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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to cemeteries. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 711.001, Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended by amending Subdivisions (1) and (1-a) and adding |
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Subdivisions (1-b), (29), (30), (31), and (32) to read as follows: |
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(1) "Abandoned cemetery" means a cemetery, regardless |
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of whether it appears on a map or in deed records, that is not owned |
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or operated by a cemetery organization, does not have another |
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person legally responsible for its care, and is not maintained by |
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any person. |
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(1-a) "Burial park" means a tract of land that is used |
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or intended to be used for interment in graves. |
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(1-b) [(1-a)] "Campus" means the area: |
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(A) within the boundaries of one or more adjacent |
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tracts, parcels, or lots under common ownership; |
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(B) on which the principal church building and |
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related structures and facilities of an organized religious society |
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or sect are located; and |
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(C) that may be subject to one or more easements |
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for street, utility, or pipeline purposes. |
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(29) "Unidentified grave" means a grave that is not |
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marked in a manner that provides the identity of the interment. |
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(30) "Unknown cemetery" means an abandoned cemetery |
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evidenced by the presence of marked or unmarked graves that does not |
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appear on a map or in deed records. |
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(31) "Unmarked grave" means the immediate area where |
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one or more human interments are found that: |
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(A) is not in a recognized and maintained |
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cemetery; |
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(B) is not owned or operated by a cemetery |
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organization; |
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(C) is not marked by a tomb, monument, |
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gravestone, or other structure or thing placed or designated as a |
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memorial of the dead; and |
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(D) is located on land designated as |
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agricultural, timber, recreational, park, or scenic land under |
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Chapter 23, Tax Code. |
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(32) "Unverified cemetery" means a location having |
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some evidence of interment but in which the presence of one or more |
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unmarked graves has not been verified by a person described by |
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Section 711.0105(a) or by the Texas Historical Commission. |
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SECTION 2. Section 711.004, Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended by adding Subsection (f-1) to read as follows: |
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(f-1) For unmarked graves contained within an abandoned, |
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unknown, or unverified cemetery, a justice of the peace acting as |
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coroner or medical examiner under Chapter 49, Code of Criminal |
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Procedure, or a person described by Section 711.0105(a) may |
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investigate or remove remains without written order of the state |
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registrar or the state registrar's designee. |
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SECTION 3. The heading to Section 711.010, Health and |
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Safety Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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Sec. 711.010. ABANDONED, UNKNOWN, OR UNVERIFIED |
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[ABANDONED] CEMETERY. |
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SECTION 4. Section 711.010, Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection |
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(d) to read as follows: |
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(a) The owner of property on which an unknown cemetery is |
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discovered or on which an abandoned cemetery is located may not |
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construct improvements on the property in a manner that would |
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[further] disturb the cemetery until the human remains interred in |
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the cemetery are removed under a written order issued by the state |
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registrar or the state registrar's designee under Section |
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711.004(f) and under an order of a district court as provided by |
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this section, except as provided by Section 711.004(f-1). |
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(b) On petition of the owner of the property, a district |
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court of the county in which an unknown cemetery is discovered or an |
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abandoned cemetery is located may order the removal of any |
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dedication for cemetery purposes that affects the property if the |
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court finds that the removal of the dedication is in the public |
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interest. If a court orders the removal of a dedication of a |
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cemetery and all human remains in that cemetery [on the property] |
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have not previously been removed, the court shall order the removal |
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of the human remains from the cemetery to a perpetual care cemetery |
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or a municipal or county cemetery. |
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(d) The Texas Historical Commission, with consent of the |
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landowner, may investigate a suspected but unverified cemetery or |
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may delegate the investigation to a qualified person described by |
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Section 711.0105(a). |
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SECTION 5. The heading to Section 711.011, Health and |
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Safety Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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Sec. 711.011. FILING RECORD OF UNKNOWN OR ABANDONED |
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CEMETERY. |
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SECTION 6. Section 711.011(a), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A person who discovers an unknown or abandoned cemetery |
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shall file notice of the discovery of the cemetery with the county |
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clerk of the county in which the cemetery is located and |
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concurrently mail notice to the landowner on record in the county |
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appraisal district not later than the 10th day after the date of the |
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discovery. The notice must contain a legal description of the land |
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on which the unknown or abandoned cemetery was found and describe |
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the approximate location of the cemetery and the evidence of the |
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cemetery that was discovered. |
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SECTION 7. Subchapter A, Chapter 711, Health and Safety |
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Code, is amended by adding Section 711.0111 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 711.0111. NOTICE OF UNVERIFIED CEMETERY. (a) A person |
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who discovers an unverified cemetery shall file notice and evidence |
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of the discovery with the Texas Historical Commission on a form |
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provided by the Texas Historical Commission, and shall concurrently |
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provide a copy of the notice to the landowner on record in the |
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county appraisal district on whose land the unverified cemetery is |
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located. |
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(b) The landowner described by Subsection (a) may send a |
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response or comments to the Texas Historical Commission concerning |
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the notice not later than the 30th day after the date the notice is |
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filed. |
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(c) The Texas Historical Commission shall evaluate the |
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notice of the unverified cemetery, the evidence submitted with the |
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notice, and the response of the landowner, if any, and shall |
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determine whether there is sufficient evidence of the existence of |
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a cemetery. |
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(d) If the Texas Historical Commission determines that |
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there is sufficient evidence that a cemetery exists, the Texas |
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Historical Commission shall file notice of the existence of the |
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cemetery under the provisions of Section 711.011. |
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SECTION 8. Section 711.041, Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
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(d) This section does not apply to an unverified cemetery. |
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SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |