Florida Senate - 2017 SB 844
By Senator Simmons
9-00574A-17 2017844__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to criminal offenses involving tombs
3 and memorials; amending s. 872.02, F.S.; defining and
4 redefining terms; making technical changes;
5 prohibiting the excavation, exposing, movement,
6 removal, or other disturbance of the contents of a
7 tomb or memorial; providing criminal penalties;
8 providing exceptions to the prohibition against
9 disturbance of the contents of a tomb or memorial for
10 cemeteries that are exempt from certain regulation;
11 providing an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Section 872.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to
16 read:
17 872.02 Injuring or removing tomb or memorial monument;
18 disturbing contents of grave or tomb; penalties; exceptions.—
19 (1) For purposes of this section, the term:
20 (a) “Exempt cemetery” means a cemetery that is exempt from
21 regulation pursuant to s. 497.260(1).
22 (b) “Legally authorized person” has the same meaning
23 provided in s. 497.005.
24 (c) “Memorial” means a structure or thing placed or
25 designed for a memorial of the dead. The term includes a
26 monument or gravestone.
27 (d) “Operator” means an owner, officer, employee, or agent.
28 (e) “Tomb” includes a grave space, mausoleum, columbarium,
29 or belowground crypt, as those terms are defined in s. 497.005,
30 and also includes a burial mound, an earthen or shell monument
31 containing human skeletal remains or associated burial
32 artifacts, or any other enclosure for the burial of the dead.
33 (2) A person commits a felony of the third degree,
34 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084,
35 if the person who willfully and knowingly:
36 (a) Destroys, mutilates, defaces, injures, or removes a any
37 tomb or memorial, monument, gravestone, burial mound, earthen or
38 shell monument containing human skeletal remains or associated
39 burial artifacts, or other structure or thing placed or designed
40 for a memorial of the dead, or a any fence, railing, curb, or
41 other thing intended for the protection or ornamentation of a
42 any tomb or memorial; or, monument, gravestone, burial mound,
43 earthen or shell monument containing human skeletal remains or
44 associated burial artifacts, or other structure before
45 mentioned, or for any enclosure for the burial of the dead, or
46 willfully
47 (b) Destroys, mutilates, removes, cuts, breaks, or injures
48 a any tree, shrub, or plant placed or being within an any such
49 enclosure for the burial of the dead, commits a felony of the
50 third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083,
51 or s. 775.084.
52 (3)(2) A person who willfully and knowingly excavates,
53 exposes, moves, removes, or otherwise disturbs the contents of a
54 tomb or grave commits a felony of the second degree, punishable
55 as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
56 (4)(3) This section does shall not apply to:
57 (a) A any person acting under the direction or authority of
58 the Division of Historical Resources of the Department of State,
59 to cemeteries operating under chapter 497, or to a any person
60 otherwise authorized by law to commit an act remove or disturb a
61 tomb, monument, gravestone, burial mound, or similar structure,
62 or its contents, as described in subsection (2) (1).
63 (b) An operator of an exempt cemetery who is conducting
64 ordinary maintenance, if such maintenance does not relocate a
65 memorial, tomb, or contents of a tomb to another plot or site.
66 (c) An operator of an exempt cemetery who relocates a
67 memorial, a tomb, or the contents of a tomb to another plot or
68 site if:
69 1. Before the relocation, the operator obtains written
70 authorization for the relocation from a legally authorized
71 person or a court order authorizing the relocation;
72 2. A natural disaster causes damage to the exempt cemetery
73 which necessitates the relocation; or
74 3. More than 75 years have elapsed since the interment,
75 entombment, or inurnment at the exempt cemetery and the operator
76 of the exempt cemetery publishes a public notice, once a week
77 for 4 consecutive weeks, in a newspaper of general circulation
78 within the county in which the exempt cemetery is located.
79 a. The public notice must contain the name of the exempt
80 cemetery; the name, address, and telephone number of the
81 representative of the exempt cemetery with whom written
82 objections may be filed; the reason and necessity for the
83 relocation; the name of the deceased person entombed, interred,
84 or inurned; the date of initial entombment, interment, or
85 inurnment; the proposed site of relocation; and the proposed
86 date of relocation. The proposed date of relocation may not be
87 less than 30 days after the last date of publication.
88 b. If a written objection to the relocation:
89 (I) Is not received within 30 days after the last date of
90 publication of the public notice, the exempt cemetery may
91 proceed with the relocation.
92 (II) Is received from a legally authorized person, a public
93 hearing shall be held before the city council if the exempt
94 cemetery is located in a municipality or before the applicable
95 county commission if the exempt cemetery is not located within a
96 municipality. Interested parties shall have the opportunity to
97 be heard at the hearing in person or by counsel and to introduce
98 testimony. The council or commission shall determine whether to
99 grant or deny the request for the relocation. If granted, the
100 exempt cemetery may proceed with the relocation.
101 (4) For purposes of this section, the term “tomb” includes
102 any mausoleum, columbarium, or belowground crypt.
103 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.