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Meeting Minutes DATE: February 26, 2026 - Cemetery Oversight

TIME: 09:30 AM

LOCATION: 100 S Charles St, Tower 1 Baltimore, MD 21201 (via Google Meet)

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Yvonne Fisher, Chair, Consumer Member Bruce Hultquist, Religious Representative David Zinner, Consumer Member
Walter Tegeler, Monument Company Representative
David (Dave) Thompson, Consumer Member
J. Michael Bennett, For-Profit Representative-Cemeterian John (Ron) Pearcey, Nonprofit Representative-Cemeterian Craig Huff, For-Profit Representative-Cemeterian

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Christopher Palmer, Consumer Member
Taneka Simmons, Consumer Member
Erich March, For-Profit Representative-Cemeterian

STAFF PRESENT:

Matthew Venuti, Assistant Attorney General Deborah Rappazzo, Executive Director Octavia Shorter, Licensing Specialist Dreama Anderson, Investigator
Michael Ryan, Financial Compliance Administrator
Javon Williams, Director ofFiscal Services
Aajah Han-is, Policy Director O&P

OTHERS PRESENT:

Glenn Easton, Maryland Cemetery Cremation Association
Adrian Gardner, Willow Green Funerals

Lily Buerkle, Willow Green Funerals
Nathan Malloy, Esq. March Funeral Establishment, and
Maryland State Funeral Directors Association
Michelle Brown, Consumer

Roll Call/Quorum Announced and Meeting Called to Order

The meeting was called to order at 9:31 AM by Chair Fisher. A quorum was confirmed.

Approval of January 29, 2026, Meeting Minutes

The minutes of the January 29, 2026, meeting were reviewed. Council Member Zinner noted a minor amendment to the legislative section referencing SB 233, which had been forwarded to Executive Director Rappazzo in advance. The amended minutes were approved unanimously.

Approval of Today's Agenda

At the request of Council Member Zinner, the agenda was modified to address the Legislative Update before the Alkaline Hydrolysis Regulations item. The modified agenda was approved unanimously.

Legislative Update

SB 233 and SB 234 - Cemetery Legislation - reported by Council Member Zinner and AAG Venuti:
SB 233 and SB 234 were heard by the Senate Finance Committee. The bills addressed (1) the process for selling a cemetery for a different use (e.g., condominium development), and (2) the process for acquiring abandoned cemeteries where no owner can be identified. The Senate Finance Committee combined the two bills and amended them heavily to reflect last year's bill, which carried a significant fiscal note and exempted religious cemeteries - an outcome the Maryland cemetery legislative advocates had sought to avoid. The amended, combined bill passed the Senate and moved to the House.

The two original House bills, HB 892 and HB 893, sponsored by Delegate Hill, were heard before a joint hearing involving House Health and the Economic Matters representatives. Two witnesses testified in person, additional witnesses testified virtually. No opposition was presented in person or virtually, though the Maryland Catholic Conference was believed to have submitted written opposition. Delegate Hill remains strongly committed to advancing the legislation. The amended Senate bill will also come before House committees separately, providing further opportunity for input.

Other Pending Bills:
AAG Venuti noted no updates were available from the General Assembly website on the following bills:

  • A bill proposing to transfer oversight of crematories away from the Office.
  • A bill addressing pet cremation and burial services.

Alkaline Hydrolysis Regulations - Review of Public Comments

AAG Venuti provided background: This was the second public hearing on the alkaline hydrolysis regulations. The first hearing was held in March 2025. The original regulations were withdrawn and resubmitted due to the volume of comments and changes required. The revised regulations were published in the Maryland Register on December 26, 2025. The goal is to finalize for publication in the March 20, 2026, issue of the Maryland Register.

AAG Venuti also noted that the Natural Organic Reduction (NOR) regulations had been approved with minor changes and were also expected to be published in the March 20, 2026, issue of the Maryland Register.

Note: A technical issue at the start of the hearing resulted in some participants waiting on a separate meeting link. The issue was resolved before public comment began, and the participants were able to join the meeting.

Nathan Malloy, Maryland State Funeral Directors Association (MSFDA)
Mr. Malloy raised multiple concerns regarding the proposed regulations, including:

  • The need for stronger coordination between the Office of Cemetery Oversight (OCO) regulations and the Board of Morticians regulations to ensure consistency, as required under Business Regulation §5-204.
  • Terminology and definitions requiring clarification or amendment, including:
    • Replacing "next of kin" (§9-340.502B(5)(c)) with "authorizing agent", consistent with Titles 5 and 7 of the Health Occupations and COMAR.
    • Expanding the definition of "cremated human remains" and "hydrolyzed remains" to reference all byproducts of the process rather than only recoverable bone fragments.
    • Replacing "skeletal remains" (§9-340.502B(24)) with "cremated remains", noting that the fragments produced are bone-like calcium phosphate structures.
    • Replacing "prematurely" (§9-340.702C(l6)) with ''unintentionally" in the safety device requirement for cremator doors.
    • Using "processed human remains" rather than "human processed remains."
    • Removing the term "undertakers" from the list of authorized persons and replacing it with "morticians" or just "funeral directors."
  • Clarifying facility terminology so that alkaline hydrolysis facilities are distinguished from crematories, to avoid confusion for consumers and operators.
  • Clarifying provisions related to• equipment definitions, monitoring requirements, and authorization forms to ensure that alkaline hydrolysis processes are clearly distinguished from cremation.
  • Addressing operational requirements, including the proposed four-hour cooling period between cremations of certain containers, which he indicated may be operationally impractical.
  • Resolving inconsistencies in refrigerated holding facility temperature requirements between different COMAR provisions.
  • Recommending additional technical revisions, including identification disc materials, notification procedures to permit holders, and clarification of certain definitions and procedural language.

Adrian R Gardner, Willow Green Funerals
Mr. Gardner expressed general support for the regulations as proposed and offered the following observations:

  • Consistency between alkaline hydrolysis and cremation chain-of-custody rules is sensible; _greater inconsistency would likely cause more confusion.
  • Research into other jurisdictions and industry standards supports treating the two methods as distinct but closely related. Both serve families seeking the return of their loved ones' remains.
  • Mr. Gardner encouraged the council to proceed with current law, noting that Maryland families have been waiting for a long time for this service to become available.

No additional public comments were received. The public comment period for alkaline hydrolysis regulations was closed.

Executive Director's Report

Executive Director Rappazzo provided the following updates:

Abandoned and Neglected Cemetery Fund:
The fund has been established and is ready to receive contributions. Regulations governing the fund are being drafted and are expected to be completed within the next few weeks. Key next steps include:

  • Finalizing application, loan, and grant processes.
  • Developing OCO's internal process for responding to abandoned cemetery inquiries and assigning staff responses to inquiries and possible cemetery maintenance visits.
  • Outreach and awareness efforts, including QR codes, town halls, trade shows, and visits to nursing homes, hospitals, and community organizations.
  • Potential presentation to the Secretary of Labor, the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, and other stakeholders.

Executive Director Rappazzo noted that council membyrs would be contacted for volunteer assistance with next steps related to implementation of the fund. Emails requesting participation will be forthcoming; David Zinner and Yvonne Fisher have already indicated willingness to help.

Online Licensing System:
Work is underway to move licensing application and renewals online. A meeting was held with a technology group to outline OCO's specific requirements. The project is expected to proceed in phases. A cemetery search and license lookup feature for the OCO public website has been prototyped and is moving forward.

Old Business

No old business was raised beyond items addressed in the Executive Director's Report.

New Business

No new business was raised.

Investigator's Report

Investigator Anderson was engaged in a special project and did not present a formal report at this meeting.

Financial Compliance Administrator's Report

Financial Compliance Administrator Ryan (OCO) provided a report on the performance of perpetual care and pre-need trust funds for 2024:

  • Perpetual Care Trust: Grew from $120.3 to $131.2 million, representing a 9.06% increase.
  • Pre-Need Trust: Grew from $215.0 million to $226.4 million, representing a 5.28% increase.
  • Combined Total: Grew from $335.4 million to $357.7 million, representing a 6.63% increase for the year.

For reference, the 2024 inflation rate was 2.9%. Both funds significantly outpaced inflation. No questions were raised.

Licensing Specialist's Report

Licensing Specialist Shorter (OCO) noted she did not have a formal update at this time and would follow up later. Director Rappazzo added that OCO continues to process renewals and initial applications efficiently.

Public Comment

No additional public comment was recorded beyond earlier discussion.

Adjournment

A motion to adjourn was made by Chair Yvonne Fisher and unanimously approved. The meeting adjourned at 10:20 AM.

Next Meeting: June 25, 2026, at 9:30 AM (virtual)

Chair's Signature: _ Date: -------