Sec. 7. (a) The:

(1) owner of a cemetery; or

(2) if the owner of a cemetery is unable to be determined:

(A) the owner of a lot in the cemetery;

(B) the next of kin of an owner of a lot in the cemetery; or

(C) another interested person;

may request maintenance assistance from the fund by filing with the board an application on a form provided by the board requesting funds for emergency maintenance.

(b) The board may hold a hearing concerning an application if the board considers it necessary and shall, within a reasonable time, make a determination concerning each application. The board may authorize the withdrawal from the fund of an amount sufficient to provide emergency maintenance for the cemetery to which the application relates, but not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).

(c) If the cost of maintaining a cemetery is paid from the fund, the fund is entitled to recover the amount paid from the owner of the cemetery, and the board shall ask the attorney general to take all reasonable steps to collect that amount from the cemetery owner. Any amount collected from a cemetery owner under this subsection shall be deposited in the fund.

(d) The board shall annually review the status of the fund. If the board determines during its annual review that the fund balance equals or exceeds five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), the board shall suspend the requirement to make payments to the fund under section 5 of this chapter until after the next annual review in which the board determines that the fund balance is less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).

As added by P.L.65-2007, SEC.3. Amended by P.L.14-2018, SEC.7.