A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the laws regulating investments of cemeteries and preneed funeral funds.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 65‑60.1(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Any trustee shall invest and reinvest cemetery trust funds in accordance with Article 9 of Chapter 36C of the General Statutes."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 90‑210.61(a)(1) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Preneed funeral funds are subject to the provisions of this Article and shall be deposited or applied as follows:
(1)	If the preneed funeral contract purchaser chooses to fund the preneed funeral contract by a trust deposit or deposits, the preneed licensee shall deposit all preneed funeral funds with a financial institution, in trust, in the preneed licensee's name as trustee and invest and reinvest funds in accordance with Article 9 of Chapter 36C of the General Statutes. The preneed licensee, at the time of making the deposit as trustee, shall furnish to the financial institution the name of each preneed funeral contract purchaser and the amount of payment on each for which the deposit is being made. The preneed licensee may establish an individual trust fund for each preneed funeral contract but also is specifically authorized to establish commingled trust accounts for investment and reinvestment of preneed funeral funds of multiple preneed funeral contracts. The trust accounts shall be carried in the name of the preneed licensee as trustee, but in all cases, accounting records shall be maintained for each individual preneed funeral contract purchaser showing the amounts deposited and invested, and interest, dividends, increases, accretions, decreases, and the taxes and expenses which may be charged under this subdivision. Except as provided in this Article, all interest, dividends, increases, or accretions earned by the funds shall remain in the trust account. The trust fund may be charged with applicable taxes and for reasonable charges paid by the trustee to itself or others for the preparation of fiduciary tax returns. Penalties charged by a financial institution for early withdrawals caused by a transfer pursuant to G.S. 90‑210.63 shall be paid by the preneed licensee. Penalties charged as a result of other early withdrawals as permitted by this Article shall be paid from the trust fund, and the financial institution shall give the preneed funeral contract purchaser prompt notice of these penalties."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.