Florida Senate - 2026                                    SB 1248
       
       
        
       By Senator Davis
       
       
       
       
       
       5-01264-26                                            20261248__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to abandoned cemeteries; amending s.
    3         704.08, F.S.; requiring the state to be granted an
    4         easement for ingress and egress to abandoned
    5         cemeteries on private property for specified purposes;
    6         providing an effective date.
    7          
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Section 704.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   11  read:
   12         704.08 Cemeteries; right of ingress and egress for
   13  visiting, or maintenance, research, and searches.—
   14         (1) The relatives and descendants of any person buried in a
   15  cemetery shall have an easement for ingress and egress for the
   16  purpose of visiting the cemetery at reasonable times and in a
   17  reasonable manner. The owner of the land may designate the
   18  easement. If the cemetery is abandoned or otherwise not being
   19  maintained, such relatives and descendants may request the owner
   20  to provide for reasonable maintenance of the cemetery, and, if
   21  the owner refuses or fails to maintain the cemetery, the
   22  relatives and descendants shall have the right to maintain the
   23  cemetery.
   24         (2) If credible evidence supports a determination that
   25  there is an abandoned cemetery located on, underneath, or
   26  adjacent to land owned by a private owner, the state must be
   27  granted an easement for ingress and egress for the purpose of
   28  maintaining the cemetery and conducting research and noninvasive
   29  searches at such cemetery at reasonable times and in a
   30  reasonable manner after providing the owner with reasonable
   31  notice.
   32         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.