H.B. No. 2371
AN ACT
relating to the disposition of burial spaces and abandoned plots in
certain cemeteries in the possession and control of a municipality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 713.009, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsections (f-1) and
(f-2) to read as follows:
(f) After taking the action described by Subsection (d), the
municipality or corporation shall continue to maintain the cemetery
so that it does not endanger the public health, safety, comfort, or
welfare. Additional burial spaces may not be offered for sale,
except as provided by Subsection (f-1).
(f-1) A municipality that has taken possession and control
of a cemetery under this section for at least 25 years may sell
additional burial spaces in the cemetery if, after a public
hearing, the governing body of the municipality by official action
finds that:
(1) the cemetery has been consistently maintained in
accordance with Section 713.011; and
(2) the sale and use of additional burial spaces in the
cemetery will not endanger the public health, safety, comfort, or
welfare.
(f-2) A municipality shall provide written notice of a
public hearing required under Subsection (f-1). The notice must:
(1) describe the municipality's proposed action;
(2) identify the cemetery that is the subject of the
hearing by name and location;
(3) be published in a newspaper of general
circulation:
(A) once a week for three consecutive weeks:
(i) in a county in which the cemetery is
located; or
(ii) in the absence of a newspaper in that
county, in the neighboring county nearest to the cemetery that has a
newspaper of general circulation; and
(B) with a final date of publication that is not
less than one week and not more than two weeks before the date of the
hearing; and
(4) be mailed to the Texas Historical Commission not
less than one week before the date of the hearing.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 713, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Sections 713.012 and 713.013 to read as
follows:
Sec. 713.012. ABANDONED PLOTS IN CERTAIN CEMETERIES IN
MUNICIPAL POSSESSION AND CONTROL. (a) This section applies only to
a cemetery for which the governing body of a municipality by
official action issues the findings described by Section
713.009(f-1).
(b) After notice provided in accordance with Subsection (c)
and a public hearing, the governing body of a municipality may by
official action declare a plot in a cemetery subject to this section
as presumed abandoned if:
(1) the municipality does not have any record of
ownership or sale of the plot;
(2) the plot has not been used for interment; and
(3) the plot is not within a family enclosure or area
of plots of related persons.
(c) A municipality shall provide written notice of the
public hearing required under Subsection (b) that satisfies the
notice requirements described by Section 713.009(f-2).
(d) The municipality may combine the notice and hearing
required under this section with the notice and hearing required
under Sections 713.009(f-1) and (f-2).
(e) A municipality has the exclusive right of sepulture in
an abandoned plot in a cemetery subject to this section and may
convey that right in the plot.
(f) A person may rebut the presumption of abandonment by
submitting to the municipality a deed, certificate of ownership,
bill of sale, receipt, instrument of conveyance, or other evidence
of ownership under which the person may claim the exclusive right of
sepulture in the plot in accordance with Section 711.039.
Sec. 713.013. APPEAL OF FINDING OF ABANDONMENT. (a) Not
later than the 10th day after the date the governing body of a
municipality declares a plot abandoned under Section 713.012, a
person aggrieved by the declaration or a taxpayer residing in the
municipality may file with a district court, county court, or
county court at law of the county in which the cemetery is located a
verified petition that states the decision is wholly or partly
illegal and the grounds of the illegality.
(b) On the filing of the petition, the court may grant a writ
of certiorari directed to the governing body to review the
governing body's decision. The writ must require the governing
body's return to be made and served on the petitioner not later than
the 10th day after the date the writ is issued, unless otherwise
extended by the court. Granting of the writ does not stay the
proceedings on appeal, but on application and after notice to the
governing body, the court may grant a restraining order.
(c) The governing body's return must be verified and
concisely state any pertinent facts that show the grounds of the
decision under appeal. The governing body is not required to return
the original documents on which the governing body acted but may
return certified or sworn copies of the documents or parts of the
documents as required by the writ.
(d) If a court determines at the hearing that testimony is
necessary for proper disposition of the matter, the court may take
evidence or appoint a referee to take evidence as directed. The
referee shall report the evidence to the court with the referee's
findings of fact and conclusions of law. The referee's report
constitutes a part of the proceedings on which the court makes a
decision.
(e) The court may wholly or partly reverse or affirm or
modify the appealed decision. The court may not assess costs
against the governing body unless the court determines that the
governing body acted with gross negligence, bad faith, or malice in
making the decision.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2371 was passed by the House on April
14, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 116, Nays 27, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2371 was passed by the Senate on May
9, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor