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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
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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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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, Florida 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 nine members appointed 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 co mmunities throughout this state. Members 95
shall serve 4-year terms; however, for the purpose of providing 96
staggered terms, four of the appointees initially shall be 97
appointed to 2-year terms and the remaining five shall be 98
appointed to 4-year terms. All subsequent appointments shall be 99
for 4-year terms. As soon as practicable after July 1, 2023, the 100
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council shall meet to elect a chair from its membership. Except 101
as otherwise provided in this section, the council shall operate 102
in a manner consistent with s. 2 0.052. 103
(2) The council shall provide guidance and recommendations 104
to the division regarding the duties and responsibilities of the 105
Historic Cemeteries Program created under s. 267.21. 106
(3) Members of the council shall serve without 107
compensation but may receive per diem and reimbursement for 108
travel expenses pursuant to s. 112.061. 109
Section 3. Subsection (43) of section 497.005, Florida 110
Statutes, is amended to read: 111
497.005 Definitions. —As used in this chapter, the term: 112
(43) "Legally authorized per son" means, in the priority 113
listed: 114
(a) The decedent, when written inter vivos authorizations 115
and directions are provided by the decedent; 116
(b) The person designated by the decedent as authorized to 117
direct disposition pursuant to Pub. L. No. 109 -163, s. 564, as 118
listed on the decedent's United States Department of Defense 119
Record of Emergency Data, DD Form 93, or its successor form, if 120
the decedent died while in military service as described in 10 121
U.S.C. s. 1481(a)(1) -(8) in any branch of the United States 122
Armed Forces, United States Reserve Forces, or National Guard; 123
(c) The surviving spouse, unless the spouse has been 124
arrested for committing against the deceased an act of domestic 125
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violence as defined in s. 741.28 that resulted in or contributed 126
to the death of the deceased; 127
(d) A son or daughter who is 18 years of age or older; 128
(e) A parent; 129
(f) A brother or sister who is 18 years of age or older; 130
(g) A grandchild who is 18 years of age or older; 131
(h) A grandparent; or 132
(i) Any person in the next degree of kinship. 133
134
In addition, the term may include, if no family member exists or 135
is available, the guardian of the dead person at the time of 136
death; the personal representative of the deceased; the attorney 137
in fact of the dead person at the time o f death; the health 138
surrogate of the dead person at the time of death; a public 139
health officer; the medical examiner, county commission, or 140
administrator acting under part II of chapter 406 or other 141
public administrator; a representative of a nursing home or 142
other health care institution in charge of final disposition; or 143
a friend or other person , including a member of a representative 144
community organization, not listed in this subsection who is 145
willing to assume the responsibility as the legally authorized 146
person. Where there is a person in any priority class listed in 147
this subsection, the funeral establishment shall rely upon the 148
authorization of any one legally authorized person of that class 149
if that person represents that she or he is not aware of any 150
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objection to the cremation of the deceased's human remains by 151
others in the same class of the person making the representation 152
or of any person in a higher priority class. 153
Section 4. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 704.06, 154
Florida Statutes, are amende d to read: 155
704.06 Conservation easements; creation; acquisition; 156
enforcement.— 157
(1) As used in this section, "conservation easement" means 158
a right or interest in real property which is appropriate to 159
retaining land or water areas predominantly in their natural, 160
scenic, open, agricultural, or wooded condition; retaining such 161
areas as suitable habitat for fish, plants, or wildlife; 162
retaining the structural integrity or physical appearance of 163
sites or properties of historical, architectural, 164
archaeological, or cultural significance , including abandoned 165
and neglected cemeteries that are 50 or more years old ; or 166
maintaining existing land uses and which prohibits or limits any 167
or all of the following: 168
(a) Construction or placing of buildings, roads, signs, 169
billboards or other advertising, utilities, or other structures 170
on or above the ground. 171
(b) Dumping or placing of soil or other substance or 172
material as landfill or dumping or placing of trash, waste, or 173
unsightly or offensive materials. 174
(c) Removal or destruction of trees, shrubs, or other 175
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vegetation. 176
(d) Excavation, dredging, or removal of loam, peat, 177
gravel, soil, rock, or other material substance in such manner 178
as to affect the surface. 179
(e) Surface use except for purposes that per mit the land 180
or water area to remain predominantly in its natural condition. 181
(f) Activities detrimental to drainage, flood control, 182
water conservation, erosion control, soil conservation, or fish 183
and wildlife habitat preservation. 184
(g) Acts or uses detr imental to such retention of land or 185
water areas. 186
(h) Acts or uses detrimental to the preservation of the 187
structural integrity or physical appearance of sites or 188
properties of historical, architectural, archaeological, or 189
cultural significance , including abandoned and neglected 190
cemeteries that are 50 or more years old . 191
(3) Conservation easements may be acquired by any 192
governmental body or agency or by a charitable corporation or 193
trust whose purposes include protecting natural, scenic, or open 194
space values of real property, assuring its availability for 195
agricultural, forest, recreational, or open space use, 196
protecting natural resources, maintaining or enhancing air or 197
water quality, or preserving sites or properties of historical, 198
architectural, archaeolo gical, or cultural significance , 199
including abandoned and neglected cemeteries that are 50 or more 200
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years old. 201
Section 5. For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, three full -time 202
equivalent positions with associated salary rate of $145,000 are 203
authorized and the s ums of $242,433 in recurring funds and 204
$12,021 in nonrecurring funds from the General Revenue Fund are 205
appropriated to the Department of State to be used for the 206
Historic Cemeteries Program. 207
Section 6. For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the sum of $1 208
million in nonrecurring funds from the General Revenue Fund is 209
appropriated to the Department of State to be used for grants 210
for qualifying entities under the Historic Cemeteries Program. 211
Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 212