Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2053 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Hancock S.B. No. 2053
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed March 9, 2023; March 21, 2023, read
3	3	first time and referred to Committee on Local Government;
4	4	April 17, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9,
5	5	Nays 0; April 17, 2023, sent to printer.)
6	6	Click here to see the committee vote
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to the disposition of burial spaces and abandoned plots in
12	12	certain cemeteries in the possession and control of a municipality.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 713.009, Health and Safety Code, is
15	15	amended by amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsections (f-1) and
16	16	(f-2) to read as follows:
17	17	(f) After taking the action described by Subsection (d), the
18	18	municipality or corporation shall continue to maintain the cemetery
19	19	so that it does not endanger the public health, safety, comfort, or
20	20	welfare. Additional burial spaces may not be offered for sale,
21	21	except as provided by Subsection (f-1).
22	22	(f-1) A municipality that has taken possession and control
23	23	of a cemetery under this section for at least 25 years may sell
24	24	additional burial spaces in the cemetery if, after a public
25	25	hearing, the governing body of the municipality by official action
26	26	finds that:
27	27	(1) the cemetery has been consistently maintained in
28	28	accordance with Section 713.011; and
29	29	(2) the sale and use of additional burial spaces in the
30	30	cemetery will not endanger the public health, safety, comfort, or
31	31	welfare.
32	32	(f-2) A municipality shall provide written notice of a
33	33	public hearing required under Subsection (f-1). The notice must:
34	34	(1) describe the municipality's proposed action;
35	35	(2) identify the cemetery that is the subject of the
36	36	hearing by name and location;
37	37	(3) be published in a newspaper of general
38	38	circulation:
39	39	(A) once a week for three consecutive weeks:
40	40	(i) in a county in which the cemetery is
41	41	located; or
42	42	(ii) in the absence of a newspaper in that
43	43	county, in the neighboring county nearest to the cemetery that has a
44	44	newspaper of general circulation; and
45	45	(B) with a final date of publication that is not
46	46	less than one week and not more than two weeks before the date of the
47	47	hearing; and
48	48	(4) be mailed to the Texas Historical Commission not
49	49	less than one week before the date of the hearing.
50	50	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 713, Health and Safety
51	51	Code, is amended by adding Sections 713.012 and 713.013 to read as
52	52	follows:
53	53	Sec. 713.012. ABANDONED PLOTS IN CERTAIN CEMETERIES IN
54	54	MUNICIPAL POSSESSION AND CONTROL. (a) This section applies only to
55	55	a cemetery for which the governing body of a municipality by
56	56	official action issues the findings described by Section
57	57	713.009(f-1).
58	58	(b) After notice provided in accordance with Subsection (c)
59	59	and a public hearing, the governing body of a municipality may by
60	60	official action declare a plot in a cemetery subject to this section
61	61	as presumed abandoned if:
62	62	(1) the municipality does not have any record of
63	63	ownership or sale of the plot;
64	64	(2) the plot has not been used for interment; and
65	65	(3) the plot is not within a family enclosure or area
66	66	of plots of related persons.
67	67	(c) A municipality shall provide written notice of the
68	68	public hearing required under Subsection (b) that satisfies the
69	69	notice requirements described by Section 713.009(f-2).
70	70	(d) The municipality may combine the notice and hearing
71	71	required under this section with the notice and hearing required
72	72	under Sections 713.009(f-1) and (f-2).
73	73	(e) A municipality has the exclusive right of sepulture in
74	74	an abandoned plot in a cemetery subject to this section and may
75	75	convey that right in the plot.
76	76	(f) A person may rebut the presumption of abandonment by
77	77	submitting to the municipality a deed, certificate of ownership,
78	78	bill of sale, receipt, instrument of conveyance, or other evidence
79	79	of ownership under which the person may claim the exclusive right of
80	80	sepulture in the plot in accordance with Section 711.039.
81	81	Sec. 713.013. APPEAL OF FINDING OF ABANDONMENT. (a) Not
82	82	later than the 10th day after the date the governing body of a
83	83	municipality declares a plot abandoned under Section 713.012, a
84	84	person aggrieved by the declaration or a taxpayer residing in the
85	85	municipality may file with a district court, county court, or
86	86	county court at law of the county in which the cemetery is located a
87	87	verified petition that states the decision is wholly or partly
88	88	illegal and the grounds of the illegality.
89	89	(b) On the filing of the petition, the court may grant a writ
90	90	of certiorari directed to the governing body to review the
91	91	governing body's decision. The writ must require the governing
92	92	body's return to be made and served on the petitioner not later than
93	93	the 10th day after the date the writ is issued, unless otherwise
94	94	extended by the court. Granting of the writ does not stay the
95	95	proceedings on appeal, but on application and after notice to the
96	96	governing body, the court may grant a restraining order.
97	97	(c) The governing body's return must be verified and
98	98	concisely state any pertinent facts that show the grounds of the
99	99	decision under appeal. The governing body is not required to return
100	100	the original documents on which the governing body acted but may
101	101	return certified or sworn copies of the documents or parts of the
102	102	documents as required by the writ.
103	103	(d) If a court determines at the hearing that testimony is
104	104	necessary for proper disposition of the matter, the court may take
105	105	evidence or appoint a referee to take evidence as directed. The
106	106	referee shall report the evidence to the court with the referee's
107	107	findings of fact and conclusions of law. The referee's report
108	108	constitutes a part of the proceedings on which the court makes a
109	109	decision.
110	110	(e) The court may wholly or partly reverse or affirm or
111	111	modify the appealed decision. The court may not assess costs
112	112	against the governing body unless the court determines that the
113	113	governing body acted with gross negligence, bad faith, or malice in
114	114	making the decision.
115	115	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
116	116	* * * * *