PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 1185, 1219, 1623 PRINTER'S NO. 2011
No. 1075 Session of 1987
Report of the Committee of Conference
To the Members of the House of Representatives and Senate:
We, the undersigned, Committee of Conference on the part of
the House of Representatives and Senate for the purpose of
considering House Bill No. 1075, entitled:
"An act providing procedures when cemetery companies make errors
in burials; and providing for sanctions,"
respectfully submit the following bill as our report:
CHARLES P. LAUGHLIN
WILLIAM R. LLOYD, JR.
MARIO J. CIVERA, JR.
(Committee on the part of the House of Representatives.)
JOHN E. PETERSON
F. JOSEPH LOEPER
HARDY WILLIAMS
(Committee on the part of the Senate.)
AN ACT
1 Providing procedures when cemetery companies make errors in
2 burials; and providing for sanctions.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Definitions.
6 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
7 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
8 context clearly indicates otherwise:
9 "Cemetery." A place for the disposal or burial of deceased
10 human beings, by cremation or in a grave, mausoleum, vault,
11 columbarium or other receptacle. The term does not include a
12 private family cemetery.
13 "Cemetery company." Any business entity that sells to the
14 public the ownership of, or the right to use, any cemetery lot
15 owned by the business entity. The term also includes the person
16 or persons responsible for any cemetery company or cemetery
17 owned or controlled by a church or religious congregation or
18 fraternal organization or by any association created by a church
19 or religious organization or a fraternal organization.
20 "Lot." Includes a lot, plot or part of a cemetery.
21 Section 2. Duty to disinter and reinter.
22 In any instance in which a cemetery company is informed or
23 becomes aware that the cemetery company has buried or permitted
24 the burial of a body in the wrong lot, it shall be the duty of
25 the cemetery company to disinter the casket wrongfully buried,
26 identify the casket and reinter it in the proper lot. The
27 cemetery company shall give adequate advance notice of the time
28 or times of the disinterment and reinterment to the nearest
29 known next of kin of the deceased person and the owner or owners
1 of the lot involved if such owner or owners have so requested.
2 Section 3. Attendance at disinterment.
3 At the time or times specified for the disinterment and
4 reinterment, the cemetery company shall permit the nearest known
5 next of kin and the owner or owners of the lot involved, if the
6 owner or owners have so requested, to witness the disinterment
7 or reinterment.
8 Section 4. Expenses.
9 At the time of disinterment of a casket as described in
10 section 2, the cemetery company shall bear all costs of the
11 disinterment and reinterment.
12 Section 5. Effective date.
13 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
D1L09CHF/19870H1075B2011 - 2 -