Alabama 2022 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB93 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 HB93
2	2	2 214961-1
3	3	3 By Representatives Givan, Hollis, Moore (M), Rogers,
4	4	4 Alexander, Scott, Treadaway, South, Coleman, Carns, Garrett
5	5	5 and Rafferty (N & P)
6	6	6 RFD: Jefferson County Legislation
7	7	7 First Read: 11-JAN-22
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9	9	Page 0 1 214961-1:n:09/07/2021:LK/tgw LSA2021-1697
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12	12	4
13	13	5
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15	15	7
16	16	8
17	17	9 A BILL
18	18	10 TO BE ENTITLED
19	19	11 AN ACT
20	20	12
21	21	13 Relating to Jefferson County; to amend Section
22	22	14 45-37-30, Code of Alabama 1975, to provide further for the
23	23	15 funding of the Jefferson County Cemetery Board.
24	24	16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
25	25	17 Section 1. Section 45-37-30, Code of Alabama 1975,
26	26	18 as amended by Act 2021-212, 2021 Regular Session, is amended
27	27	19 to read as follows:
28	28	20 "§45-37-30.
29	29	21 "(a) For the purposes of this section, the following
30	30	22 terms shall have the following meanings:
31	31	23 "(1) BOARD. The Jefferson County Cemetery Board.
32	32	24 "(2) CEMETERY. Any for profit for-profit cemetery in
33	33	25 the county where property is used or intended to be used for
34	34	26 the interment of human remains, including, but not limited to,
35	35	27 any property containing a grave, lot, crypt, niche, or
36	36	Page 1 1 mausoleum and any gravestone, headstone, or other marker
37	37	2 therein.
38	38	3 "(3) MAINTENANCE. The act of maintaining a cemetery,
39	39	4 including, but not limited to, the cutting and trimming of the
40	40	5 lawn, shrubs, and trees.
41	41	6 "(4) NEGLECTED CEMETERY. A cemetery that has become
42	42	7 abandoned or neglected in any of the following ways:
43	43	8 "a. Weeds, briars, bushes, or trees have become
44	44	9 overgrown.
45	45	10 "b. Fences have become broken, decayed, or
46	46	11 dilapidated.
47	47	12 "c. Graves, lots, crypts, niches, mausoleums, and
48	48	13 markers and roads, buildings, or other structures in the
49	49	14 cemetery have become damaged, broken, dilapidated, or
50	50	15 destroyed.
51	51	16 "(b)(1) The Jefferson County Cemetery Board is
52	52	17 created.
53	53	18 "(2) The board shall consist of seven members.
54	54	19 "(3)a. Four members of the board shall be appointed
55	55	20 by the members of the state House of Representatives
56	56	21 representing any part of the county, and three members shall
57	57	22 be appointed by the members of the state Senate representing
58	58	23 any part of the county. The members shall serve at the
59	59	24 pleasure of the appointing authority.
60	60	25 "b. By May 15, 2021, the members of the state House
61	61	26 of Representatives representing any part of the county shall
62	62	27 appoint one of the members of the board to serve as chair. The
63	63	Page 2 1 chair shall serve until March 1, 2023. On March 1, 2023, the
64	64	2 members of the state Senate representing any part of the
65	65	3 county shall appoint one of the members of the board to serve
66	66	4 as chair for a two-year term. Thereafter, the appointment of
67	67	5 the chair of the board for two-year terms shall alternate
68	68	6 between the House members and Senate members.
69	69	7 "(4)a. The initial board members appointed in
70	70	8 accordance with subdivision (3) shall serve the following
71	71	9 terms:
72	72	10 "1. Two members appointed by a member of the House
73	73	11 of Representatives and one member appointed by a member of the
74	74	12 Senate shall serve a two-year term.
75	75	13 "2. One member appointed by a member of the House of
76	76	14 Representatives and one member appointed by a member of the
77	77	15 Senate shall serve a three-year term.
78	78	16 "3. One member appointed by a member of the House of
79	79	17 Representatives and one member appointed by a member of the
80	80	18 Senate shall serve a four-year term.
81	81	19 "b. After the expiration of the initial term of
82	82	20 office of each board member, the term of office for all board
83	83	21 members shall be four years.
84	84	22 "(5) The board shall meet quarterly and at such
85	85	23 times as the board by a majority of its members agree.
86	86	24 "(6) The board may adopt necessary rules or
87	87	25 procedures to conduct its business.
88	88	26 "(7) Members of the board shall serve without
89	89	27 compensation, but may be reimbursed for actual expenses
90	90	Page 3 1 incurred while conducting the business of the board, according
91	91	2 to its rules or procedures.
92	92	3 "(8) Board members shall serve on a volunteer basis,
93	93	4 except that they shall be reimbursed for actual expenses that
94	94	5 shall be verified and submitted to the Jefferson County
95	95	6 Commission.
96	96	7 "(c) There shall be established within the Jefferson
97	97	8 County Budget Division, a Jefferson County Cemetery Account
98	98	9 funded by revenue from the pistol permits portion dedicated to
99	99	10 the Jefferson County delegation.
100	100	11 "(d)(1) The board shall be responsible for all of
101	101	12 the following duties:
102	102	13 "a. Supervising the clean up and maintenance of any
103	103	14 neglected cemetery under its authority.
104	104	15 "b. Coordinating with the sheriff to provide inmate
105	105	16 labor to perform the maintenance of any neglected cemetery.
106	106	17 "c. Purchasing office equipment up to $500 five
107	107	18 hundred dollars ($500) and other necessary materials to
108	108	19 perform the functions of the board.
109	109	20 "d. Any other business necessary to carry out the
110	110	21 purposes of this section.
111	111	22 "(2) The board may only perform maintenance on a
112	112	23 private cemetery if the board finds after a hearing that the
113	113	24 condition of the cemetery is a public nuisance.
114	114	25 "(3) The board may enforce all rules adopted
115	115	26 pursuant to this section and may institute any legal
116	116	Page 4 1 proceeding, including the filing of a suit, as necessary to
117	117	2 effect compliance with this section.
118	118	3 "(e)(1) Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) shall be
119	119	4 made available to the board from the pistol permit fees
120	120	5 collected by the county and twenty-five thousand dollars
121	121	6 ($25,000) from the pistol permit fees for each year
122	122	7 thereafter.
123	123	8 "(2) No later than 30 days after the effective date
124	124	9 of this act, two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) shall be
125	125	10 made available to the board from the pistol permit fees
126	126	11 collected by the county. This amount shall be in addition to
127	127	12 any monies made available to the board pursuant to subdivision
128	128	13 (1).
129	129	14 "(f) The county commission shall have no authority
130	130	15 over the board and the county commission shall have no
131	131	16 responsibility over a cemetery in the county, as defined by
132	132	17 this section, and no county funds shall be expended as a
133	133	18 result of the implications or implementation of this section.
134	134	19 "(g) Members of the board may not be subject to
135	135	20 civil liability arising from the conduct of the affairs of the
136	136	21 board except when the act or omission of the member of the
137	137	22 board amounts to willful or wanton misconduct, fraud, or
138	138	23 negligence.
139	139	24 "(h) This section shall only apply to cemeteries in
140	140	25 existence on May 26, 2017.
141	141	Page 5 1 "(i) A cemetery owned by a religious organization,
142	142	2 as defined by Section 45-37-150.01, or a private, family-owned
143	143	3 cemetery, is exempt from this section."
144	144	4 Section 2. This act shall become effective
145	145	5 immediately following its passage and approval by the
146	146	6 Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.
147	147	Page 6