Cemetery maintenance legislation to be signed
Anthony Brown
Rep. Allen Andrews
Over the past two years, I have worked to create legislation that is now headed to the governor’s desk that will help the many cemeteries across the state that are falling into disrepair because of a lack of funding for maintenance. The legislation given final approval by the House will address the problem by allowing for more investment options with the goal of making more funds available for upkeep.
Currently, county-controlled cemetery trust funds are only allowed to keep funds in low interest certificates of deposit or bonds. According to state mandates, the principal on these funds cannot be touched. Only the interest on the funds can be used to fund maintenance costs. Because of extremely low interest rates, many county commissions are in a critical situation with minimal funds available to pay for maintenance.
My bill that is now set to become law will allow local control of the cemetery trust funds and give the county commissions the choice to continue to keep the funds in low interest CDs, or to invest a portion of the funds into higher yielding investment vehicles using the expertise of investment managers.
Supporters of the bill note that many cemetery trust funds hold hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the few investment vehicles currently authorized do not generate enough revenue to pay for maintenance. HB 51 will provide county commissions with more investment options.
As always, it is a privilege to represent you.
Representative Allen Andrews, District 1, Missouri State Capitol, Room 406 B, 201 West Capitol Avenue, Jefferson City, MO 65101.
Telephone: (573) 751-9465
Allen Andrews is the First District State Representative.
