Senate committee adopts substitute for bill creating first state rules for pet cemeteries

Senate Committee on Regulatory Affairs members on Thursday adopted a substitute to Senate Bill 157, the first Michigan measure to regulate pet cemeteries, and voted to report the measure to the Senate floor with a recommendation that it pass.

The substitute (S-2) would require notice and refunds or other recourse for pet owners if the property that houses a pet cemetery is sold, extend those same protections to people who have purchased plots but not yet interred animals, require new pet cemeteries to obtain approval from local health departments and remove a proposed property tax exemption for pet cemeteries.

"This bill does regulate pet cemeteries for the first time in Michigan," the committee member explaining the substitute said, adding that changes since the bill's earlier hearing include removing "big cats" from the bill's pet definition because the Michigan Large Carnivore Act already makes ownership of big cats illegal. The sponsor also said the substitute reflects stakeholder suggestions from Michigan Humane, a group called Eagle and the Michigan Townships Association.

Committee members adopted the S-2 substitute by roll call (11 yeas, 0 nays). Later the committee voted to report the S-2 version to the Senate floor with a recommendation that the bill pass; that vote was recorded as 7 yeas, 3 nays and the bill was reported. The clerk read votes by name during both roll calls.

Support for the bill was filed in writing by Attorneys for Animals and was described in the committee record as favoring the measure; no public opponents were recorded during the hearing. The sponsor said the substitute was intended to protect residents who had paid for cemetery plots "from being surprised if the owner of the property sells the land without adequate notice or refunding or any other recourse."

The substitute removes the proposed property tax exemption for pet cemeteries after the sponsor said Michigan human cemeteries do not receive such exemptions. The substitute also instructs that new pet cemeteries obtain approval from local health departments, a change the sponsor said came at the suggestion of Eagle and Michigan Humane.

Committee discussion included confirmation that the substitute reflected stakeholder changes; no formal amendments were offered during the committee session. After the report vote, the committee proceeded to other bills on the agenda.

Votes at a glance: The committee adopted the S-2 substitute, 11-0, and later reported SB 157 to the floor, yeas 7, nays 3.

Notes: The transcript records the Michigan Large Carnivore Act as the reason for removing "big cats" from the pet definition and cites stakeholder input from Michigan Humane, Eagle and the Michigan Townships Association. No effective date or implementation schedule was specified in the committee discussion recorded in the transcript.