REGISTRATION OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS.
Chapter 112, Section 82. Definitions.
Chapter 112, Section 83. Registration of embalmers, funeral directors and apprentice embalmers; applications; examinations and re-examinations; certificates; fees; renewals; apprenticeship; advertising; funeral directing.
Chapter 112, Section 84. Issuance and renewal of certificates; fees; expiration of registration; refusal to issue or renew; suspension or revocation.
Chapter 112, Section 84A. Violations; investigation by board; hearing; notice; review of decision.
Chapter 112, Section 84B. Itemized list of funeral costs.
Chapter 112, Section 85. Rules and regulations; enforcement; records; inspection; annual reports; investigations; lists.
Chapter 112, Section 85A. Reciprocal agreements with other states.
Chapter 112, Section 86. Display of certificates.
Chapter 112, Section 87. Unlawful embalming; engaging in business of funeral directing without registration; penalty.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 112. REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
REGISTRATION OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
Chapter 112: Section 82. Definitions
Section 82. The following words, as used in this section and in sections eighty-three to eighty-seven, inclusive, shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:—
“Board”, the board of registration in embalming and funeral directing established by section twenty-nine of chapter thirteen.
“Person”, an individual, but not a partnership, corporation or association of any kind.
“Embalming”, the business, practice, science or profession, as commonly practiced, of preserving, disinfecting and preparing in any manner dead human bodies for burial, cremation or transportation.
“Funeral directing”, the business, practice or profession, as commonly practiced, of (a) directing or supervising funerals or providing funeral service; (b) handling or encasing, or providing services for handling or encasing, dead human bodies, and preparation of dead human bodies, otherwise than by embalming, for burial or disposal; (c) providing embalming services; (d) providing transportation, interment and disinterment of dead human bodies; and (e) maintaining an establishment so located, constructed and equipped as to permit the decent and sanitary handling of dead human bodies with suitable equipment in such establishment for such handling.
“Embalmer”, any person engaged, or holding himself out as engaged, in the business, practice, science or profession of embalming, whether on his own behalf or in the employ of a registered and licensed funeral director.
“Funeral Director”, any person engaged, or holding himself out as engaged, in the business, practice or profession of funeral directing.
“Apprentice embalmer”, any person engaged in the learning of the practice of embalming under the instruction and personal supervision of a duly registered embalmer; provided, that no person shall serve as such apprentice embalmer until he has been certified as such by the board.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 112. REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
REGISTRATION OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
Chapter 112: Section 83. Registration of embalmers, funeral directors and apprentice embalmers; applications; examinations and re-examinations; certificates; fees; renewals; apprenticeship; advertising; funeral directing
Section 83. Applications for registration as embalmers, funeral directors or apprentice embalmers, and for establishment certificates, shall be made on blanks furnished by the board.
No person shall be registered by the board as an embalmer unless he has been found by the board upon examination to be eighteen years of age or over, a resident of this commonwealth, a citizen of the United States, of good moral character; to have successfully completed a four-year high school course or to possess the educational equivalent thereof; to have served as an apprentice embalmer for two years under the personal supervision and instruction of a registered embalmer, during which period he has embalmed not less than fifty dead human bodies, and to have satisfactorily completed a course of instruction of not less than nine months in an embalming school approved by the board. Upon payment of a fee to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven, such person shall be examined by the board, and if found to be qualified, shall be registered and given a certificate thereof signed by the chairman and secretary of the board.
No person shall be registered by the board as a funeral director unless he has been found by the board upon examination to be eighteen years of age or over, a resident of this commonwealth, a citizen of the United States, of good moral character, a duly registered embalmer, unless such person is the surviving spouse of a duly registered and licensed funeral director; to have successfully completed a four-year high school course or has attained the practical equivalent of a high school education; to have satisfactorily completed a course of instruction of not less than nine months in a funeral directing school approved by the board or to have included and successfully completed the elements of such a course of instruction in his study schedule at the college or university which he has attended; to be qualified to prepare such death certificates and other documents as are required by the department of public health for the protection of the general public in the ordinary course of his business; to be familiar with the precautions to be taken to prevent the spread of communicable diseases as prescribed by the department of public health for the protection of the general public welfare; and to be conversant with the laws of the United States and of this commonwealth relative to (a) the custody of dead human bodies; (b) the preparation of such bodies for burial, cremation and shipment, as prescribed by the department of public health for the sanitary handling of dead human bodies by common carriers for the protection of public health; and (c) the cremation, burial and shipment of such bodies as prescribed by the department of public health for sanitary handling of dead human bodies by common carriers for the protection of public health.
Upon payment of a fee as determined under the aforementioned provision, such person shall be examined by the board. If such person is found to be qualified, such person shall be registered by the board as qualified to be licensed under section forty-nine of chapter one hundred and fourteen as a funeral director, and he shall receive a certificate of registration signed by the chairman and the secretary of the board; provided, that he shall not be so licensed until he furnishes satisfactory proof to the board that he will maintain within the commonwealth a funeral directing establishment so located, constructed and equipped as to permit the sanitary handling of dead human bodies.
Applicants for registration as embalmers or as funeral directors may, upon the payment of a fee as determined under the aforementioned provision, be re-examined at any subsequent examination conducted by the board.
Any person desiring to become an apprentice embalmer shall make application on a form provided for the purpose, and must appear before the board for approval of his application. The application shall state that the applicant is a citizen of the United States, of good moral character, and holds a high school diploma or its equivalent. Said application must be accompanied by a fee as determined under the aforementioned provision. When the board is satisfied as to his qualifications, it shall issue a certificate of embalmer apprenticeship. Such apprenticeship shall be served in the establishment of a registered funeral director, on a full-time employment basis. When such apprentice enters the employ of a person so registered, he shall immediately notify the member of the board in his district of the name and place of business of the person whose service he has entered. If such apprentice thereafter leaves the employ of such person whose service he has entered, it shall be the duty of said person to give such apprentice an affidavit showing the length of time he has served with him, which affidavit shall be filed with the board. The number of apprentice embalmers allowed to be registered under any one registered embalmer or funeral director shall be determined by the board on the basis of one apprentice embalmer for each fifty cases or any part thereof that the registered embalmer or funeral director had cared for professionally in the previous calendar year. No person shall be employed as an apprentice except in accordance with the foregoing provisions.
No apprentice or embalmer shall advertise or publish in any manner the fact of his registration, nor shall any funeral director advertise or publish in any manner whatsoever the name or names of apprentices or any persons associated with him in the profession of funeral directing unless the said person or persons are registered and licensed funeral directors.
The profession of funeral directing shall be conducted or practiced at a fixed place or establishment, and no person, partnership, corporation, association or other organization shall open or maintain a place or establishment at which to practice such profession unless an establishment certificate has been granted by said board. Such certificate shall be for one location only; provided, that this shall not prevent a registered funeral director from conducting a funeral in another licensed establishment, nor from a church, nor from a private residence from which funeral services are not regularly conducted, a public lodge or hall room, providing such person maintains a fixed place or establishment of his own conforming to the above requirements. The board shall issue a certificate for said establishment after application has been made on a form provided for the purpose, and when the same meets the requirements set forth in the rules and regulations of the board and established by the rules and regulations of the department of public health and local boards of health. Said application shall be accompanied by a fee as determined under the aforementioned provision.
No establishment or branch thereof for the preparation, disposition and care of dead human bodies shall be opened or maintained unless duly registered by the board. No establishment or branch shall be moved without obtaining a new certificate from the board. Applications for such transfers shall be made upon blanks furnished by the board and shall be accompanied by a fee of as determined under the aforementioned provision. An establishment’s certificate shall remain in force indefinitely unless revoked by the board or until there has been a change in the ownership of the establishment, which shall automatically cancel said certificate.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 112. REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
REGISTRATION OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
Chapter 112: Section 84. Issuance and renewal of certificates; fees; expiration of registration; refusal to issue or renew; suspension or revocation
Section 84. No certificate, except an establishment certificate, shall be issued or renewed for a period exceeding one year, and all renewals thereof, except embalmer apprentice certificates which shall be issued on an annual basis, shall expire and terminate the first day of November following the date of their issue, unless sooner revoked and cancelled.
Any person holding a registration certificate issued under the provisions of section eighty-three may have the same renewed by making and filing with the board an application therefor within thirty days preceding the expiration of his certificate upon blanks provided by said board, and upon payment of renewal fees to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven for each embalmer’s, funeral director’s, or apprentice embalmer’s certificate; provided that any person neglecting or failing to have his embalmer’s or funeral director’s certificate so renewed, may have the same renewed by making application therefor during the twenty days following the expiration date, and upon payment of a revival fee, as determined under the aforementioned provision, in addition to the renewal fee.
If no application for renewal or for revival of a funeral director’s or embalmer’s certificate is made within said twenty days, the holder thereof may within one year of the original date of expiration of the certificate apply for renewal of the same upon the payment to the board of a penalty at the rate of one dollar each week beyond the date of said twenty-day revival period. If at the expiration of one year no application for renewal has been made, the board will remove the former registrant’s name from its books. If such former registrant, after the expiration of the one year, applies for registration, he shall be subject to payment of the accrued penalties, and shall be required to meet the provisions of section eighty-three relative to original registration.
The board may refuse to issue or to renew, or may suspend or revoke any certificate, or may place the holder thereof on a term of probation after due public hearing upon finding the holder of such certificate to be guilty of a crime involving moral turpitude, or of unprofessional conduct, which is hereby defined to include (a) misrepresentation or fraud in the conduct of the profession of the registrant; (b) false or misleading or “bait” advertising, so called, as a funeral director advertising or using the name of an unregistered person in connection with that of any funeral establishment; (c) soliciting for dead human bodies by the registrant, his agents, assistants or employees, or any person acting on his behalf with his knowledge and consent, express or implied, whether such soliciting occurs after death or while death is impending; provided, that this shall not be deemed to prohibit general advertising; (d) employment by a registered person of persons known as cappers, or steerers or solicitors, or other such persons to obtain funeral directing or embalming; (e) gross immorality; (f) the aiding or abetting of an unregistered person to practice funeral directing or embalming; (g) the use of profane, indecent or obscene language in the presence of a dead human body, or within the immediate hearing of the family or relatives of a deceased, whose body has not yet been interred or otherwise disposed of; (h) solicitation or acceptance by a registered person of any commission or bonus or rebate in consideration of recommending or causing a dead human body to be disposed of in any crematory, mausoleum or cemetery; (i) the resale or rental of any casket or part of any casket which has previously been used as a receptacle for, or in any connection with, the burial or other disposition of a dead human body, without the knowledge and consent of the consumer; provided, however, that any such casket or part of any such casket intended for reuse shall be equipped with a removable liner and said removable liner shall be removed from said casket prior to reuse; provided, further, that the board shall promulgate and adopt rules and regulations concerning said reuse of caskets; (j) violation of any of the provisions of sections eighty-three to eighty-seven, inclusive, or any rule or rules of the board; (k) violation of any state or municipal law or ordinance affecting the handling, custody, care or transportation of dead human bodies; (l) fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining a certificate; (m) the recommending to the board of an applicant for a certificate who has not, to his personal knowledge, complied with the requirements of sections eighty-three to eighty-seven, inclusive, or with the rules and regulations of the board; (n) the refusal to surrender promptly the custody of a dead human body, upon the express order of the person lawfully entitled thereto; and (o) failure to secure a permit for the removal or burial of a dead human body prior to interment or disposal.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 112. REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
REGISTRATION OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
Chapter 112: Section 84A. Violations; investigation by board; hearing; notice; review of decision
Section 84A. Whenever the board shall have reason to believe that any person or establishment to whom a certificate has been issued to practice or operate under section eighty-three, as the case may be, has violated any of the provisions of sections eighty-three to eighty-seven, inclusive, or any rule or regulation prescribed, or whenever written complaint, charging any registered person with the violation of any provision of the said sections is filed with the board, it shall conduct an investigation, and if from such investigation it shall appear that there is reasonable ground for belief that the accused may have been guilty of the violations charged, the board shall set a time and place for a public hearing to determine whether or not the certificate shall be revoked or suspended. Any member of the board shall have the right to administer oaths to witnesses.
No action to suspend, revoke or cancel any certificate shall be taken by the board until the accused or his counsel has been furnished with a statement of the charges against him, or it, and a notice of the time and place of hearing thereof; the furnishing of the charges and such notice to be given said accused at least fifteen days prior to the date of hearing. The accused may be represented at such hearing by counsel. If upon such hearing the board finds the charges to be true, it may revoke or suspend the certificate of the accused.
Any person or establishment aggrieved by the decision of the board to revoke or suspend his or its certificate may, within ten days after such action, bring a petition in the district court within the judicial district of which he resides, hereinafter called the court addressed to the justice of the court, praying that the action of the board may be reviewed by the court. The bringing of such a petition within such period shall operate to continue the registration in full force and effect pending the decision of the court. After such notice to the board as the court deems necessary, it shall review such action, hear the witnesses, and shall affirm the decision of the board unless it shall appear that it was made without proper cause or in bad faith, in which case the decision of the board shall be reversed. The court shall hear such petition within thirty days after the bringing thereof. The appeal from the decision of the board provided by this section is in the alternative to that provided by section sixty-four, and a decision of the court upon a petition brought under this section shall be final and conclusive.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 112. REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
REGISTRATION OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
Chapter 112: Section 84B. Itemized list of funeral costs
Section 84B. Every licensed funeral director, his agent or servant, shall give, or cause to be given to the person making funeral arrangements, or arranging for shipment, transportation or other disposition of a deceased person, at the time such arrangements are completed or prior to the time of rendering the service, a written itemized statement showing to the extent then known the price of merchandise and service that such person making such arrangements has selected; the price of supplemental items of service and merchandise if any; the estimated amount of each item for which the funeral service firm will advance monies as an accommodation to the person making such funeral arrangements. No such funeral director, his agent or servant, shall bill or cause to be billed, any item that is referred to as a “cash advanced” item unless the net amount paid for such item by the funeral director, is the same amount as is billed to such funeral director. Each copy of such itemized statement shall be signed by the funeral director and the person making said arrangements. Any funeral director who fails to deliver such itemized statement to the person making such funeral arrangements shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment of not more than six months, or both.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 112. REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
REGISTRATION OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
Chapter 112: Section 85. Rules and regulations; enforcement; records; inspection; annual reports; investigations; lists
Section 85. The board is authorized to adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations for the transaction of its business and the betterment and promotion of the standards of service and practice to be followed in the profession of embalming and funeral directing, as it may deem expedient and consistent with the laws of the commonwealth; to employ inspectors who shall investigate and report to the board the results of their investigations; to employ such other employees as the work of the board may require; to keep a record in which shall be registered the name and business address of every person and establishment to whom certificates have been granted under section eighty-three, the number and date of such certificate, and the date of each renewal thereof; to inspect the premises in which funeral directing is conducted or where embalming is practiced or where an applicant proposes to practice; to adopt such rules, regulations and classifications as may be reasonable and proper; to define what shall be deemed the proper construction, drainage and ventilation, and what instruments are necessary and suitable in a preparation room and in a funeral establishment. Said board shall be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of sections eighty-three to eighty-seven, inclusive. The board shall hold examinations for applicants for registration at such times and places and in such manner as it shall determine. The board shall keep a record of all moneys received and disbursed by it, and a duplicate thereof shall always be open to public inspection in the office of the state secretary. It shall make an annual report showing the condition of embalming and of funeral directing in the commonwealth. It shall investigate all complaints of violations of the provisions of sections eighty-three to eighty-seven, inclusive, and, if necessary, bring such violations to the notice of the proper prosecuting officers. A certified list of all funeral directors registered by the board shall be sent by the board, annually before May 1, to the board of health of the several cities and towns of the commonwealth.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 112. REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
REGISTRATION OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
Chapter 112: Section 85A. Reciprocal agreements with other states
Section 85A. The board may, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of its members, enter into and rescind at any time an agreement with the corresponding licensing authority of any other state competent to enter into such an agreement, which agreement shall be in substantially the following form:
We the undersigned representatives of ( ),
insert names of signatory states)
by and through their respective licensing authorities, hereby jointly agree that a person duly registered and licensed as a funeral director, or embalmer in either one of the above named states may go into said other state for the purpose of handling, embalming, transporting and burying dead human bodies and directing funerals as though he were registered under the laws of that state, except that he shall not maintain an establishment, advertise, have any agent or agency or otherwise hold himself out as a funeral director or embalmer other than in the state in which he is licensed.
It is further agreed that the licensing authority of the state in which the funeral director or embalmer is licensed will assume the responsibility for instituting disciplinary action against any licensed funeral director or embalmer who may be guilty of unprofessional conduct in the practice of his business in the other state, when such is called to its attention by the licensing authority of that state.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 112. REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
REGISTRATION OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
Chapter 112: Section 86. Display of certificates
Section 86. Every holder of a certificate of registration in embalming, every holder of a certificate of registration in funeral directing, and every holder of an establishment certificate shall conspicuously display it in his place of business.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 112. REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
REGISTRATION OF EMBALMERS AND FUNERAL DIRECTORS
Chapter 112: Section 87. Unlawful embalming; engaging in business of funeral directing without registration; penalty
Section 87. Whoever, not being registered as an embalmer under section eighty-three or corresponding provisions of earlier laws, shall engage in the profession of embalming dead human bodies, or whoever not being registered as a funeral director under section eighty-three and licensed as a funeral director under section forty-nine of chapter one hundred and fourteen shall engage in the business or profession of funeral directing, or shall hold himself out as such, shall, except as otherwise provided by law, be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two months, or both; but this shall not be deemed to prohibit the employment of apprentice embalmers serving under the personal supervision of a registered embalmer, or the employment of assistants in funeral directing under the personal supervision of a registered and licensed funeral director, nor shall it be deemed to prohibit a corporation or partnership, if not engaged in any other business, from engaging in the business of funeral directing, if a duly registered and licensed funeral director is in charge of the business of said corporation or partnership and his name is presented to public view and in all advertising. If such corporation or partnership engages in general advertising for the purpose of advertising funeral services, then all the individuals whose names shall appear on such advertisement shall also be duly registered and licensed funeral directors, and all active members of said corporation or partnership, together with those individuals whose names shall appear, or be used in connection with the name of the corporation or partnership in the regular course of its business in the conduct of funerals and for the purpose of advertising funeral services, shall also be duly registered and licensed funeral directors. No person engaged in embalming or funeral directing or serving as an apprentice shall act or be employed as a caretaker or supervisor at any cemetery.
GENERAL LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS.
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS.
Chapter 114, Section 1. Organization of cemetery corporations.
Chapter 114, Section 1A. Nonprofit cemeteries; liability of directors, officers or trustees.
Chapter 114, Section 2. Powers and duties of cemetery corporations.
Chapter 114, Section 3. Records of conveyances of burial lots.
Chapter 114, Section 3A. Cemetery ownership of unclaimed graves; reuse of occupied graves.
Chapter 114, Section 4. Certified copies of recorded deeds and instruments; evidence.
Chapter 114, Section 5. Trust funds.
Chapter 114, Section 5A. Burials; denial to designated funeral director; prohibition.
Chapter 114, Section 5B. Notification of certain options for burial services; penalty.
Chapter 114, Section 6. Cremation.
Chapter 114, Section 7. Formation and organization of crematory corporations.
Chapter 114, Section 8. Crematory corporations; acquisition and holding of land in fee.
Chapter 114, Section 9. By-laws and regulations of cemeteries and crematory corporations; conduct of business; violations.
PUBLIC CEMETERIES.
Chapter 114, Section 10. Town burial places.
Chapter 114, Section 10A. Municipality ownership of unclaimed graves; reuse of occupied graves.
Chapter 114, Section 11. Taking of land for burial purposes; application to county commissioners.
Chapter 114, Section 12. Taking of land for burial places; hearing notice.
Chapter 114, Section 13. Adjudication by commissioners; taking.
Chapter 114, Section 14. Compensation of commissioners acting under petition to take land for burial place.
Chapter 114, Section 15. Appropriation for enclosing and improving cemetery; sale of burial rights; records; disposition of proceeds.
Chapter 114, Section 16. Appropriation for and care of cemeteries.
Chapter 114, Section 17. Preservation of ancient burial places.
Chapter 114, Section 18. Care of neglected burial places within limits of town.
Chapter 114, Section 19. Deposits for care and improvement of burial places or lots; records; investment of deposits.
Chapter 114, Section 20. Depositing funds with state treasurer; copy of instrument; notice to town or city clerk.
Chapter 114, Section 21. Investment of funds; interest.
BOARDS OF CEMETERY COMMISSIONERS.
Chapter 114, Section 22. Town board of cemetery commissioners; election of members.
Chapter 114, Section 23. Powers and duties.
Chapter 114, Section 24. Conveyance of burial lots; record; inspection; fee.
Chapter 114, Section 25. Gifts or bequests for cemeteries; investment of funds; disposition of proceeds of sales of lots or burial rights.
Chapter 114, Section 26. Limit of debts or liabilities; annual report.
Chapter 114, Section 27. Appointment of board of cemetery commissioners; powers and duties.
USE OF CEMETERIES.
Chapter 114, Section 28. Conveyance of lots or interest in lots in trust for preservation as memorial; rights of heirs of owner; control over lot or interest in lot.
Chapter 114, Section 29. Indivisible character of lots; vesting; limitations and conditions; right of interment; designation of representation of lot; record.
Chapter 114, Section 30. Hearing as to representation.
Chapter 114, Section 31. Descent of family lot to heirs.
Chapter 114, Section 32. Right of wife to interment; release.
Chapter 114, Section 33. Right of husband to interment.
Chapter 114, Section 34. Use of land for burial; new cemeteries or extensions; approval of board of health; description of land.
Chapter 114, Section 35. Lands to be used for burial; approval.
Chapter 114, Section 36. Appeal from order of board of health; hearing.
Chapter 114, Section 37. Regulations by local boards of health; notice.
Chapter 114, Section 38. Closing of tombs, burial ground or cemetery; hearing; notice.
Chapter 114, Section 39. Appeal from order of board.
Chapter 114, Section 40. Jury trial; rescission of order; costs and double costs.
Chapter 114, Section 41. Laying out or constructing public ways in, upon or through burial places; authority.
Chapter 114, Section 42. Passage through cemeteries.
Chapter 114, Section 42A. Visitation hours.
Chapter 114, Section 42B. Commercial use of cemeteries for photographers or motion pictures; consent; penalties.
Chapter 114, Section 43. Erection of buildings upon burial places.
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
Chapter 114, Section 43A. Ownership, maintenance and operation of cemeteries; private profit.
Chapter 114, Section 43B. Sale of cemetery lots and plots for speculative purposes.
Chapter 114, Section 43C. Disposition of proceeds of sales; liquidation of indebtedness.
Chapter 114, Section 43D. Location of community mausoleums controlled by churches and religious societies.
Chapter 114, Section 43E. Erection of community mausoleums; plans and specifications; approval; construction.
Chapter 114, Section 43F. Community mausoleums; construction; supervision.
Chapter 114, Section 43G. Use of community mausoleum prior to completion; care and improvement fund.
Chapter 114, Section 43H. Sale of community mausoleum prior to completion.
Chapter 114, Section 43I. Removal of bodies constituting menace to public health.
Chapter 114, Section 43J. Permanent care and improvement fund for community mausoleums.
Chapter 114, Section 43K. Custodian of fund; administration and investment.
Chapter 114, Section 43L. Abating or enjoining nuisance.
Chapter 114, Section 43M. Permanent disposition of dead bodies or remains; records.
Chapter 114, Section 43N. Penalties.
Chapter 114, Section 43O. Sale of monuments for cemetery lots by cemetery corporations.
CREMATION AND BURIAL.
Chapter 114, Section 44. Cremation of bodies.
Chapter 114, Section 44A. Receptacles for cremated remains; caskets.
Chapter 114, Section 45. Burial permits; permits for removal of bodies; certificates of death; deceased veterans.
Chapter 114, Section 45A. Use of name of funeral director in connection with death certificate or burial permit.
Chapter 114, Section 46. Permit for burial of bodies brought into commonwealth; certificate; recording.
Chapter 114, Section 46A. Burial of bodies of veterans; affidavit; veteran graves officer.
Chapter 114, Section 47. Certificates for burial; indorsement; record; service of deceased as veteran.
Chapter 114, Section 48. Burial of ashes of human body; certificates for burial.
Chapter 114, Section 49. Licensing of funeral directors; revocation or suspension; hearing; fees; permits.
Chapter 114, Section 50. Penalty.
EMBALMING FLUIDS.
Chapter 114, Section 51. Sale of embalming fluid.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 1. Organization of cemetery corporations
Section 1. Five or more persons desirous of procuring, establishing and preparing a cemetery, or who are the majority in interest of the proprietors of an existing cemetery, may organize as a corporation, not for profit, in the manner provided in chapter one hundred and seventy-nine; but such corporation shall not sell or impair the right of any proprietor of an existing cemetery.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 1A. Liability of directors, officers or trustees
Section 1A. No person who serves as director, officer or trustee of a nonprofit cemetery qualified as a tax exempt organization under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and who is not compensated for such services shall be liable for any act or omission resulting in damages or injury to another if such person was acting in good faith and within the scope of his official functions or duties unless said damage was caused by an act or omission intentionally designed to harm or by any gross negligent act or omission which results in harm to the person.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting or modifying the liability of any person subject to this section for any cause of action arising out of such person’s operation of a motor vehicle.
Nothing in this section shall affect or modify the liability of any person subject to this section for financial misconduct or fraud in the use of the assets of the corporation.
The General Laws of Massachusetts
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 2. Powers and duties of cemetery corporations
Section 2. (a) Such corporation: (1) shall be subject to chapter 155 and sections 1 to 13, inclusive, of chapter 179; (2) may take and hold only so much real and personal property as may be necessary for the objects of its organization; (3) may lay out such real property into lots; and (4) may grant and convey the exclusive right of burial in, and of erecting tombs or cenotaphs upon, any lot and of ornamenting the same, upon such terms and conditions and subject to such regulations as it shall prescribe.
(b) Upon the conveyance of a burial lot, such corporation: (1) shall assign a number to such lot; (2) shall cause a marker to be installed thereon which indicates such number; (3) shall give a written notification to the purchaser of such lot, or his agent, which notification specifies the location and number of such lot; and (4) may charge the purchaser of such lot a reasonable fee for the cost of such marker and its installation.
(c) Such corporation shall maintain records concerning the location and numbering of such lots, which records shall be open to the public. Section 34 of chapter 158 shall apply to such corporation.
The General Laws of Massachusetts
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 3. Records of conveyances of burial lots
Section 3. Every cemetery corporation created by special charter or organized under general laws shall regularly keep books in which it shall enter all conveyances of burial lots within said cemetery and all instruments of contract relating to conveyances of such lots. Such records, and similar records made by such corporation prior to June second, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, shall have the same effect as if made in the registry of deeds for the county or district where such cemetery is situated, and no other record shall be necessary.
The General Laws of Massachusetts
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 3A. Cemetery ownership of unclaimed graves; reuse of occupied graves
Section 3A. No cemetery corporation created by special charter or organized under the provisions of section one shall take over ownership of an unoccupied grave unless a minimum of seventy-five years has elapsed after issuance of a license for the grave by the cemetery corporation or its predecessor in interest; and the cemetery corporation cannot locate the license holder or the holder’s successor in interest after making a diligent search. If ownership of the license is ascertained after such a taking occurs, then the cemetery corporation shall pay the fair value of the license at the time of its taking to the owner.
No cemetery corporation created by special charter or organized under the provisions of section one shall reuse an occupied grave except: upon the request and with the consent of a relative or descendant of the decedent occupying the grave, providing no other descendant objects; to provide for the burial of a relative or descendant of the decedent occupying the grave; and if the remains of the decedent occupying the grave will remain in the grave. The municipality where the cemetery is located shall determine, by by-law or ordinance, the method to be used in reusing such occupied graves and may reasonably limit the circumstances under which such reuse can occur.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 4. Certified copies of recorded deeds and instruments; evidence
Section 4. The secretary or clerk of such corporation may give certified copies of all deeds and instruments so recorded, which may be used in evidence in the same manner as copies certified by the register of deeds.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 5. Trust funds
Section 5. Such corporation may hold funds in trust and apply the income thereof to the improvement or embellishment of the cemetery or to the care, preservation or embellishment of any lot or its appurtenances.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 5A. Burials; designated funeral director
Section 5A. No such cemetery corporation shall deny the right to perform burials and the functions incidental thereto to the funeral director designated by the representative of the deceased, provided the deceased is otherwise entitled to interment in said cemetery.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 5B. Notification of certain options for burial services; penalty
Section 5B. Each such cemetery corporation shall notify, or cause the funeral director designated by the representatives of the deceased to notify, the family of the deceased or the person making funeral arrangements for the deceased of the choice of three options for burial services; services at the gravesite without observation of the lowering of the casket into said gravesite, services at the gravesite with observation of the lowering of the casket into said gravesite, or where available, services within a chapel at the cemetery.
A cemetery corporation which violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 6. Cremation
Section 6. Such corporation may cremate bodies of the dead, and may provide necessary buildings and appliances therefor and for the disposition of the ashes of the dead on any land within its cemetery which the department of environmental protection determines is suitable therefor, subject to the provisions of section forty-three D, and such buildings and appliances shall be a part of the cemetery and be dedicated to the burial of the dead, and shall be held by said corporations subject to the duties, and with the privileges and immunities, which they now have by law.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 7. Formation and organization of crematory corporations
Section 7. Five or more persons may form a corporation, not for profit, for the purpose of providing the necessary appliances for the disposal by cremation of the bodies of the dead. Such a corporation shall be formed in the manner prescribed in and subject to section nine of chapter one hundred and fifty-five and sections six and eight to twelve, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and fifty-six, except as follows:
The capital stock, if any, shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars.
The agreement of association of such a corporation having no capital stock may omit the statement of the amount of the capital stock and the par value and number of its shares. The par value of its shares, if any, may be ten or fifty dollars.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 8. Crematory corporations; acquisition and holding of land in fee
Section 8. Such corporation may acquire and hold in fee, to an amount not exceeding fifty thousand dollars, land necessary and appropriate for its purposes and situated in such place as the department of public health determines to be suitable, subject to the provisions of section forty-three D.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CEMETERY AND CREMATORY CORPORATIONS
Chapter 114: Section 9. By-laws and regulations of cemeteries and crematory corporations; conduct of business; violations
Section 9. Cemetery and crematory corporations may, subject to the approval of said department, make by-laws and regulations consistent with law for the reception and cremation of bodies of the dead and for the disposition of the ashes thereof, and shall conduct their business in accordance with such regulations as said department shall establish and furnish in writing to the clerk of the corporation. Violation of any such regulation of said department shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty nor more than five hundred dollars. Such corporations shall not erect, occupy or use any building for cremation until the location and plans thereof with all details of construction have been submitted to and approved by said department or by a person designated by it, subject to the provisions of section forty-three D.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 10. Town burial places
Section 10. Each town shall provide one or more suitable places for the interment of persons dying within its limits.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 10A. Municipality ownership of unclaimed graves; reuse of occupied graves
Section 10A. No municipality shall take over the ownership of an unoccupied grave unless a minimum of seventy-five years has elapsed after issuance of a license for the grave by the municipality or its predecessor in interest; and the municipality cannot locate the license holder or the holder’s successor in interest after making a diligent search. If ownership of the license is ascertained after such a taking occurs, then the municipality shall pay the fair value of the license at the time of its taking to the owner.
No municipality shall reuse an occupied grave except: upon the request and with the consent of a relative or descendant of the decedent occupying the grave, providing that no other descendant objects; to provide for the burial of a relative or descendant of the decedent occupying the grave; and if the remains of the decedent occupying the grave will remain in the grave. The municipality shall determine, by by-law or ordinance, the method to be used in reusing such occupied graves and may reasonably limit the circumstances under which such reuse can occur.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 11. Taking of land for burial purposes; application to county commissioners
Section 11. If there is necessity for a new cemetery in a town, or for the enlargement of an existing cemetery in and belonging to a town, and the owner or any person interested in the land needed for either purpose refuses to sell the same, or demands therefor a price which the selectmen consider unreasonable, or is unable to convey it, the selectmen may, with the approval of the town, make application therefor by written petition to the county commissioners of the county where the land lies.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 12. Taking of land for burial places; hearing notice
Section 12. The commissioners shall appoint a time and place for a hearing, and shall cause notice thereof and a copy of the petition to be served personally upon the owner, if known, or left at his place of abode, fourteen days at least before the time appointed for the hearing. If the land is held in trust or by a corporation, or if the ownership is uncertain, the commissioners shall also give notice by public advertisement or otherwise.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 13. Adjudication by commissioners; taking
Section 13. The commissioners shall hear the parties at the time and place appointed or at an adjournment thereof, shall adjudicate upon the necessity of such taking, upon the quantity and boundaries of any land adjudged necessary to be taken, and may take in fee under chapter seventy-nine on behalf of the town such land as is adjudged necessary.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 14. Compensation of commissioners acting under petition to take land for burial place
Section 14. Each commissioner shall be paid by the town three dollars a day for each day spent in acting under the petition, and five cents a mile for travel to and from the place of hearing.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 15. Appropriation for enclosing and improving cemetery; sale or conveyance of burial rights; disposition of proceeds
Section 15. Towns may appropriate money for enclosing any cemetery lawfully provided by them or for constructing paths and avenues and embellishing the grounds therein, and may establish all necessary rules relative thereto consistent with law. They may lay out such cemetery into lots, and shall set apart a suitable portion as a public burial place for the use of the inhabitants, free of charge. They may sell and convey to any person, resident or non-resident, the exclusive right of burial and of erecting tombs and cenotaphs upon any lot and of ornamenting the same, upon such terms and conditions and subject to such regulations as they shall prescribe. Upon the conveyance of a burial lot, a town: (1) shall assign a number to such lot; (2) shall cause a marker to be installed thereon which indicates such number; (3) shall give a written notification to the purchaser of such lot, or his agent, which notification specifies the location and number of such lot; and (4) may charge the purchaser of such lot a reasonable fee for the cost of such marker and its installation. Towns shall maintain records concerning the location and numbering of such lots, which records shall be open to the public. The proceeds of such sales shall be paid into the town treasuries, be kept separate from other funds, and be appropriated to reimburse the towns for the cost of the land, its care, improvement and embellishment, or the enlargement of the cemetery.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 16. Appropriation for and care of cemeteries
Section 16. Any town may annually appropriate and raise by taxation such sums as may be necessary to care for and keep in good order and to protect by proper fences any or all burial grounds within the town in which ten or more bodies are interred and which are not properly cared for by the owners, and the care and protection of such burial grounds shall be in charge of the cemetery commissioners, if the town has such officers, otherwise in charge of the selectmen.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 17. Preservation of ancient burial places
Section 17. A town shall not alienate or appropriate to any other use than that of a burial ground, any tract of land which has been for more than one hundred years used as a burial place; and no portion of such burial ground shall be taken for public use without special authority from the general court. “Burial place”, as referred to in this section, shall include unmarked burial grounds known or suspected to contain the remains of one or more American Indian.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 18. Care of neglected burial places within limits of town
Section 18. Any town having within its limits an abandoned or neglected burying ground may take charge of the same and keep it in good order, and may appropriate money therefor, but no property rights shall be violated and no body shall be disinterred. No fence, tomb, monument or other structure shall be removed or destroyed, but the same may be repaired or restored.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 19. Deposits for care and improvement of burial places or lots; records; investment of deposits
Section 19. A city or town may receive, hold and apply any funds, money or securities deposited with the treasurer thereof for the preservation, care, improvement or embellishment of any public or private burial place situated therein, or of burial lots situated in such burial places. Such funds, money or securities shall be entered upon the books of the treasurer, and held in accordance with ordinances or by-laws relative thereto. A city or town may pass ordinances or by-laws consistent with law, necessary for the purposes of this section. Each treasurer shall invest such deposits under his control to insure a maximum income from such deposits. Upon the receipt of a deposit for the preservation, care, improvement or embellishment of individual lots in public burial places, said treasurer shall so inform the city or town clerk, who shall record the facts relating to such deposit in the margin of his records of said lots.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 20. Depositing funds with state treasurer; copy of instrument; notice to town or city clerk
Section 20. Money declared by written instrument to be intended for perpetual care, maintenance, improvement or embellishment of any cemetery, or of any lots or plots therein, to an amount not less than two hundred dollars, may be deposited with the state treasurer, who shall receive and receipt for it in the name of the commonwealth. The depositors at the time of making such deposit shall file with him and with the state secretary a copy of such instrument. If the cemetery belongs to a corporation, the deposit shall be accompanied by a written agreement, signed by the president thereof, to the effect that it will accept the income derived from the fund so deposited, and will apply it to the purposes set forth in the instrument. Upon the receipt of a deposit for the perpetual care of individual lots or plots in public burial places or cemeteries, the state treasurer shall so inform the clerk of the city or town in which they are located, and said clerk shall record the facts relating to said deposit in the margin of his records of said lots or plots.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
PUBLIC CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 21. Investment of funds; interest
Section 21. The state treasurer shall invest such money in the name of the commonwealth, in bonds or other obligations of the commonwealth or in securities in which he is authorized to invest money in behalf of the commonwealth; and, on the first days of February and August in each year, he shall pay over the accrued interest thereof to the treasurer of any association owning a cemetery for the care, maintenance or improvement of which, or of any lot therein, the money has been deposited with him. If such cemetery is not owned by any association, such interest shall be paid to the town where the cemetery is located. At the time of paying such interest, the state treasurer shall inform the person to whom it is paid of the purpose to which it is to be applied, as stated in the copy of the instrument which is filed with him, and the person to whom it is paid shall apply it to such purpose.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
BOARDS OF CEMETERY COMMISSIONERS
Chapter 114: Section 22. Town board of cemetery commissioners; election of members
Section 22. A town which accepts this and the four following sections or has accepted corresponding provisions of earlier laws may, at any town meeting, elect by ballot a board of cemetery commissioners consisting of three persons. If such board is first chosen at a meeting other than an annual town meeting, one member shall be elected for one year from the day following that fixed for the last preceding annual town meeting, one member for two years and one member for three years from said day; and annually thereafter one member shall, at the annual town meeting, be elected by ballot for a term of three years. Such boards shall choose a chairman, and a clerk who may be a member of the board.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
BOARDS OF CEMETERY COMMISSIONERS
Chapter 114: Section 23. Powers and duties
Section 23. Said board shall have the sole care, superintendence and management of all public burial grounds in its town, may lay out any existing public burial grounds in its town or any land purchased and set apart by said town for such cemeteries, in lots or other suitable subdivisions, with proper paths and avenues, may plant, embellish, ornament and fence the same and erect therein such suitable edifices and conveniences and make such improvements as it considers convenient; and, subject to the approval of the town, may make such regulations, consistent with law, as it deems expedient.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
BOARDS OF CEMETERY COMMISSIONERS
Chapter 114: Section 24. Conveyance of burial lots; record; fee
Section 24. Said board may, by deed made and executed in such manner and form as it may prescribe, convey to any person the sole and exclusive right of burial in any lot in such cemeteries and of erecting tombs, cenotaphs and other monuments or structures thereon upon such terms and conditions as its regulations prescribe. Such deeds and all subsequent deeds of such lots made by owners thereof shall be recorded in the office of the city or town clerk in books kept for that purpose upon the payment of the fee provided by clause (78) of section thirty-four of chapter two hundred and sixty-two, and said records shall be open to the public at all reasonable times.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
BOARDS OF CEMETERY COMMISSIONERS
Chapter 114: Section 25. Gifts or bequests for cemeteries; investment of funds; disposition of proceeds of sales of lots or burial rights
Section 25. A town in which cemetery commissioners are chosen may receive gifts or bequests for maintaining cemeteries or cemetery lots, which shall be paid into the town treasury and, with the accounts thereof, shall be kept separate from the other money and accounts of said town. The town treasurer shall invest all such funds in accordance with the stipulations, if any, accompanying them; otherwise he shall invest them as ordered by said commissioners and pay the income therefrom upon their order or with their approval. The proceeds of sales of lots or rights of burial in such cemeteries shall be paid into the town treasury and be appropriated to reimburse the town for the cost of the land, its care, improvement and embellishment, or the enlargement of the cemetery.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
BOARDS OF CEMETERY COMMISSIONERS
Chapter 114: Section 26. Limit of debts or liabilities; annual report
Section 26. Said board shall not incur debts or liabilities for purposes other than aforesaid nor to an amount exceeding the amount of the funds subject to their order, and it shall annually make a written report to said town of its official acts, of the condition of such cemeteries, and render an account of its receipts and expenditures for the same and of the funds subject to its order.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
BOARDS OF CEMETERY COMMISSIONERS
Chapter 114: Section 27. Appointment of board of cemetery commissioners; powers and duties
Section 27. If a town so votes under section twenty-one of chapter forty-one the selectmen shall appoint a board of cemetery commissioners to consist of three members, to be appointed for the term of three years. The commissioners shall, under the supervision and control of the selectmen, maintain the public cemeteries in the town, and shall with the approval of the selectmen, appoint such employees as are necessary to maintain such cemeteries.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 28. Conveyance of lots or interest in lots in trust for preservation as memorial; rights of heirs of owner; control over lot or interest in lot
Section 28. The owner of any right, title or interest in or to a lot, tomb or monument in any cemetery owned or controlled by any company or association or by any town, may convey or devise the same to such company, association or municipality in trust for the purpose of its preservation as a memorial or as a burial place for the bodies of the owner and his descendants or relatives, or of such other persons as may be specified in the instrument creating the trust, or upon such other trust as may be created by the instrument and accepted by the grantee or devisee; but no such instrument shall be construed to take away the right of the heirs of the owner of a lot or tomb to be buried therein, unless the instrument contains an express provision to that effect. Any such grantee or devisee may accept any such grant, gift or devise, and if it accepts the same shall forever carry out and observe the terms of the instrument by which the grant, gift or devise was made. After the making of a conveyance or the taking effect of a devise and its acceptance by the cemetery authorities, the grantor of the lot, tomb or monument or of any interest therein, or the heirs and assigns of the grantor or devisor thereof, shall have no control over it except such as may be reserved in the instrument.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 29. Indivisible character of lots; vesting; limitations and conditions; right of interment; designation of representation of lot; record
Section 29. Lots in cemeteries incorporated under section one, tombs in public cemeteries in cities and lots and tombs in public cemeteries in towns, shall be held indivisible, and upon the decease of a proprietor of such lot the title thereto shall vest in the heirs at law or devisees of the deceased subject to the following limitations and conditions: If the deceased leaves a spouse and children, they shall have the possession, care and control of said lot or tomb in common during the life of such surviving spouse. If the deceased leaves a spouse and no children, said spouse shall have possession, care and control of such lots or tombs during life. If the deceased leaves children and no spouse, they shall have in common the possession, care and control of such lots or tombs during their joint lives, and the survivor of them during his life. The persons in possession, care and control of such lots or tombs may erect a monument and make other permanent improvements thereon. The surviving spouse shall have a right of permanent interment for his own body in such lot or tomb, but it may be removed therefrom to some other family lot or tomb with the consent of the heirs. If two or more persons are entitled to the possession, care and control of such lot or tomb, they shall designate in writing to the clerk of the corporation, or if it is a tomb or lot in a public cemetery, to the board of cemetery commissioners, if any, or to the town clerk, which of their number shall represent the lot; and in default of such designation, the board of trustees or directors of the corporation, the board of cemetery commissioners, if any, or the board of health if such lots or tombs are in public cemeteries in towns, shall enter of record which of said persons shall represent the lot during such default. The surviving spouse may release his right in such lot, but no conveyance or devise by any other person shall deprive him of such right.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 30. Hearing as to representation of lot or tomb
Section 30. Before entering of record the name of any person to represent such lot or tomb, the board of cemetery commissioners, if any, or the board of health of a town shall hear the parties entitled to the control thereof at such time and place as it shall have previously appointed by a notice published in a newspaper, if any, of the town; otherwise, by posting a copy in a public place therein.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 31. Descent of family lot to heirs
Section 31. If in a will no express disposition or other mention is made of a cemetery lot owned by the testator at his decease, and wherein he or any member of his family is buried, the ownership of the lot shall not pass from his lawful heirs by any residuary or other general clause of the will, but shall descend to his heirs, as if he had died intestate.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 32. Right of wife to interment; release
Section 32. A wife shall be entitled to a right of interment for her own body in any burial lot or tomb of which her husband was seized at any time during coverture, which shall be exempt from the operation of the laws regulating conveyance, descent and devise, but may be released by her in the same manner as dower.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 33. Right of husband to interment
Section 33. A husband shall have the same rights in the tomb or burial lot of his wife as a wife has in that of her husband.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 34. Use of land for burial; new cemeteries or extensions; approval of board of health; description of land
Section 34. Except in the case of the erection or use of a tomb on private land for the exclusive use of the family of the owner, no land, other than that already so used or appropriated, shall be used for burial, unless by permission of the town or of the mayor and aldermen of the city in which the same lies; but no such permission shall be given until the location of the lands intended for such use has been approved in writing by the board of health of the town where the lands are situated after notice to all persons interested and a hearing; and the board of health, upon approval of the use of any lands either for new cemeteries or for the extension of existing cemeteries, shall include in the records of the said board a description of such lands sufficient for their identification. For every interment in violation of this section in a town in which the notice prescribed in section thirty-seven has been given, the owner of the land so used shall forfeit not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 35. Lands to be used for burial; approval
Section 35. No land other than that so used and appropriated on April tenth, nineteen hundred and eight, shall be used for the purpose of burial if it be so situated that surface water or ground drainage therefrom may enter any stream, pond, reservoir, well, filter gallery or other water used as a source of public water supply, or any tributary of a source so used, or any aqueduct or other works used in connection therewith, until a plan and description of the lands proposed for such use have been submitted to, and approved in writing by the department of environmental protection.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 36. Appeal from order of board of health; hearing
Section 36. Any person, including those persons in control of any public land, or the officers of any municipality, aggrieved by the action of a board of health in approving the purchase, taking or use of any lands for cemetery purposes may, within sixty days, appeal from the order of said board to the department of environmental protection, and said department may, after a hearing, rescind such order or may modify and amend the same by approving a part of the lands so proposed for such use.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 37. Regulations by local boards of health; notice
Section 37. Boards of health may make regulations concerning burial grounds and interments within their towns; may impose penalties not exceeding one hundred dollars for a breach thereof; may prohibit the use by undertakers, for the purpose of speculation, of tombs as places of deposit for bodies committed to them for burial; and may close any tomb, burial ground, cemetery or other place of burial within the town for such time as they consider necessary for the protection of the public health. Notice of such regulations shall be given by publishing them in a newspaper, if any, of the town; otherwise, by posting a copy in a public place therein. Such publication shall be notice to all persons.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 38. Closing of tombs, burial ground or cemetery; hearing; notice
Section 38. Before a tomb, burial ground or cemetery is closed by order of the board of health for more than one month, all persons interested shall have an opportunity to be heard, and personal notice of the time and place of hearing shall be given to at least one owner of the tomb, and to three at least, if there are so many, of the owners of such burial ground or cemetery, and notice shall be published for at least two successive weeks preceding such hearing in two newspapers published in the county.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 39. Appeal from order of board
Section 39. The owner of a tomb aggrieved by an order of the board of health closing a tomb, burial ground or cemetery may, within six months after the date thereof, appeal therefrom to the superior court, first giving written notice to the board fourteen days before the entry of such appeal; but the order of the board shall remain in force until the appeal has been determined.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 40. Jury trial; rescission of order; costs and double costs
Section 40. Appeals shall be tried before a jury, and if the jury find that the tomb, burial ground or cemetery so closed was not a nuisance or injurious to the public health at the time of the order and that the closing thereof was not necessary for the protection of the public health, the court shall rescind such order so far as it affects such tomb, burial ground or cemetery, and the appellant may recover the costs of the appeal from the town where the tomb, burial ground or cemetery was situated. If the order is sustained, the board of health shall recover double costs, to the use of the town.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 41. Laying out or constructing public ways in, upon or through burial places; authority
Section 41. A public way shall not be laid out or constructed in, upon or through an enclosure used or appropriated for a burial place except by special authority from the general court or with the previous consent of the inhabitants of the town where such enclosure is situated; or, if such enclosure belongs to private proprietors, with their previous consent.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 42. Passage through cemeteries
Section 42. Whoever uses as a means of passage from one point to another, not being thereupon at the time for any other purpose, the premises of a cemetery or burial place, in any other parts thereof than the defined ways, paths and walks, shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty dollars.
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 42A. Visitation hours
Section 42A. No cemetery exempted from taxation under the provisions of section five of chapter fifty-nine shall be closed for visitations between the hours of eight o’clock antemeridian and sunset, except during the months of June, July, August and September when such cemeteries shall remain open until the hour of seven o’clock postmeridian; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply on Saturdays if the cemetery is owned or used exclusively by a religious denomination which observes the Sabbath on Saturday. It shall be deemed to be a violation of this section if entrance to or exit from any such cemetery by motor vehicle is prevented during said hours, if said cemetery has accessible roads for motor vehicles; provided, however, that access by motor vehicle may be prevented on the second Sunday in May, the last Monday in May, and on Easter Sunday. Whoever wilfully violates this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 42B. Commercial use of cemeteries; consent; penalties
Section 42B. No person shall use the premises of a cemetery or burial place for the purpose of taking photographs or making a motion picture for commercial purposes without the previous consent of the board of commissioners, trustees or directors of such cemetery or burial place or their designees. Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
USE OF CEMETERIES
Chapter 114: Section 43. Buildings upon burial places
Section 43. No building shall be erected upon any burial place belonging to a city, except by special authority from the general court, or with the previous consent of the city council.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43A. Ownership, maintenance and operation of cemeteries; private profit
Section 43A. No cemetery established on or after July first, nineteen hundred and thirty-six, shall be owned, maintained or operated except by a municipality or other political subdivision of the commonwealth, a church, a religious or charitable society, or by a cemetery association incorporated as provided in section one, nor shall such a cemetery be maintained or operated for the purpose of private profit or gain, directly or indirectly, to any director, officer or member of the cemetery association or other agency owning, maintaining and operating the same. A cemetery lawfully established prior to said date may continue to be owned, maintained and operated under the form of organization adopted therefor.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43B. Sale of cemetery lots and plots for speculative purposes
Section 43B. The sale of cemetery lots and plots, or the sale of crypts in a community mausoleum or niches in a columbarium, for speculative purposes, or the conveyance of any portion of a cemetery already dedicated to burial purposes as security for debt, is hereby prohibited, and every such conveyance shall be void and of no effect. Whoever makes or attempts to make a sale or conveyance contrary to the provisions of this section shall be subject to the penalty provided by section forty-three N.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43C. Disposition of proceeds of sales; liquidation of indebtedness
Section 43C. The proceeds of the sales of lots and plots in a cemetery shall, except as hereinafter provided, be applied solely to the improvement and maintenance of the cemetery and the avenues, paths and structures situated therein, for the purchase of additional cemetery land, and for the accumulation of a permanent care and improvement fund. If any indebtedness of a fixed amount is incurred in the purchase of lands for such cemetery, or in making any improvement therein, a sum not exceeding fifty per cent of the gross receipts from the sale of burial lots and plots may be applied to the liquidation of such indebtedness. All moneys received from the sale of personal property and surplus real estate of a cemetery shall be applied first to the liquidation of any fixed indebtedness incurred by it on account of the purchase or improvement of the lands dedicated to cemetery purposes, and any residue remaining after the liquidation of such indebtedness shall be deposited in the permanent care and improvement fund of the cemetery. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any cemetery established prior to July first, nineteen hundred and thirty-six, or to any cemetery owned, maintained and operated by a church or religious society.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43D. Location of community mausoleums; exceptions
Section 43D. Every community mausoleum, other than a structure containing crypts erected or controlled by a church or a religious society and used only as a repository for the remains of the clergy or dignitaries of such church or religious society, and every crematory, columbarium or other structure, other than a columbarium located within or adjacent to a building owned or occupied by a church or religious society in which regular religious services are held and used only as a repository for the ashes of the regular attendants at such religious services and their families, intended to dispose of or hold or contain the bodies or remains of the dead, erected on or after July first, nineteen hundred and thirty-six, shall be located only within the limits of a cemetery containing no less than twenty acres, which shall have been in existence and actually used for burial purposes for a period of at least five years immediately preceding the time of the erection thereof.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43E. New community mausoleums; plans and specifications; approval; construction
Section 43E. No community mausoleum, the crypts of which are available to the public for burial purposes, shall be erected without the consent and approval of the department of environmental protection. Before commencing the erection of any such structure, full detailed plans and specifications shall be presented to said department for its approval. Such approval shall be evidenced by a certificate in writing, signed by the proper officer of said department. No community mausoleum or any structure intended to hold or contain the bodies of the dead permanently, which is available to the public for said use, shall be erected or added to, and no building not previously used or intended to be used for the permanent disposition of the human dead shall be altered or changed for such use or used for such purposes, unless constructed of such materials and workmanship as will insure its durability and permanence as well as the safety, convenience, comfort and health of the community in which it is located, as dictated and determined at the time by modern mausoleum construction and engineering science.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43G. Use of community mausoleum prior to completion; care and improvement fund
Section 43G. No community mausoleum, crypt or structure erected as aforesaid shall be used for the purpose of depositing therein the remains of any dead body until such mausoleum, crypt or structure, or a component section thereof, is fully completed, and the permanent care and improvement fund required by section forty-three J has been established.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43H. Sale of community mausoleum prior to completion
Section 43H. No crypt in a community mausoleum shall be sold or offered for sale before said structure, or a component section thereof, is fully completed.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43I. Removal of bodies constituting menace to public health
Section 43I. Whenever any mausoleum, vault, crypt or other structure containing one or more dead human bodies shall, in the opinion of the department of public health, become a menace to public health, and the owner thereof fails to remedy or remove the same to the satisfaction of said department, any court of competent jurisdiction may order the owner of said structure to remove such dead body or bodies for interment in some suitable cemetery at the expense of such owner. If such owner cannot be found, such removal and interment shall be at the expense of the cemetery association or other agency in the cemetery of which such mausoleum, vault, crypt or other structure is situated.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43J. Permanent care and improvement fund for community mausoleums
Section 43J. Every cemetery association or other agency establishing, maintaining and operating a community mausoleum on or after July first, nineteen hundred and thirty-six, shall create and establish a permanent care and improvement fund, distinct and separate from the permanent care and improvement fund of its cemetery. The fund established under authority of this section shall be created by applying to such fund at least thirty per cent of the proceeds received, in full or in instalments, from the sales of crypts in such mausoleum. The income of such fund shall be devoted to the care, maintenance and improvement of such community mausoleum.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43K. Custodian of fund; administration and investment
Section 43K. The treasurer of the cemetery in which such community mausoleum is situated shall be the custodian of the permanent care and improvement fund established therefor as aforesaid and every such fund shall be held, administered and invested in the manner provided by law for funds in savings banks of the commonwealth
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43L. Abating or enjoining nuisance
Section 43L. Any cemetery, community mausoleum or columbarium established, maintained or operated in violation of or contrary to any provision of this chapter shall be a nuisance and may be abated or enjoined as such at the suit of any taxpayer of the commonwealth.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43M. Permanent disposition of dead bodies or remains
Section 43M. Except as otherwise provided by law, or in case of a dead body being rightfully carried through or removed from the commonwealth for the purpose of burial or disposition elsewhere, every dead body of a human being dying within the commonwealth, and the remains of any body after dissection therein, shall be decently buried, entombed in a mausoleum, vault or tomb or cremated within a reasonable time after death. The permanent disposition of such bodies or remains shall be by interment in the earth or deposit in a chamber, vault or tomb of a cemetery owned, maintained and operated in accordance with the laws of this commonwealth, by deposit in a crypt of a mausoleum, or by cremation. The remains of a human body after cremation may be deposited in a niche of a columbarium or a crypt of a mausoleum, buried or disposed of in any manner not contrary to law. Each municipality or cemetery corporation shall maintain records which identify the name, if known, of the dead human body or remains in each burial lot, tomb or vault under its control. No deposit of the bodies or remains of the human dead shall be made in a single chamber, vault or tomb wholly or partly above the natural surface of the ground unless the part thereof below such surface is of a permanent character, constructed of materials capable of withstanding extreme climatic conditions, waterproof and air tight, and capable of being sealed permanently to prevent all escape of effluvia, and unless the part thereof above the natural surface of the ground is constructed of natural stone of a standard not less than that required by the United States government for monuments erected in national cemeteries, of durability sufficient to withstand all conditions of weather.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43N. Penalties
Section 43N. Whoever fails to comply with or violates any provision of this chapter in respect to the establishment, maintenance or operation of a cemetery, community mausoleum, crematory or columbarium, or to the disposal of dead human bodies, shall, unless another penalty is provided by this chapter, be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Chapter 114: Section 43O. Sale of monuments for cemetery lots by cemetery corporations
Section 43O. The following corporations owning or operating cemeteries shall not sell or engage in the business of selling monuments for cemetery lots:— Municipal corporations, cemetery corporations organized under general laws, and cemetery corporations organized by acts of incorporation passed since March eleventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-one. This act shall be deemed an amendment of any charters heretofore granted except charters in which the right to sell monuments is expressly conferred. This act shall not prohibit the sale by any of said corporations of monuments in their possession prior to the effective date of this act.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CREMATION AND BURIAL
Chapter 114: Section 44. Cremation of bodies
Section 44. The body of a deceased person shall not be cremated within 48 hours after his decease unless he died of a contagious or infectious disease, and, if the death occurred within the commonwealth, the body shall not be cremated by any corporation authorized to cremate the bodies of the dead until its officers have received the certificate or burial permit required by law before burial, and a certificate from a medical examiner or similarly authorized person that he has viewed the body and made personal inquiry into the cause and manner of death, and is of opinion that no further examination or judicial inquiry concerning the same is necessary. If the death occurs without the commonwealth, the medical examiner’s certificate may be provided by a medical examiner or similarly authorized person in whose jurisdiction said death occurred or the reception and cremation of the body of a deceased person shall be governed by a by-law or regulation made or approved by the department of public health as provided in section nine.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CREMATION AND BURIAL
Chapter 114: Section 44A. Receptacles for cremated remains; caskets
Section 44A. The body of a deceased person to be cremated shall be contained in a suitable receptacle; provided, however, that a casket shall not be used for such cremation unless such use has been requested by a person lawfully entitled to the custody and control of such body.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CREMATION AND BURIAL
Chapter 114: Section 45. Burial permits; permits for removal of bodies; certificates of death; deceased veterans
Section 45. Except as provided in sections forty-four and forty-six, no undertaker or other person shall bury or otherwise dispose of a human body in a town, or remove therefrom a human body which has not been buried, until he has received a permit from the board of health or its agent appointed to issue such permits, or if there is no such board, from the clerk of the town where the person died; and no undertaker or other person shall exhume a human body and remove it from a town, from one cemetery to another, or from one grave or tomb other than the receiving tomb to another in the same cemetery, until he has received a permit from the board of health or its agent aforesaid or from the clerk of the town where the body is buried. No such permit shall be issued until there shall have been delivered to such board, agent or clerk, as the case may be, a satisfactory written statement containing the facts required by law to be returned and recorded, which shall be accompanied, in case of an original interment, by a satisfactory certificate of the attending physician, if any, as required by law, or in lieu thereof a certificate as hereinafter provided. If there is no attending physician, or if, for sufficient reasons, his certificate cannot be obtained early enough for the purpose, or is insufficient, a physician who is a member of the board of health, or employed by it or by the selectmen for the purpose, shall upon application make the certificate required of the attending physician. If death is caused by violence, the medical examiner shall make such certificate. If such permit for removal of a human body, not previously interred, from one town to another within the commonwealth cannot be obtained early enough for the purpose, the certificate of death made as above provided or the determination or pronouncement of death made by a licensed registered nurse, a nurse practitioner or a registered physician assistant according to section nine of chapter forty-six and in the possession of the undertaker desiring to make such removal shall constitute a permit for such removal; provided, that such body shall be returned to the town from which it was removed within thirty-six hours after such removal, unless a permit in the usual form for the removal of such body has been sooner obtained hereunder. If the death certificate contains a recital, as required by section ten of chapter forty-six, that the deceased was a veteran, such recital shall appear upon the permit. The board of health or its agent, upon receipt of such statement and certificate, shall forthwith countersign it and transmit it to the clerk of the town for registration. The person to whom the permit is so given and the physician certifying the cause of death shall thereafter furnish for registration any other necessary information which can be obtained as to the deceased, or as to the manner or cause of the death, which the clerk or registrar may require.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CREMATION AND BURIAL
Chapter 114: Section 45A. Funeral director’s name used in connection with death certificate or burial permit
Section 45A. No funeral director, whether doing business as an individual, partnership or corporation, shall permit his name to be used in connection with any death certificate or burial permit unless he was specifically engaged to perform the burial to which such permit or certificate relates.
Any violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CREMATION AND BURIAL
Chapter 114: Section 46. Permit for burial of bodies brought into commonwealth; certificate; recording
Section 46. Whenever a dead body is brought into the commonwealth for burial, accompanied by a removal permit issued under the laws of the state from which such body is brought, such permit shall be received as sufficient authority for burial, and the superintendent or person or persons in charge of the cemetery where the burial is to take place shall make proper endorsements on said removal permit and send it forthwith to the local board of health in the city or town where said cemetery is located. The board of health shall make and retain a copy of said removal permit and return the original to the city or town issuing the same; but if not accompanied by such permit no funeral director or other person shall bury such body or the ashes thereof until he has received a permit so to do from the board of health or its agent appointed to issue such permits, or if there is no such board, from the clerk of the town where the body is to be buried, or from a person appointed to have the care of the cemetery or burial ground in which the interment is made, if a record is kept of the names of all persons buried therein, or from a duly appointed superintendent of burials in such town who keeps a record of interments. Such permit shall not be issued until the funeral director or other person has delivered a certificate to said board, agent, clerk, superintendent or person having such care, giving the name of the deceased, his age as nearly as can be ascertained, the cause of death, the name of the town where he last resided or from which the body was brought, or, if the death occurred at sea, the name of the vessel upon which it occurred, and any other facts required for record which could be obtained with reasonable diligence, including, in case the deceased was a veteran, a recital as required by section ten of chapter forty-six.
The board of health or its agent, or the superintendent or person having such care, shall, upon receipt of such certificate, forthwith countersign it and file it in his office
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CREMATION AND BURIAL
Chapter 114: Section 46A. Veterans; burial; affidavit; veteran graves officer
Section 46A. No permit for the burial or other disposition of the body of a deceased veteran, known to be such, as the term veteran is defined in section twenty-one of chapter thirty-one, shall be issued unless and until an affidavit, as hereinafter set forth, shall have been filed with the board of health, or body or person having similar powers and duties, issuing such permit, by the undertaker or other person authorized to make such burial or disposition. Such affidavit shall set forth, as far as is known to the person executing it, the name and last known address of the deceased, the date and place of his or her birth, the date, place and cause of his or her death, a summary of his or her service record, and a detailed statement of the location of the burial or other disposition of his or her body.
A certified copy of the affidavit shall forthwith be transmitted by such board, body or person to the veteran graves officer, appointed under section nine of chapter one hundred and fifteen, of the city or town of burial or other disposition of the body. Upon receipt of such certified copy, said veteran graves officer shall, if said deceased veteran did not have his settlement in such city or town, thereupon transmit a copy of such affidavit to the veteran graves officer of the city or town in which said deceased veteran had his settlement, and in the event that said deceased veteran had no settlement in the commonwealth and was not a resident of the city or town of burial or other disposition, a copy of such affidavit shall be transmitted to the veteran graves officer of the city or town where said deceased veteran last resided.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CREMATION AND BURIAL
Chapter 114: Section 47. Certificates for burial, removal or cremation; indorsement of coupon accompanying permit; record
Section 47. No person having the care of a cemetery, burial ground or crematory shall permit the burial, removal or cremation of a human body until the permit for such burial, removal or cremation has been delivered to him, nor permit the ashes of a human body to be buried therein until there has been delivered to him a certificate that the burial permit and the certificate of the medical examiner prerequisite to the cremating of said body have been duly presented.
Upon the burial, removal, or cremation of a body, the superintendent or other officer in charge of the cemetery or crematory shall indorse upon the coupon accompanying the permit the fact of such burial, removal or cremation, with the date thereof, shall make and preserve in the files of the cemetery or crematory a record of such burial, removal or cremation, including any recital in the burial permit relative to service of the deceased as a veteran as defined in section ten of chapter forty-six, and also the location of the grave or other receptacle of the body or ashes of the deceased, and shall forthwith return the coupon to the office issuing the same; provided, that if there is no officer in charge of the cemetery or crematory, such duties shall be performed by the undertaker.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CREMATION AND BURIAL
Chapter 114: Section 48. Cremation; certificates for burial
Section 48. An undertaker shall not bury the ashes of a human body until he has received from the person having the charge of the crematory a certificate that the burial permit and the certificate of the medical examiner prerequisite to the cremating of said body have been duly presented.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
CREMATION AND BURIAL
Chapter 114: Section 50. Penalty
Section 50. Violations of any of the provisions of sections forty-four to forty-eight, inclusive, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XVI. PUBLIC HEALTH
CHAPTER 114. CEMETERIES AND BURIALS
EMBALMING FLUIDS
Chapter 114: Section 51. Embalming fluid
Section 51. No person shall sell, offer for sale, or supply others with any embalming fluid, or any substitute therefor, which contains more than five milligrams of arsenic per litre. Violation of any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for one year, or both.
Massachusetts
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE VI. COUNTIES AND COUNTY OFFICERS
CHAPTER 38. MEDICAL EXAMINERS AND INQUESTS
Chapter 38: Section 14. Bodies intended for cremation or burial at sea; authorization; fees
Section 14. A medical examiner or forensic investigator designated by the chief medical examiner shall, on payment of a fee as determined from time to time by the secretary of public safety, which shall be not less than $75, view the body and make personal inquiry concerning the cause and manner of death of any person whose body is intended for cremation or burial at sea and shall authorize such cremation or burial at sea only when no further examination or judicial inquiry concerning such death is necessary. Said fee shall be paid by the person to whom such authorization for cremation or burial at sea is given. Cremation fees collected by the office of the chief medical examiner shall be utilized to support the comprehensive system of medico-legal investigative services delivered by the agency. District medical examiners employed on a fee-for-service basis shall be compensated for performance of cremation views at a rate set by the secretary of public safety. Other medical examiners or forensic investigators performing cremation views will not receive additional compensation beyond their specified salaries.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XII. EDUCATION
CHAPTER 75. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Chapter 75: Section 36A. Cremation and disposal of donated bodies
Section 36A. The University of Massachusetts medical school in Worcester may cremate the bodies of deceased persons which have been donated to said medical school and which have been used for the promotion of anatomical science, including the teaching thereof, or for any other purpose not inconsistent with chapter one hundred and thirteen, and may dispose of the ashes of such bodies by burial or other appropriate means; provided, that the remains of any bodies received pursuant to section eight of chapter one hundred and thirteen shall be subject to the terms of the donor’s gift, if any.
PART IV. CRIMES, PUNISHMENTS AND PROCEEDINGSIN CRIMINAL CASES
TITLE I. CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
CHAPTER 272. CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY, DECENCY AND GOOD ORDER
Chapter 272: Section 42A. Disturbance of funeral services
Section 42A. Whoever pickets, loiters or otherwise creates a disturbance within five hundred feet of a funeral home, church or temple or other building where funeral services are being held, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE XIV. PUBLIC WAYS AND WORKS
CHAPTER 85. REGULATIONS AND BY-LAWS RELATIVE TO WAYS AND BRIDGES
Chapter 85: Section 14A. Funeral processions
Section 14A. A funeral procession of not more than ten vehicles shall have the right, except on Sundays and legal holidays, to use any parkway, boulevard or other public way to the same extent and subject to the same regulations and restrictions as vehicles commonly known as pleasure vehicles.
