[HistoricCemeteries] Two bills may affect your historic cemetery association

[Kuri Gill]

Two bills may affect your historic cemetery association

The Oregon state legislature passed two bills proposed by the Secretary
of State’s Office during the recent legislative session. Both changes
will go into effect in January 1, 2010.

The first bill eliminates the nonprofit corporation fee to file the
required annual report for organizations whose purpose is to maintain a
historic cemetery. The current fee is $50.00. 
Organizations must meet two qualifications to have the fee waived. 

The first requirement is that the purpose of the nonprofit corporation
as set forth in the articles of incorporation must be to maintain a
historic cemetery. Check your articles to be sure that this included in
the purpose. There is a fee of $50.00 to amend your articles of
incorporation with the Secretary of State’s Office. The forms are
available on their website at www.filinginoregon.com or by calling (503)
986-2205. 

The second requirement, is that the cemetery must be listed with the
Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries (OCHC) as a historic cemetery.
The list is available at www.oregonheritage.org or by calling (503)
986-0685. To qualify as a historic cemetery, it must contain the burial
of at least one person who died before February 14, 1909. To be listed
the OCHC has a survey form that can be completed and sent in. Once
processed, the organization will be sent a letter and certificate. Any
cemetery that meets the above qualification is eligible, even if it is
operating and certified with the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board.

When the nonprofit corporation receives the notification regarding the
annual report, the forms will not indicate the change for historic
cemeteries. You will need to send in the annual report form and a cover
letter to Kim Georgedes at the Secretary of State’s office requesting
the fee waiver along with a copy of the certificate provided by the
OCHC. Contact Kuri Gill at Kuri.Gill at oregon.state.or.us or (503)
986-0685 to get a certificate if the cemetery is already listed and you
don’t have a copy or if would like to have your cemetery listed.

The second bill that may affect you is the one relating to the
administrative dissolution of nonprofit corporations. Over the years
nonprofits may have lost track of the annual report required for the
Secretary of State’s Office. Once the report hasn’t been filed, the
organization is administratively dissolved and no longer receives annual
report forms. The limit to request reinstatement is 5-years from the
date of dissolution, however this legislation allows the Secretary of
State to waive the 5-year limit for nonprofit corporations in certain
cases. 

This is well worth doing if your organization has been functioning and
plans to continue to do so. You must prove that the organization has
continued functioning throughout the period it did not report and the
organization must pay the prior year’s reporting fees. However, for
organizations maintaining historic cemeteries, these may be waived under
the above provision. Contact the Secretary of State, Corporation
Division for more information.



Kuri Gill
Historic Cemeteries Program  & CLG Coordinator
725 Summer St. NE, Suite C
Salem, OR 97301-1266
(503) 986-0685
(503) 986-0793 (fax)
kuri.gill at state.or.us
 
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www.oregonheritage.org