SENATE BILL REPORT

EHB 2335

BYRepresentatives Silver, R. Fisher, Prince, Anderson, McLean, Pruitt, Smith, Hankins, Rector, Jacobsen, Winsley, Schoon, Wolfe, Fraser and Kirby

Regulating preservation of historical and abandoned cemeteries.

House Committe on State Government

Senate Committee on Governmental Operations

Senate Hearing Date(s):February 20, 1990

Majority Report:  Do pass.

      Signed by Senators McCaslin, Chairman; Thorsness, Vice Chairman; DeJarnatt, Patrick, Sutherland.

Senate Staff:Steve Nelsen (786-7464)

                  February 20, 1990

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS, FEBRUARY 20, 1990

BACKGROUND:

Once a plot of land is titled in the county records as a cemetery, the property is dedicated as a cemetery in perpetuity and is to be used for no other purpose.  The Cemetery Board oversees the creation or transfer of ownership of many private cemeteries in the state and regulates owners and operators of cemeteries.

Graves placed outside a dedicated cemetery are defined as historic graves and criminal penalties are prescribed for the intentional violation of these graves.

SUMMARY:

"Abandoned cemetery" is defined as a burial ground where: (a) the county assessor can find no record of an owner; (b) the cemetery authority has ceased to exist and the title has not been transferred; or (c) the last known owner is deceased and title has not been transferred.

"Historical cemetery" means any burial site which contains human remains buried prior to November 11, 1889.  Historical cemeteries do not include cemeteries that are still in operation, are owned or operated by a recognized religious denomination, or are controlled by a coroner, city, county, or cemetery district.

For the purposes of this act only, "cemetery" is given an additional meaning of any burial place where five or more human remains are buried.  Unless otherwise designated by the records of the county assessor, a cemetery's boundaries are a minimum of 10 feet in any direction from the burials therein.

Any cemetery, abandoned cemetery, or historic grave is considered permanently dedicated as a cemetery.

The Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation may grant, on application, authority to maintain and protect an abandoned cemetery to a preservation organization incorporated for that purpose.  These corporations are entitled to possess burial records, maps, and other historic documents.  They may establish care funds under the law, subject to review by the Cemetery Board.

Preservation corporations are not liable to those claiming burial rights, ancestral ownership, or other form of control over a cemetery.  They are not liable for any reasonable alterations made during restoration work on an abandoned cemetery.

The following penalties are established for unlawful actions in a cemetery:

            (1)Willfully destroying, mutilating, or tearing down any tomb, plot or marker in a cemetery or any enclosure around the cemetery is a class C felony;

            (2)Willfully destroying, cutting, or breaking any tree, statuary, or building within a cemetery is a gross misdemeanor; and

            (3)Willfully opening a grave, removing any effects or contents, damaging any containers, or transporting remains from the cemetery is a class C felony.

Any person who violates a cemetery in these fashions is liable in a civil action in the name of the Cemetery Board to pay all damages caused by their actions.

Appropriation:    none

Revenue:    none

Fiscal Note:      available

Senate Committee - Testified: B. David Daly, Washington State Cemetery Board Chairman