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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to abandoned and historic cemeteries; 2
creating s. 267.21, F.S.; creating the Historic 3
Cemeteries Program within the Division of Historical 4
Resources of the Department of State; designating the 5
State Historic Preservation Officer as the program's 6
director and requiring him or her to hire employees, 7
subject to legislative appropriation; providing the 8
duties and responsibilities of the program; requiring 9
the program to provide grants, subject to legislative 10
appropriation, to certain entities for certain 11
purposes; authorizing the division to adopt rules; 12
creating s. 267.22, F.S.; creating the Historic 13
Cemeteries Program Advisory Council within the 14
division; providing for membership, terms, and duties 15
of the council; providing that members shall serve 16
without compensation but may receive per diem and 17
reimbursement for travel expenses; amending s. 18
497.005, F.S.; revising the definition of the term 19
"legally authorized person" to include a member of a 20
representative community organization; amending s. 21
704.06, F.S.; revising the definition of the term 22
"conservation easement" to include a right or interest 23
in real property which is appropriate to retainin g the 24
structural integrity or physical appearance of certain 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
cemeteries; authorizing certain entities to acquire 26
conservation easements to preserve certain cemeteries; 27
providing appropriations and authorizing positions; 28
providing an effective date. 29
30
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31
32
Section 1. Section 267.21, Florida Statutes, is created to 33
read: 34
267.21 Historic Cemeteries Program. — 35
(1) The Historic Cemeteries Program is created within the 36
division. The State Historic Pr eservation Officer shall serve as 37
the director of the program and shall, subject to legislative 38
appropriation, employ three full -time employees to operate the 39
program. The program shall have the following duties and 40
responsibilities: 41
(a) Serve as the org anizational center for recording and 42
updating in the Florida Master Site File records of cemeteries 43
in this state established at least 50 years ago. 44
(b) Develop guidelines for use by state agencies, local 45
governments, and developers in the identification , location, and 46
maintenance of abandoned and historic cemeteries. 47
(c) Serve as an interagency governmental liaison to 48
municipalities, planning departments, colleges and universities, 49
and community organizations to facilitate collaboration and the 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
sharing of information relating to abandoned and historic 51
cemeteries. 52
(d) Coordinate with the University of South Florida's 53
Black Cemetery Network to facilitate the inclusion of abandoned 54
African-American cemeteries in the Black Cemetery Network. 55
(e) Research, identify, and record abandoned cemeteries, 56
with an emphasis on abandoned African -American cemeteries. 57
(f) When abandoned cemeteries are located, provide 58
notification and guidance to relevant persons and assist with 59
efforts to identify relatives and des cendants, funeral 60
directors, religious organizations, qualified nonprofit 61
organizations, and property owners. 62
(g) Assist constituents, descendant communities, state and 63
federal agencies, local governments, and other stakeholders with 64
inquiries relating t o abandoned cemeteries. 65
(h) In coordination with the Department of Education, 66
develop a curriculum relating to abandoned and historic 67
cemeteries, with a focus on citizenship, social responsibility, 68
and history. 69
(i) Establish a priority for the placemen t of historical 70
markers for erased, forgotten, lost, or abandoned African -71
American cemeteries. 72
(2) The Historic Cemeteries Program shall, subject to 73
legislative appropriation, provide grants to the following 74
entities: 75
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(a) Research institutions, colleges and universities, and 76
qualified nonprofit organizations, for the purpose of conducting 77
genealogical and historical research necessary to identify and 78
contact the relatives and descendants of persons buried in 79
abandoned African-American cemeteries. 80
(b) Local governments and qualified nonprofit 81
organizations, for the purposes of repairing, restoring, and 82
maintaining abandoned African -American cemeteries. 83
(3) The division may adopt rules to implement this 84
section. 85
Section 2. Section 267.22, Fl orida Statutes, is created to 86
read: 87
267.22 Historic Cemeteries Program Advisory Council. — 88
(1) The Historic Cemeteries Program Advisory Council, an 89
advisory council as defined in s. 20.03(7), is created within 90
the division and shall consist of members a ppointed by the 91
Secretary of State after considering the recommendations of the 92
director of the division. The council must be composed of an 93
inclusive group of members who are regionally distributed and 94
representative of communities throughout this state. Members 95
shall serve 4-year staggered terms. As soon as practicable after 96
July 1, 2023, the council shall meet to elect a chair from its 97
membership. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 98
council shall operate in a manner consistent with s. 20.05 2. 99
(2) The council shall provide guidance and recommendations 100
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
to the division regarding the duties and responsibilities of the 101
Historic Cemeteries Program created under s. 267.21. 102
(3) Members of the council shall serve without 103
compensation but may rece ive per diem and reimbursement for 104
travel expenses pursuant to s. 112.061. 105
Section 3. Subsection (43) of section 497.005, Florida 106
Statutes, is amended to read: 107
497.005 Definitions. —As used in this chapter, the term: 108
(43) "Legally authorized person" means, in the priority 109
listed: 110
(a) The decedent, when written inter vivos authorizations 111
and directions are provided by the decedent; 112
(b) The person designated by the decedent as authorized to 113
direct disposition pursuant to Pub. L. No. 109 -163, s. 564, as 114
listed on the decedent's United States Department of Defense 115
Record of Emergency Data, DD Form 93, or its successor form, if 116
the decedent died while in military service as described in 10 117
U.S.C. s. 1481(a)(1) -(8) in any branch of the United States 118
Armed Forces, United States Reserve Forces, or National Guard; 119
(c) The surviving spouse, unless the spouse has been 120
arrested for committing against the deceased an act of domestic 121
violence as defined in s. 741.28 that resulted in or contributed 122
to the death of the deceased; 123
(d) A son or daughter who is 18 years of age or older; 124
(e) A parent; 125
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(f) A brother or sister who is 18 years of age or older; 126
(g) A grandchild who is 18 years of age or older; 127
(h) A grandparent; or 128
(i) Any person in the next degree of kinship. 129
130
In addition, the term may include, if no family member exists or 131
is available, the guardian of the dead person at the time of 132
death; the personal representative of the deceased; the attorney 133
in fact of the dead person at the time of dea th; the health 134
surrogate of the dead person at the time of death; a public 135
health officer; the medical examiner, county commission, or 136
administrator acting under part II of chapter 406 or other 137
public administrator; a representative of a nursing home or 138
other health care institution in charge of final disposition; or 139
a friend or other person , including a member of a representative 140
community organization, not listed in this subsection who is 141
willing to assume the responsibility as the legally authorized 142
person. Where there is a person in any priority class listed in 143
this subsection, the funeral establishment shall rely upon the 144
authorization of any one legally authorized person of that class 145
if that person represents that she or he is not aware of any 146
objection to the cremation of the deceased's human remains by 147
others in the same class of the person making the representation 148
or of any person in a higher priority class. 149
Section 4. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 704.06, 150
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Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 151
704.06 Conservation easements; creation; acquisition; 152
enforcement.— 153
(1) As used in this section, "conservation easement" means 154
a right or interest in real property which is appropriate to 155
retaining land or water areas predominantly in their natur al, 156
scenic, open, agricultural, or wooded condition; retaining such 157
areas as suitable habitat for fish, plants, or wildlife; 158
retaining the structural integrity or physical appearance of 159
sites or properties of historical, architectural, 160
archaeological, or c ultural significance , including abandoned 161
and neglected cemeteries that are 50 or more years old ; or 162
maintaining existing land uses and which prohibits or limits any 163
or all of the following: 164
(a) Construction or placing of buildings, roads, signs, 165
billboards or other advertising, utilities, or other structures 166
on or above the ground. 167
(b) Dumping or placing of soil or other substance or 168
material as landfill or dumping or placing of trash, waste, or 169
unsightly or offensive materials. 170
(c) Removal or destruction of trees, shrubs, or other 171
vegetation. 172
(d) Excavation, dredging, or removal of loam, peat, 173
gravel, soil, rock, or other material substance in such manner 174
as to affect the surface. 175
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(e) Surface use except for purposes that permit the land 176
or water area to remain predominantly in its natural condition. 177
(f) Activities detrimental to drainage, flood control, 178
water conservation, erosion control, soil conservation, or fish 179
and wildlife habitat preservation. 180
(g) Acts or uses detrimental to such retention of land or 181
water areas. 182
(h) Acts or uses detrimental to the preservation of the 183
structural integrity or physical appearance of sites or 184
properties of historical, architectural, archaeological, or 185
cultural significance , including abandoned and n eglected 186
cemeteries that are 50 or more years old . 187
(3) Conservation easements may be acquired by any 188
governmental body or agency or by a charitable corporation or 189
trust whose purposes include protecting natural, scenic, or open 190
space values of real prope rty, assuring its availability for 191
agricultural, forest, recreational, or open space use, 192
protecting natural resources, maintaining or enhancing air or 193
water quality, or preserving sites or properties of historical, 194
architectural, archaeological, or cultur al significance, 195
including abandoned and neglected cemeteries that are 50 or more 196
years old. 197
Section 5. For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, three full -time 198
equivalent positions with associated salary rate of 145,000 are 199
authorized and the sums of $242,433 i n recurring funds and 200
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$12,021 in nonrecurring funds from the General Revenue Fund are 201
appropriated to the Department of State to be used for the 202
Historic Cemeteries Program. 203
Section 6. For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the sum of $1 204
million in nonrecurrin g funds from the General Revenue Fund is 205
appropriated to the Department of State to be used for grants 206
for qualifying entities under the Historic Cemeteries Program. 207
Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 208