22, 1947, is exempt from sections 
 52.5   306A.49 to 306A.60.  
 52.6      Sec. 81.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 307.11, is 
 52.7   amended to read: 
 52.8      307.11 [ABANDONED LOTS; RECOVERY.] 
 52.9      Sections 306.21; 306.22; 306.23; 306.24 and 306.241 
 52.10  306A.15, 306A.16, 306A.17, 306A.18 and 306A.20 apply to private 
 52.11  cemeteries subject to the provisions of this chapter. 
 52.12     Sec. 82.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 315.16, 
 52.13  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
 52.14     Subd. 4.  [CEMETERY CORPORATIONS.] A religious corporation 
 52.15  may be formed in the manner set forth in this section to 
 52.16  establish cemeteries in accordance with section 307.01 306A.86.  
 52.17     Sec. 83.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 315.31, is 
 52.18  amended to read: 
 52.19     315.31 [AMENDMENT OF ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION.] 
 52.20     A religious society, religious association, or religious 
 52.21  corporation existing under section 315.21, upon compliance with 
 52.22  sections 315.31 to 315.33, may change its articles of 
 52.23  incorporation as to any matter that could have been included in 
 52.24  the original articles of incorporation.  It may not change 
 52.25  matters relating to the management or the conduct of affairs of 
 52.26  a cemetery owned or controlled by it if the cemetery is managed 
 52.27  or conducted according to sections 306.69 to 306.72 section 
 52.28  306A.07.  
 52.29     Sec. 84.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 525.14, is 
 52.30  amended to read: 
 52.31     525.14 [DESCENT OF CEMETERY LOT.] 
 52.32     Subject to the right of interment of the decedent therein, 
 52.33  a cemetery lot or burial plot, unless disposed of as provided in 
 52.34  section 306.29 306A.26, shall descend free of all debts as 
 52.35  follows: 
 52.36     (1) To the decedent's surviving spouse, a life estate with 
 53.1   right of interment of the spouse therein, and remainder over to 
 53.2   the person who would be entitled to the fee if there were no 
 53.3   spouse, provided, however, if no person entitled to the 
 53.4   remainder of the fee survives, then the entire fee to the 
 53.5   surviving spouse with right of interment therein; 
 53.6      (2) If there is no surviving spouse, then to the decedent's 
 53.7   eldest surviving child; 
 53.8      (3) If there is no surviving child, then to the decedent's 
 53.9   youngest surviving sibling; 
 53.10     (4) If there is no surviving spouse, child or sibling of 
 53.11  the decedent, then, if not sold during administration of 
 53.12  decedent's estate, to the cemetery association or private 
 53.13  cemetery in trust as a burial lot for the decedent and such of 
 53.14  the decedent's relatives as the governing body thereof shall 
 53.15  deem proper. 
 53.16     The cemetery association or private cemetery, or, with its 
 53.17  consent, any person to whom the lot shall descend may grant and 
 53.18  convey the lot to any of the decedent's parents, siblings or 
 53.19  descendants. 
 53.20     A crypt or group of crypts or burial vaults owned by one 
 53.21  person in a public or community mausoleum shall be deemed a 
 53.22  cemetery lot. 
 53.23     Grave markers, monuments, memorials and all structures 
 53.24  lawfully installed or erected on any cemetery lot or burial plot 
 53.25  shall be deemed to be a part of and shall descend with the lot 
 53.26  or plot. 
 53.27     Sec. 85.  [REPEALER.] 
 53.28     Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 306.01; 306.02; 306.023; 
 53.29  306.025; 306.027; 306.03; 306.04; 306.05; 306.06; 306.07; 
 53.30  306.08; 306.09; 306.10; 306.11; 306.111; 306.12; 306.13; 306.14; 
 53.31  306.141; 306.15; 306.16; 306.17; 306.18; 306.19; 306.20; 306.21; 
 53.32  306.22; 306.23; 306.24; 306.241; 306.242; 306.243; 306.245; 
 53.33  306.246; 306.25; 306.26; 306.27; 306.28; 306.29; 306.31; 306.32; 
 53.34  306.33; 306.34; 306.35; 306.36; 306.37; 306.38; 306.39; 306.40; 
 53.35  306.41; 306.42; 306.43; 306.44; 306.45; 306.46; 306.47; 306.48; 
 53.36  306.49; 306.50; 306.51; 306.52; 306.53; 306.54; 306.55; 306.56; 
 54.1   306.57; 306.58; 306.59; 306.60; 306.61; 306.62; 306.63; 306.64; 
 54.2   306.65; 306.66; 306.67; 306.68; 306.69; 306.70; 306.71; 306.72; 
 54.3   306.73; 306.74; 306.75; 306.76; 306.761; 306.762; 306.77; 
 54.4   306.773; 306.78; 306.79; 306.80; 306.81; 306.82; 306.83; 306.84; 
 54.5   306.85; 306.851; 306.86; 306.87; 306.88; 306.90; 306.93; 306.95; 
 54.6   306.97; and 306.99, are repealed.  
 54.7      Sec. 86.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 54.8      This act is effective August 1, 2001.