R E S O L U T I O N

 1-1           WHEREAS, The Lone Star State enjoys a rich and proud history

 1-2     that encompasses a variety of cultural and ethnic heritages; and

 1-3           WHEREAS, The many individuals who helped form our past were

 1-4     laid to rest in now-historic cemeteries in communities, homesteads,

 1-5     and churchyards across the state; and

 1-6           WHEREAS, Thousands of these cemeteries, particularly those in

 1-7     rural areas, are located on private property owned by individuals

 1-8     who have no relationship to those interred there, and many of the

 1-9     cemeteries are now in an imperiled condition; and

1-10           WHEREAS, Texas law allows interested citizens and descendants

1-11     of individuals buried in historic cemeteries to visit these sites

1-12     and maintain them, but inaccessibility, inconvenience, or lack of

1-13     public awareness concerning the issues of cemetery visitation often

1-14     prevents these actions from occurring; and

1-15           WHEREAS, In 1994, Save Texas Cemeteries, Inc., was organized

1-16     as a nonprofit educational corporation to enhance knowledge of the

1-17     importance of preserving historic Texas cemeteries; and

1-18           WHEREAS, An essential element of this goal is the provision

1-19     of guaranteed access to all cemeteries in the state; towards this

1-20     end, the first Sundays in April and October should be set aside

1-21     annually as dates of visitation to Texas cemeteries; and

1-22           WHEREAS, The members of this chamber endorse this important

1-23     initiative in hope of fostering a greater understanding of our

1-24     state's rich legacy, especially as it exists in thousands of

 2-1     historic cemeteries; now, therefore, be it

 2-2           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas

 2-3     Legislature hereby recognize the annual observance of the first

 2-4     Sundays in April and October as Texas Cemetery Visitation Days, to

 2-5     be known as Texas Cemeteries: A Bridge to the Past, and encourage

 2-6     all Texans to participate in this worthy effort.

                                                                      Kubiak

         Laney                   Gutierrez                Oliveira

         Alexander               Haggerty                 Olivo

         Allen                   Hamric                   Palmer

         Alvarado                Hartnett                 Patterson

         Averitt                 Hawley                   Pickett

         Bailey                  Heflin                   Pitts

         Berlanga                Hernandez                Place

         Bonnen                  Hightower                Price

         Bosse                   Hilbert                  Puente

         Brimer                  Hilderbran               Rabuck

         Burnam                  Hill                     Ramsay

         Carter                  Hinojosa                 Rangel

         Chavez                  Hirschi                  Raymond

         Chisum                  Hochberg                 Reyna of Bexar

         Christian               Hodge                    Reyna of Dallas

         Clark                   Holzheauser              Rhodes

         Coleman                 Horn                     Rodriguez

         Cook                    Howard                   Roman

         Corte                   Hunter                   Sadler

         Counts                  Hupp                     Seaman

         Crabb                   Isett                    Serna

         Craddick                Jackson                  Shields

         Cuellar                 Janek                    Siebert

         Culberson               Jones of Lubbock         Smith

         Danburg                 Jones of Dallas          Smithee

         Davila                  Junell                   Solis

         Davis                   Kamel                    Solomons

         Delisi                  Keel                     Staples

         Denny                   Keffer                   Stiles

         Driver                  King                     Swinford

         Dukes                   Krusee                   Talton

         Dunnam                  Kubiak                   Telford

         Dutton                  Kuempel                  Thompson

         Edwards                 Lewis of Tarrant         Tillery

         Ehrhardt                Lewis of Orange          Torres

         Eiland                  Longoria                 Turner of Coleman

         Elkins                  Luna                     Turner of Harris

         Farrar                  McCall                   Uher

         Finnell                 McClendon                Van de Putte

         Flores                  McReynolds               Walker

         Gallego                 Madden                   West

         Galloway                Marchant                 Williams

         Garcia                  Maxey                    Williamson

         Giddings                Merritt                  Wilson

         Glaze                   Moffat                   Wise

         Goodman                 Moreno                   Wohlgemuth

         Goolsby                 Mowery                   Wolens

         Gray                    Naishtat                 Woolley

         Greenberg               Nixon                    Yarbrough

         Grusendorf              Oakley                   Zbranek

                                             _______________________________

                                                   Speaker of the House

               I certify that H.R. No. 1097 was adopted by the House on May

         26, 1997, by a non-record vote.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Chief Clerk of the House