Senate committee speeds up study of abandoned cemeteries, advances SB 777

Senator Richardson, author of SB 777, told the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee on Friday that repeated vandalism and long-term neglect at several burial grounds in California requires speeding up a state study and policy response.

"A couple years ago, I started learning about abandoned cemeteries, and there are 2 in my district," Richardson said, describing sites with "weeds up to your hip," missing markers and opened crypts. She told the committee she will seek a report from the stakeholder work group in March, earlier than the 2027 date set by prior legislation, so the Legislature can move on remedies by next summer.

The bill matters, proponents said, because endowment funds set aside when gravesites were sold are often too small to fund perpetual care decades later. Richardson said one cemetery — Lincoln — was estimated to need roughly $6,000,000 for restoration; she also said a $1,000,000 endowment for a site can…