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SB 777 speeds work group on abandoned endowment-care cemeteries; SB 861 adds disclosure requirements

Cemetery and Funeral Bureau Advisory Committee · January 29, 2026

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Summary

Advisory committee staff said SB 777 moves up the bureau’s timeline to convene a work group on abandoned endowment-care cemeteries (convene by March 1, 2026; report by June 1, 2026). SB 861 requires online disclosure of hydrolysis and reduction facilities. The bureau will use workshops to prepare the report.

Staff updated the committee on two recently chaptered bills that change bureau duties and public disclosure.

Elmer (CFB staff) summarized SB 777 (Richardson), chaptered in October 2025, which changed the timeline for the bureau to convene a stakeholder work group on abandoned endowment-care cemeteries. Gina Chevarini Sanchez clarified the operative dates: the work group must convene by March 1, 2026, and the bureau must provide a report to the Legislature by June 1, 2026. She said the bill’s focus evolved during session from mandated transfers of cemeteries to cities or counties to convening a work group and conducting an endowment-care sufficiency study.

Elmer also summarized SB 861 (chaptered 2025), which amends licensing and regulation across boards and requires the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau to disclose information about hydrolysis and reduction facilities online, including license status and related facility data.

Committee members asked whether the bureau can proactively identify cemeteries at risk of abandonment. Gina said prior sunset work identified roughly 30–45 nearly exhausted cemeteries and that the bureau’s forthcoming endowment-care study will flag underfunded cemeteries, but she cautioned that even a well-funded endowment does not eliminate the risk that a private owner may abandon a site; she said statutory gaps remain and the work group will discuss options.

Ending: The bureau said it has begun internal planning, stakeholder identification and a timeline to meet the March 1, 2026 work-group convening and June 1, 2026 report deadlines.