| 711.009. AUTHORITY OF CEMETERY KEEPER.
a) The superintendent, sexton, or other person in charge of a cemetery has the same powers, duties, and immunities granted by law to: (1) a police officer in the municipality in which the cemetery is located; or (2) a constable or sheriff of the county in which the cemetery is located if the cemetery is outside a municipality. (b) A person who is granted authority under Subsection (a) shall maintain order and enforce the cemetery organization's rules, state law, and municipal ordinances in the cemetery over which that person has charge and as near the cemetery as necessary to protect cemetery property. (c) This section applies only to a cemetery located in a municipality with a population of 40,000 or more or in a county with a population of 290,000 or more. 711.010. UNKNOWN OR ABANDONED CEMETERY. (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). (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 a court orders the removal of a dedication of a cemetery and all human remains 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. (c) In addition to any notice required by Section 711.004, notice of a petition filed under Subsection (b) must be given to the Texas Historical Commission and to the county historical commission of the county in which the cemetery is located. The Texas Historical Commission and the county historical commission may intervene and become parties to the suit. (NOTE = Section 711.004 relates to the legal methods for removal of remains). (NOTE = Texas has established an Adopt-A-Cemetery program to help preserve lost or abandoned cemeteries through non-government volunteers. Details can be found at http://www.historictexas.net/cemeteries/1a/adopt.htm.) 711.011. FILING RECORD OF UNKNOWN CEMETERY. (a) A person who discovers an unknown or abandoned cemetery shall file notice of the cemetery with the county clerk of the county in which the cemetery is located. 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. (b) A county clerk may not charge a fee for filing notice under this section. 711.031. RULES; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A cemetery organization may adopt and enforce rules: (1) concerning the use, care, control, management, restriction, and protection of the cemetery operated by the cemetery organization; (2) to restrict the use of cemetery property; (3) to regulate the placement, uniformity, class, and kind of markers, monuments, effigies, and other structures in any part of the cemetery; (4) to regulate the planting and care of plants in the cemetery; (5) to prevent the interment of remains not entitled to be interred in the cemetery; (6) to prevent the use of a plot for a purpose that violates the cemetery organization's restrictions; (7) to regulate the conduct of persons on cemetery property and to prevent improper meetings at the cemetery; and (8) for other purposes the directors consider necessary for the proper conduct of the cemetery organization's business, and for the protection of the premises and the principles, plans, and ideals on which the cemetery was organized. (b) Rules adopted under this section must be plainly printed or typed and maintained for inspection in the cemetery organization's office or another place in the cemetery prescribed by the directors. (c) The directors may prescribe a penalty for the violation of a rule adopted under this section. The cemetery organization may recover the amount of the penalty in a civil action. (NOTE = Under 711.011 (Definitions), a Cemetery Organization is defined as (A) an unincorporated association of plot owners not operated for profit that is authorized by its articles of association to conduct a business for cemetery purposes; or (B) a corporation, either for profit or not for profit, that is authorized by its articles of incorporation to conduct a business for cemetery purposes.) 711.041. ACCESS TO CEMETERY. (a) Any person who wishes to visit a cemetery or private burial grounds for which no public ingress or egress is available shall have the right to reasonable ingress and egress for the purpose of visiting the cemetery or private burial grounds. This right of access extends only to visitation during reasonable hours and only for purposes usually associated with cemetery visits. (b) The owner or owners of the lands surrounding the cemetery or private burial grounds may designate the routes of reasonable ingress and egress. |
| Texas Health and Safety Code, Subtitle C, Chapter 711
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/HS/content/htm/hs.008.00.000711.00.htm |
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