OFFICE OF CEMETERY OVERSIGHT
ADVISORY COUNCIL ON CEMETERY OPERATIONS
MINUTES
DATE:
April 24, 2008
TIME:
10:10 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
PLACE;
Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, 500 N. Calvert Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202, 2nd Floor Conference Room
PRESENT:
David Goodman, Chair
George Piendak, Director
Paulette Wirsching, Assistant Attorney General
Patricia Tress, Investigator
Richard Cody
Susan Cohen
Frank Porter
Harriet Suskin
Jack Tyrie
David Zinner
GUESTS PRESENT:
David Mason, Government Relations Service
CALL TO ORDER:
Chair Goodman called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.
MINUTES:
By motion made by Frank Porter and seconded by David Zinner, the Minutes of the
March 27, 2008 meeting were accepted.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Chair Goodman reminded the Advisory Council that the deadline for filing their
Financial Disclosure Statements is April 30, 2008.
George Piendak asked everyone to continue to submit their Expense Vouchers in a timely
fashion for mileage reimbursement. Mr. Piendak also asked that everyone sign their
vouchers with blue or other than black ink.
Chair Goodman advised the Council that Jay Cherry is home and recovering after his
surgery. Hopefully, Mr. Cherry will be well enough to attend the next Advisory Council
meeting scheduled for May 22, 2008. Mr. Piendak said that Jay Cherry thanked all those
who signed and personalized his get well card.
Mr. Piendak provided the Council members with a copy of an article from the Baltimore
Sun which dealt with the recent shooting outside of a church immediately after a funeral
service. The problem of violence at funerals has been an issue on the West Coast, Detroit
and elsewhere for several years. This warrants discussion at next month’s meeting. Chair
Goodman advised the Council that the problem of violence at funerals will be placed on
the May agenda.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:
Ms. Wirsching discussed several bills passed during this year’s legislative session which
will impact the funeral industry. The bill submitted by Delegate Sandy Rosenberg
regarding destruction of a funerary object was passed. The amended law requires a
person found guilty of the destruction of a funerary object to pay for the restoration of the
object. This crime was not upgraded to felony status; vandalism of funerary objects will
remain a misdemeanor.
The second bill which will affect the funeral industry is the Domestic Partners Bill. If a
person is at least 18 years of age, not related by blood or marriage, not married or in a
civil union or domestic partnership with another individual, agrees to be in a relationship
of mutual interdependence and can prove a domestic relationship, the surviving person
will have legal standing in making funeral arrangements, consenting to a post mortem
examination and having access to disinterment or reinterment records in addition to other
legal decisions. This bill gives the same priority as a spouse as to the disposition of a
body of a person who died without a will or a pre-need contract. This law will go into
affect on October 1, 2008.
David Mason, a crematory owner and spokesperson for part of the mortuary industry,
advised the Council that the Sunset Bill for the State Board of Morticians and Funeral
Directors was passed. The most significant change is the membership of the Board.
Currently, the Board consists of 12 members; 8 industry members and 4 consumer
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members. However, the Board will now consist of 11 members; 6 industry members and
5 consumer members.
Also passed this session was the Family Security Trust Fund bill. This fund was created
to protect citizens of the State of Maryland against fraud related to preneed sales in the
mortuary industry. The fund will be funded by licensed funeral home owners who will
have to pay an annual assessment until the fund reaches its goal of $1,000,000. In
exchange, the funeral directors no longer need to pay to have their trust funds audited
annually.
ABANDONED CEMETERIES:
As a result of the Sunset Bill passed for the Office of Cemetery Oversight during the
2007 session of the General Assembly, the Advisory Council is working on a bill
regarding the issue of abandoned cemeteries. Several members of the Council and the
Office of Cemetery Oversight worked on committees dealing with various components of
the proposed bill. Ms. Suskin, Mr. Porter and Ms. Cohen submitted a definition of
neglected and abandoned cemeteries. The three Council members reviewed resources
previously provided to them by the Office of Cemetery Oversight. The definitions
included references to the amount of years without interments, the identification of the
owner of the cemetery, the financial stability of the owner and the number of years
without proper maintenance of the cemetery.
George Piendak and Patricia Tress discussed the severity of the problem of abandoned
cemeteries throughout the State. Mr. Piendak discussed the fact that although there may
be a number of abandoned and/or neglected cemeteries in the State, the Office has
received few complaints regarding them during the past three years. He presented to the
Council a paper on the topic in which he set forth three options for actions that are
available: (1) Have the State take responsibility for the operations and maintenance of
abandoned and/or neglected cemeteries; (2) Have the Office of Cemetery Oversight assist
in the development of policies and proposals to have local governments take over
abandoned and/or neglected cemeteries in their jurisdictions; or (3) Have the Office of
Cemetery Oversight take no proactive steps but respond on a case-by-case basis to the
most urgent complaints. He discussed the ramifications of each option and the adequacy
of the State’s past responses to the problem with the Council.
Ms. Tress discussed the various neglected and/or abandoned cemeteries she has observed
over the last several years. Ms. Tress believes that with increased residential and
commercial development throughout the State and an awareness of the Office of
Cemetery Oversight, the number of complaints regarding this issue will increase over the
next several years. Both Mr. Piendak and Ms. Tress believe it is a local problem and is
not an issue which should be dealt with at the State level.
Mr. Cody stated that he does not feel the cost of repair of an abandoned cemetery should
be the responsibility of licensed cemeteries. Mr. Cody stressed the need for the
regulation of all cemeteries, including religious cemeteries, to prevent them from
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becoming abandoned. Mr. Cody feels that those cemeteries most at risk are, in fact,
religious cemeteries owned by small churches with declining membership which are
exempted from the statutory perpetual care trust fund requirements.
Mr. Tyrie explained that in Northern Baltimore County, it is the responsibility of a
developer to legally disinter human remains and reinter those remains in a licensed
cemetery when property containing human remains has been sold and is being developed.
Chair Goodman and Mr. Zinner discussed the need to identify the scope of the problem
and have suggested having a public hearing at the June 26, 2008 meeting.
Chair Goodman spoke to David Bliden, Executive Director of the Maryland Association
of Counties, who expressed the concerns of local government. County governments are
not pleased with State, unfunded mandates. Mr. Bliden appreciated Chair Goodman’s
interest in discussing this proposed legislation. These comments were also made to the
Chair when he spoke to Wendy Powers of the Maryland Municipal League. Members of
these two organizations will be asked to share their views at the May Advisory Council
meeting.
Ms. Wirsching and Ms. Rex reviewed §14-122 of the Real Property Article of the
Maryland Annotated Code which deals with the repair or maintenance of burial sites.
Ms. Wirsching and Ms. Rex suggest changing the word “may” to “shall” to make it the
responsibility of the county or municipality where the abandoned cemetery is located.
Mr. Zinner discussed possible solutions to the abandoned cemetery problem. Mr. Zinner
developed an outline which included: the possibility that the problem is not the
responsibility of the OCO; the possibility that the responsibility lies within local
governments (it is a zoning and land use issue); the possibility that other state agencies or
non-profit organizations should be utilized.
Further discussion of the proposed bill will ensue at the May meeting of the Advisory
Council.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
Mr. Piendak advised the Council that work continues in the Office’s efforts to eliminate
the backlog of pending licenses. In March, 2008, the Office of Cemetery Oversight
collected $126,000 in revenue with a total of $458,000 collected to date for this fiscal
year.
The Director is working closely with a cemeterian who will be re-opening a cemetery in
Southern Maryland which was formerly closed. The cemetery was never licensed with
the Office of Cemetery Oversight, and the former owners became involved in a multistate federal income tax fraud to do with the donation of rights of interment to a religious
organization. The Office will continue to work with the new owner to ensure licensing
and statutory requirements are met.
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Mr. Piendak is waiting for a date for an Administrative Hearing to be held within the next
few months in a case where the cemetery owners have refused to respond to an order
issued by the OCO. Further information will be provided when the situation has been
resolved.
INVESTIGATOR’S REPORT:
Ms. Tress advised the Council that the OCO recently received three complaints against
three separate cemeteries dealing with the same issue. Three unrelated complainants
believed that their mothers’ remains (buried at different cemeteries) had been illegally
moved from their original burial sites. One case remains open, but the other two
complaints have been resolved. Ms. Tress does not believe that any of the three womens’
remains had been moved. Two of the complainants admitted that their concerns were
driven by grief and emotion. These complaints were taken very seriously and a thorough
investigation of cemetery records, maps, etc. did not reveal that any of the three
allegations were true.
NEW BUSINESS:
Chair Goodman advised the Council that the next meeting will be held on Thursday, May
22, 2008 in the second floor conference room at 500 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore,
Maryland 21202.
ADJOURNMENT:
On motion of David Zinner and seconded by Frank Porter, the Council voted
unanimously to adjourn at 1:15 p.m.
Approved:
_____With corrections
_____Without corrections
___________________________
(Signature of Chairman)
____________________________
(Date)
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