85R8392 DMS-F     By: Buckingham S.B. No. 1630       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to cemeteries.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 711.001, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by amending Subdivisions (1) and (1-a) and adding   Subdivisions (1-b), (29), (30), (31), and (32) to read as follows:                (1)  "Abandoned cemetery" means a cemetery, regardless   of whether it appears on a map or in deed records, that is not owned   or operated by a cemetery organization, does not have another   person legally responsible for its care, and is not maintained by   any person.                (1-a)  "Burial park" means a tract of land that is used   or intended to be used for interment in graves.                (1-b) [(1-a)]  "Campus" means the area:                      (A)  within the boundaries of one or more adjacent   tracts, parcels, or lots under common ownership;                      (B)  on which the principal church building and   related structures and facilities of an organized religious society   or sect are located; and                      (C)  that may be subject to one or more easements   for street, utility, or pipeline purposes.                (29)  "Unidentified grave" means a grave that is not   marked in a manner that provides the identity of the interment.                (30)  "Unknown cemetery" means an abandoned cemetery   evidenced by the presence of marked or unmarked graves that does not   appear on a map or in deed records.                (31)  "Unmarked grave" means the immediate area where   one or more human interments are found that:                      (A)  is not in a recognized and maintained   cemetery;                      (B)  is not owned or operated by a cemetery   organization;                       (C)  is not marked by a tomb, monument,   gravestone, or other structure or thing placed or designated as a   memorial of the dead; and                      (D)  is located on land designated as   agricultural, timber, recreational, park, or scenic land under   Chapter 23, Tax Code.                (32)  "Unverified cemetery" means a location having   some evidence of interment but in which the presence of one or more   unmarked graves has not been verified by a person described by   Section 711.0105(a) or by the Texas Historical Commission.          SECTION 2.  Section 711.004, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by adding Subsection (f-1) to read as follows:          (f-1)  For unmarked graves contained within an abandoned,   unknown, or unverified cemetery, a justice of the peace acting as   coroner or medical examiner under Chapter 49, Code of Criminal   Procedure, or a person described by Section 711.0105(a) may   investigate or remove remains without written order of the state   registrar or the state registrar's designee.          SECTION 3.  The heading to Section 711.010, Health and   Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:          Sec. 711.010.  ABANDONED, UNKNOWN, OR UNVERIFIED   [ABANDONED] CEMETERY.          SECTION 4.  Section 711.010, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection   (d) to read as follows:          (a)  The owner of property on which an unknown cemetery is   discovered or on which an abandoned cemetery is located may not   construct improvements on the property in a manner that would   [further] disturb the cemetery until the human remains interred in   the cemetery are removed under a written order issued by the state   registrar or the state registrar's designee under Section   711.004(f) and under an order of a district court as provided by   this section, except as provided by Section 711.004(f-1).          (b)  On petition of the owner of the property, a district   court of the county in which an unknown cemetery is discovered or an   abandoned cemetery is located may order the removal of any   dedication for cemetery purposes that affects the property if the   court finds that the removal of the dedication is in the public   interest.  If a court orders the removal of a dedication of a   cemetery and all human remains in that cemetery [on the property]   have not previously been removed, the court shall order the removal   of the human remains from the cemetery to a perpetual care cemetery   or a municipal or county cemetery.          (d)  The Texas Historical Commission, with consent of the   landowner, may investigate a suspected but unverified cemetery or   may delegate the investigation to a qualified person described by   Section 711.0105(a).          SECTION 5.  The heading to Section 711.011, Health and   Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:          Sec. 711.011.  FILING RECORD OF UNKNOWN OR ABANDONED    CEMETERY.          SECTION 6.  Section 711.011(a), Health and Safety Code, is   amended to read as follows:          (a)  A person who discovers an unknown or abandoned cemetery   shall file notice of the discovery of the cemetery with the county   clerk of the county in which the cemetery is located and   concurrently mail notice to the landowner on record in the county   appraisal district not later than the 10th day after the date of the   discovery. The notice must contain a legal description of the land   on which the unknown or abandoned cemetery was found and describe   the approximate location of the cemetery and the evidence of the   cemetery that was discovered.          SECTION 7.  Subchapter A, Chapter 711, Health and Safety   Code, is amended by adding Section 711.0111 to read as follows:          Sec. 711.0111.  NOTICE OF UNVERIFIED CEMETERY. (a)  A person   who discovers an unverified cemetery shall file notice and evidence   of the discovery with the Texas Historical Commission on a form   provided by the Texas Historical Commission, and shall concurrently   provide a copy of the notice to the landowner on record in the   county appraisal district on whose land the unverified cemetery is   located.          (b)  The landowner described by Subsection (a) may send a   response or comments to the Texas Historical Commission concerning   the notice not later than the 30th day after the date the notice is   filed.          (c)  The Texas Historical Commission shall evaluate the   notice of the unverified cemetery, the evidence submitted with the   notice, and the response of the landowner, if any, and shall   determine whether there is sufficient evidence of the existence of   a cemetery.          (d)  If the Texas Historical Commission determines that   there is sufficient evidence that a cemetery exists, the Texas   Historical Commission shall file notice of the existence of the   cemetery under the provisions of Section 711.011.          SECTION 8.  Section 711.041, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:          (d)  This section does not apply to an unverified cemetery.          SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.