SB 146 — Cemeteries: Protections and Permit Reforms

This legislation provides more specificity to the definition of abandoned cemetery, which currently only includes cemeteries showing signs of neglect, repeated acts of vandalism, or disintegration of graves, and for which no person can be found who is legally responsible and financially capable to upkeep the cemetery, so that such definition would also include burial grounds, and would specify it would be limited to cemeteries and burial grounds where no internment has occurred for a period of not less than 25 years, where no remains of a deceased human has a known living lineal descendent unless such person has waived their rights and interests, which has not been dedicated for public use, and which is not a perpetual care cemetery registered with the Secretary of State.

Regardless of whether the municipality takes any action to preserve or protect cemeteries, the municipality will be required to accept applications for disturbance permits, consider such applications at public hearings, render written decisions on such applications, and perform any other action with such application as required by the law. Such disturbance permits would only be allowed for abandoned cemeteries.

The process for obtaining a disturbance permit under this legislation would amend state law requiring a public hearing to expand the timeframe for such hearing to be within 15 days of an application to within 45 days of such application. Current law requires notice of such public hearings to be advertised in the legal organ once a week for two consecutive weeks but this legislation would require such to be published for four consecutive weeks. The legislation also refines the considerations a municipality analyze in determining whether a disturbance permit is granted. If a disturbance permit is granted, the legislation adds new provisions which make clear that the applicant is not absolved from obtaining any other permits required by law.

Additionally, this legislation proposes to add a new chapter to the local government code relating to family burial plots. Municipalities would be authorized to prescribe the form and manner of an application for permits under this new chapter for family burial plots. These local control rights would include the ability to impose an application fee reflecting the cost to the municipality of processing and reviewing the application. Municipalities would also be authorized to bring actions for violations of the family burial plot laws seeking civil penalties and court imposed compliance.