Assembly Bill 523
Permitting a funeral establishment to be located in cemetery, prohibiting discrimination against a funeral establishment that has no relationship with a cemetery, prohibiting discrimination against a cemetery that has not relationship with a funeral establishment, and eliminating a property tax exemption for cemetery authority property
Topics: Cemetery, Funeral and funeral director, Legislature: Tax Exemptions, Joint Survey Committee on, Property tax, Religious societies
Stopped in committee
It had a but no committee vote, so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
Feb 3, 2012
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. It had a hearing but no committee vote.
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Senate vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Mar 23, 2012: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It sat with the Assembly Committee on joint survey committee on Tax Exemptions.
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Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
Current law prohibits a licensed funeral director from operating a funeral establishment or mausoleum in a cemetery. Current law also prohibits a cemetery authority from permitting a funeral establishment to be located on cemetery property. With certain exceptions, current law prohibits a cemetery authority from receiving or accepting any commission, fee, remuneration, or benefit of any kind from a funeral establishment or from an owner, employee, or agent of a funeral establishment. This bill eliminates each of these prohibitions.
Current law permits the cemetery authority of a cemetery that is affiliated with a religious society to adopt regulations that prohibit the burial in the cemetery of human remains of an individual who is not in the class of individuals identified by the religious society for burial in the cemetery. This bill retains the right of a religiously affiliated cemetery authority to adopt such regulations. However, under the bill, a religiously affiliated cemetery authority may not adopt regulations that prohibit the human remains of an individual from being buried at the cemetery authority's cemetery because funeral services for the individual were conducted at a funeral establishment other than a funeral establishment that has a financial relationship with the cemetery authority's cemetery. Also, the religiously affiliated cemetery authority may not adopt regulations that prohibit the human remains of an individual from being buried at the cemetery authority's cemetery because the human remains were prepared for burial or transportation at a funeral establishment other than a funeral establishment that has a financial relationship with the cemetery authority's cemetery.
Read the full summary Show less
Under the bill, if a cemetery authority erects, owns, operates, or has a financial interest in a funeral establishment, that cemetery authority may not prohibit the burial at the cemetery authority's cemetery of a deceased person whose human remains were prepared for burial or whose funeral services were conducted at a funeral establishment that has no relationship with the cemetery authority. Finally, a funeral establishment that has an ownership or other financial relationship with a cemetery authority may not require the human remains of a decedent to be buried in the cemetery authority's cemetery as a condition of those human remains being cared for or prepared for transportation or burial at that funeral establishment.
Under current law, land owned by a cemetery authority that is used exclusively as public burial grounds, tombs, and monuments is exempt from the property tax.
In addition, personal property owned by the cemetery authority that is necessary for the care and management of burial grounds and sites is exempt from the property tax. Under the bill, land physically occupied by a funeral establishment, if the land is located in a cemetery, is subject to the property tax.
Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.
Who's behind it
3 lawmakers are its . All 3 are Republicans.
See all 3 names Hide the names
Authors (3)
- Chris Kapenga · Republican, Senate
- Joel Kleefisch · Republican, Assembly
- Evan Wynn · Republican, Assembly
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
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Mar 23, 2012
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Feb 28, 2012
The committee held a public hearing.
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Feb 21, 2012
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Feb 20, 2012
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Feb 3, 2012
Sent to the Assembly Committee on joint survey committee on Tax Exemptions.
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Feb 3, 2012
Sent to the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection and Personal Privacy.
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Feb 3, 2012
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Feb 3, 2012 · Assembly
- Feb 3, 2012 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to committee on Consumer Protection and Personal Privacy
- Feb 3, 2012 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to joint survey committee on Tax Exemptions
- Feb 20, 2012 · Assembly
Fiscal estimate received
- Feb 21, 2012 · Assembly
Fiscal estimate received
- Feb 28, 2012 · Assembly
Public hearing held by committee on Consumer Protection and Personal Privacy
- Mar 23, 2012 · Assembly
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary
From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate