H-2040.1  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1951

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State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By House Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Lantz, DeBolt, Miloscia, McDonald, Stensen and Santos)

Read first time 02/26/1999.

Protecting remains in abandoned cemeteries.

    AN ACT Relating to abandoned cemeteries; amending RCW 68.24.090 and 68.60.020; and adding a new section to chapter 65.04 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 65.04 RCW to read as follows:

    The auditor or recording officer shall show a condition on the title of any property recorded that is dedicated as a cemetery pursuant to RCW 68.60.020 stating that property dedication.

    Sec. 2.  RCW 68.24.090 and 1987 c 331 s 34 are each amended to read as follows:

    Property dedicated to cemetery purposes shall be held and used exclusively for cemetery purposes, unless and until the dedication is removed from all or any part of it by an order and decree of the superior court of the county in which the property is situated, in a proceeding brought by the cemetery authority for that purpose and upon notice of hearing and proof satisfactory to the court:

    (1) That no interments were made in or that all interments have been removed from that portion of the property from which dedication is sought to be removed.

    (2) That the portion of the property from which dedication is sought to be removed is not being used for interment of human remains.

    (3) That notice of the proposed removal of dedication has been given the (a) cemetery board, (b) the office of archaeology and historic preservation, and (c) the county auditor of the county in which the property is located in writing at least sixty days before filing the proceedings in superior court.

    Sec. 3.  RCW 68.60.020 and 1990 c 92 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

    Any cemetery, abandoned cemetery, historical cemetery, or historic grave that has not been dedicated pursuant to RCW 68.24.030 and 68.24.040 shall be considered permanently dedicated and subject to RCW 68.24.070.  Removal of dedication may only be made pursuant to RCW 68.24.090 and 68.24.100.

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