51 N.J.R. 1349(a)

VOLUME 51, ISSUE 16, AUGUST 19, 2019
RULE PROPOSALS

Reporter
51 N.J.R. 1349(a)
NJ - New Jersey Register  >  2019  >  AUGUST  >  AUGUST 19, 2019  >  RULE PROPOSALS  >  LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY -- DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

Interested Persons Statement

INTERESTED PERSONS

Interested persons may submit comments, information or arguments concerning any of the rule proposals in this issue until the date indicated in the proposal. Submissions and any inquiries about submissions should be addressed to the agency officer specified for a particular proposal.

The required minimum period for comment concerning a proposal is 30 days. A proposing agency may extend the 30-day comment period to accommodate public hearings or to elicit greater public response to a proposed new rule or amendment. Most notices of proposal include a 60-day comment period, in order to qualify the notice for an exception to the rulemaking calendar requirements of    N.J.S.A. 52:14B-3. An extended comment deadline will be noted in the heading of a proposal or appear in a subsequent notice in the Register.
At the close of the period for comments, the proposing agency may thereafter adopt a proposal, without change, or with changes not in violation of the rulemaking procedures at    N.J.A.C. 1:30-6.3. The adoption becomes effective upon publication in the Register of a notice of adoption, unless otherwise indicated in the adoption notice. Promulgation in the New Jersey Register establishes a new or amended rule as an official part of the New Jersey Administrative Code.

Agency


LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY > DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS > NEW JERSEY CEMETERY BOARD

Administrative Code Citation

Proposed Amendments: N.J.A.C. 13:44J-5.3 and 14.1
Text

Trust Funds; Applications for Bulk Sales of Interment Spaces or Niches

Authorized By: New Jersey Cemetery Board, Quin Archer, Executive Director.

Authority: N.J.S.A. 45:27-4 and P.L. 2015, c. 61.

Calendar Reference: See Summary below for explanation of exception to calendar requirement.

Proposal Number: PRN 2019-123.

Submit comments by October 18, 2019, to:

   Quin Archer, Executive Director
   New Jersey Cemetery Board
   PO Box 45031
   Newark, New Jersey 07101
   or electronically at: http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Proposals/Pages/default.aspx.

The agency proposal follows:

Summary

N.J.S.A. 45:27-13 requires a cemetery company to collect fees when an interment space or niche is transferred and deposit those fees into its Maintenance and Preservation Fund. P.L. 2015, c. 61 amended this law by establishing that certain transfers of interment spaces or niches are not subject to these fee requirements. Fees are not collected or deposited into the Maintenance and Preservation Fund if a corporation or association that owns the interment space or niche: is organized not-for-profit; is operated solely for religious or charitable purposes to members or designees; allows a burial in that space or niche without transferring title and the space or niche was purchased after December 1, 1971; and a fee was paid into the Maintenance and Preservation Fund at the time of the sale.

The Cemetery Board (Board) proposes to amend N.J.A.C. 13:44J-5.3 to effectuate the provisions of P.L. 2015, c. 61. The Board also proposes to amend N.J.A.C. 13:44J-14.1, which sets forth application requirements for bulk sales of interment spaces or niches, to recognize the proposed amendments to N.J.A.C. 13:44J-5.3.

The Board has provided a 60-day comment period on this notice of proposal. Therefore, this notice is excepted from the rulemaking calendar requirement pursuant to N.J.A.C. 1:30-3.3(a)5.

Social Impact

The Board does not anticipate that the proposed amendments will have an impact on society.

Economic Impact

The proposed amendments will have an economic impact on cemetery companies that contain interment spaces or niches owned by corporations or associations. Such cemetery companies will not receive fees for deposit into their Maintenance and Preservation Funds when these spaces or niches used for interment are transferred. The proposed amendments will have a beneficial impact on individuals who obtain a right of burial in such interment spaces or niches as they will not be required to pay the Maintenance and Preservation Fund fee.

Federal Standards Statement

A Federal standards analysis is not required because the proposed amendments do not involve any Federal standards or requirements.

Jobs Impact

The Board does not believe that the proposed amendments will result in an increase or decrease of jobs in the State.

Agriculture Industry Impact

The Board does not believe that the proposed amendments will have any impact on the agriculture industry of the State.

Regulatory Flexibility Standard

Since cemetery companies are issued certificates of authority by the Board individually, under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Act), N.J.S.A. 52:14B-16 et seq., they may be considered "small businesses" for the purposes of the Act. A regulatory flexibility analysis is not required as the proposed amendments do not impose any compliance, recordkeeping, or reporting requirements on cemetery companies.

Housing Affordability Impact Analysis

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact on the affordability of housing in New Jersey and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the proposed amendments would evoke a change in the average costs associated with housing because the proposed amendments concern fees collected for deposit into a cemetery company's Maintenance and Preservation Fund.

Smart Growth Development Impact Analysis

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact on smart growth and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the proposed amendments would evoke a change in housing production in Planning Areas 1 or 2, or within designated centers, under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan in New Jersey because the proposed amendments concern fees collected for deposit into a cemetery company's Maintenance and Preservation Fund.

Racial and Ethnic Community Criminal Justice and Public Safety Impact

The Board has evaluated this rulemaking and determined that it will not have an impact on pretrial detention, sentencing, probation, or parole policies concerning adults and juveniles in the State. Accordingly, no further analysis is required.

Regulations

Full text of the proposal follows (additions in boldface thus; deletions indicated in brackets [thus]):

SUBCHAPTER 5.    CEMETERY COMPANIES

13:44J-5.3  Trust funds

(a)-(h) (No change.)

(i) [Membership] Except as set forth in (j) below, membership or religious corporations or unincorporated associations or societies [which] that sell or transfer interment spaces or niches to its members or their families shall transmit to the cemetery company for deposit in the Maintenance and Preservation Fund at least 15 percent of the gross sales price for similar interment spaces or niches established by the cemetery company at the time of the resale or transfer. A credit shall be given for any money previously paid into the Maintenance and Preservation Fund in connection with the interment space or niche.

[page=1350] (j) The deposit to the Maintenance and Preservation Fund pursuant to (i) above shall not be required if:

1. Title to the interment space or niche is not transferred and the interment space or niche was purchased by the membership or religious corporation after December 1, 1971;

2. The membership or religious corporation is organized as a not-for-profit entity and is operated exclusively for religious or charitable purposes provided to members or authorized designees of members; and

3. A fee was paid by the membership or religious corporation for deposit into the Maintenance and Preservation Fund when the interment space or niche was originally purchased.

SUBCHAPTER 14.  SALES OF INTERMENT SPACES

13:44J-14.1   Applications for bulk sales of interment spaces or niches

(a)-(c) (No change.)

(d) An application for approval of a bulk sale shall include the following:

1. (No change.)

2. A statement by the cemetery company that:

i.-ii. (No change.)

iii. The cemetery company is aware that, except as provided in N.J.A.C. 13:44J-5.3(j), if the purchaser resells or transfers an interment space or niche in the future, at least 15 percent of the current retail gross sales price of comparable interment spaces or niches must be deposited into the Maintenance and Preservation Fund of the cemetery company, and that a credit shall be given for any money previously paid into the Maintenance and Preservation Fund in connection with the interment space or niche; and

iv. (No change.)

3. A certified statement by an officer of the membership or religious corporation or unincorporated association or society [which] that provides interment spaces or niches solely for its members and their families that:

i.-iii. (No change.)

iv. If the purchaser transfers or resells any interment space or niche in the future, except as provided in N.J.A.C. 13:44J-5.3(j), it will transmit to the cemetery for deposit into the Maintenance and Preservation Fund of the cemetery company at least 15 percent of the current retail gross sales price of comparable interment spaces or niches and that the purchaser shall receive a credit for any money previously paid into the Maintenance and Preservation Fund in connection with the interment space or niche;

v.-viii. (No change.)

4.-5. (No change.)

(e) (No change.)