By: West S.B. No. 586
(In the Senate - Filed December 13, 2024; February 3, 2025,
read first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;
April 7, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 4,
Nays 1; April 7, 2025, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to establishing the Historic Texas Cemeteries Designation
Program; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 442, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter I to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER I. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERIES DESIGNATION PROGRAM
Sec. 442.351. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "program"
means the Historic Texas Cemeteries Designation Program.
Sec. 442.352. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE. The commission
shall establish the program to alert the public, as well as current
and future owners of land adjacent to a cemetery, of the cemetery's
existence.
Sec. 442.353. ELIGIBILITY. To be eligible for a
designation under the program, a cemetery must:
(1) be worthy of recognition and preservation for the
cemetery's historical associations; and
(2) be established at least 50 years before the date an
application is submitted to the commission to designate the
cemetery under the program, unless the commission determines the
cemetery is exceptionally significant.
Sec. 442.354. APPLYING FOR DESIGNATION. (a) Any person may
submit an application to the commission to designate a cemetery
under the program.
(b) The applicant must include as part of the application
information establishing the existence of the cemetery.
Sec. 442.355. NOTICE OF APPLICATION. (a) After the
commission receives an application to designate a cemetery under
the program, the commission shall notify the following persons of
the application:
(1) the owner of the property containing the cemetery;
(2) each owner of property adjacent to the cemetery;
and
(3) the county historical commission established
under Chapter 318, Local Government Code, for the county in which
the cemetery is located, if applicable.
(b) The commission shall provide a county historical
commission described by Subsection (a)(3) with a copy of the
application materials to designate a cemetery under the program.
Sec. 442.356. APPLICATION REVIEW; DECISION. (a) The
commission shall review each application it receives for
designation of a cemetery under the program and determine whether
the cemetery qualifies for designation under the program.
(b) If the commission determines the cemetery qualifies for
a designation under the program, the commission shall:
(1) approve the application;
(2) notify the applicant of the approval of the
application;
(3) send to the applicant a declaration of dedication
to be filed with the appropriate county clerk's office; and
(4) inform the applicant that the cemetery may be
recognized with an Official Texas Historical Marker available for
purchase from the commission to certify the cemetery's
participation in the program.
(c) A cemetery is officially recognized under the program on
the commission's receipt of a copy of the filed declaration of
dedication described by Subsection (b)(3), including any exhibits
filed with the declaration. The copy of the declaration of
dedication must show the date the declaration was filed and the
recording information for the declaration.
(d) If the commission determines the cemetery does not
qualify for designation under the program, the commission shall
either:
(1) request additional information from the applicant
to support the application; or
(2) deny the application.
(e) If the commission denies the application for
designation under the program, the commission shall notify the
applicant of the denial and inform the applicant of the ability to
appeal the decision to the members of the commission.
Sec. 442.357. APPLICATION FORM; FEE. (a) The commission
shall develop an application form and procedure for applying for a
designation under the program. The application may require any
information the commission considers necessary, including a deed
and title, plot records, archival documents, photographs, oral
histories, and archaeological data.
(b) The commission shall make the application available at
the commission's office or post the application on the commission's
Internet website.
(c) The commission may charge a processing fee not to exceed
$25 for each application submitted under this subchapter.
Sec. 442.358. EFFECT OF DESIGNATION; REMOVAL. (a) A
historic cemetery designation under the program does not restrict
in any way a property owner's use of land outside the designated
cemetery's boundaries.
(b) A historic cemetery designation under the program may be
removed only by:
(1) commission action; or
(2) an order of a court of competent jurisdiction:
(A) removing the designation; or
(B) removing the dedication and returning the
land to other purposes.
(c) A transfer of ownership of property containing a
cemetery designated under the program does not result in a removal
of the designation.
Sec. 442.359. RULES. The commission shall adopt rules as
necessary to implement this subchapter.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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