2011 Wisconsin Laws 157.12 – Mausoleums and crematoriums
157.12(4)
(4) Construction of crematoriums.
157.12
157.12 Mausoleums and crematoriums.
157.12(1)
(1) Definition. Notwithstanding § 157.061 (5), in this section, “department” means the department of safety and professional services.
157.12(2)
(2) Construction of mausoleums.
157.12(2)(c)
(c)
157.12(3)
(3) Care fund for mausoleums.
157.12(3)(a)
(a) Any person who operates a public mausoleum shall establish a care fund as follows:
157.12(2)(a)
(a) Any person who constructs a mausoleum or converts a building or other structure to a mausoleum shall comply with the rules of the department and shall receive department approval in writing of the plans and specifications prior to construction or conversion. No person may modify plans or specifications which have been approved under this paragraph without approval in writing from the department, unless such modifications are cosmetic in nature. The department shall promulgate rules providing reasonable requirements governing the location, material and construction of a mausoleum, in accordance with the requirements in para. (d). Any municipality may enact ordinances governing mausoleums at least as stringent as this section.
157.12(2)(b)
(b) The department shall supervise construction of any public mausoleum and conversion of any building to a public mausoleum. Within 30 days after receiving written notice from the cemetery authority that the construction or conversion has been completed, the department shall inspect the public mausoleum and provide the cemetery authority with a written certification as to whether the construction or conversion complies with approved plans. If the department determines that, except for certain minor defects, the construction or conversion complies with the approved plans, the department may provide the cemetery authority with a written temporary certification of compliance that is contingent on the correction of those minor defects. A temporary certification is valid for a period designated by the department, not to exceed 6 months. No person may sell a mausoleum space, except an undeveloped space that is sold in accordance with § 440.92, or bury human remains in a public mausoleum unless a care fund has been established for the mausoleum under sub. (3) and the department has provided the cemetery authority with a certification or a temporary certification under this paragraph. If a cemetery authority that has been provided with a temporary certification notifies the department in writing before the date on which the temporary certification expires that the defects in the construction or conversion of the public mausoleum have been corrected, the department shall, within 30 days after receiving the notice, reinspect the public mausoleum and provide the cemetery authority with a written certification as to whether the construction or conversion complies with the approved plans. If a cemetery authority that has been provided with a temporary certification does not receive a written certification from the department before the date on which the temporary certification expires that the construction or conversion complies with the approved plans, then, beginning on the date on which the certification expires, no person may sell a mausoleum space, except an undeveloped space that is sold in accordance with § 440.92, or bury human remains in the public mausoleum until the defects are corrected and the department subsequently inspects the public mausoleum and provides the cemetery authority with a certification that the construction or conversion complies with the approved plans. The department may charge a reasonable fee to the cemetery authority for each inspection and certification provided under this paragraph if the inspection and certification are provided within the applicable 30-day period prescribed under this paragraph.
157.12(2)(bm)
(bm) If a municipality in which a mausoleum is located requires the owner or operator of the mausoleum to obtain from the municipality a permit for the use or occupancy of the mausoleum, the municipality shall issue that permit to the owner or operator if the owner or operator has been provided with a certification or temporary certification for the mausoleum under para. (b). The permit shall be valid for a period equal to or longer than the period for which the certification or temporary certification under para. (b) is valid.
157.12(2)(c)1.
1. Except as provided in subd. 2., no person may establish or use a public mausoleum unless the mausoleum is located inside a cemetery of 20 acres or more that has been in existence for 10 years or more.
157.12(2)(c)2.
2. A person may establish or use a public mausoleum in a cemetery consisting of less than 20 acres in a municipality that has enacted an ordinance under § 157.129 (2) if the cemetery meets the minimum acreage requirement specified in that ordinance.
157.12(2)(d)
(d) A mausoleum shall be constructed to last as long as possible, taking into consideration the technology and economics applicable to mausoleum construction at the time of construction.
157.12(3)(a)1.
1. If the mausoleum has been in existence since June 15, 1933, and is covered by the care fund of the cemetery in which the mausoleum is located, the cemetery shall deposit at least 15% of each payment of principal received from the sale of a mausoleum space into the care fund, until the care fund equals 10% of the cost of constructing the mausoleum.
157.12(3)(a)2.
2. Except as provided in subd. 1., the operator of the mausoleum shall deposit at least 25% of each payment of principal received from the sale of a mausoleum space into the care fund, until the care fund equals 25% of the cost of constructing the mausoleum.
157.12(3)(a)3.
3. The operator shall make deposits required under subds. 1. and 2. within 30 days after the last day of the month in which the payment is received. The municipality in which the mausoleum is located may, by ordinance, require a larger fund, but only if the department notifies the municipality in writing that the department approves of the requirement. The department may promulgate rules establishing uniform standards for approvals under this subdivision.
157.12(3)(b)
(b) The cemetery’s treasurer is the custodian of the fund. The treasurer shall file with the cemetery, at the cemetery’s expense, a bond with sureties approved by the department of safety and professional services to indemnify the cemetery against loss if the treasurer fails to maintain the fund. No indemnity is required if the terms of sale of a mausoleum space require the purchaser to pay directly to a trust company in the state, designated by the cemetery as custodian of the fund. The fund shall be invested as provided in § 157.19. Income from investment may be used only to maintain the mausoleum, except that if the amount of income exceeds the amount necessary to properly maintain the mausoleum the excess amount may be used to maintain any portion of the cemetery.
157.12(4)(a)
(a) Any person who constructs a crematorium or converts a building or other structure to a crematorium shall comply with the rules of the department and shall receive department approval in writing of the plans and specifications prior to construction or conversion. The department may promulgate rules governing the location, material and construction of any crematorium. Any municipality may enact ordinances governing crematoriums at least as stringent as this subsection.
157.12(4)(b)
(b) The department shall supervise construction of any crematorium and conversion of any building or other structure to a crematorium. No person may modify departmental construction or conversion requirements without written approval of the department. No person may operate a crematorium unless the department certifies in writing that construction or conversion complied with approved plans.