The Florida Senate

497.253  Minimum acreage; sale or disposition of cemetery lands.--

(1)  Each licensee shall set aside a minimum of 15 contiguous acres of land for use by the licensee as a cemetery and shall not sell, mortgage, lease, or encumber that property without prior written approval of the department.

(2)  Any lands owned by a licensee and dedicated for use by it as a cemetery, which are contiguous, adjoining, or adjacent to the minimum of 15 contiguous acres described in subsection (1), may be sold, conveyed, or disposed of by the licensee, after obtaining written approval of the department, for use by the new owner for other purposes than as a cemetery. All of the human remains which have been previously interred therein shall first have been removed from the lands proposed to be sold, conveyed, or disposed of. Any and all titles, interests, or burial rights which may have been sold or contracted to be sold in lands which are the subject of the sale shall be conveyed to and revested in the licensee prior to consummation of any such sale, conveyance, or disposition.

(3)  A licensee may convey and transfer to a municipality or county its real and personal property, together with moneys deposited in trust funds pursuant to this chapter, provided the municipality or county will accept responsibility for maintenance thereof and prior written approval of the department is obtained.

(4)  The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) relating to a requirement for minimum acreage shall not apply to any cemetery company licensed by the department on or before July 1, 1965, which owns a total of less than 15 acres of land; however, no cemetery company shall dispose of any land without the prior written consent of the department.

History.--s. 9, ch. 65-288; ss. 12, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 12, ch. 78-407; ss. 26, 39, 40, ch. 80-238; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; s. 2, ch. 88-227; s. 1, ch. 89-8; ss. 89, 122, ch. 93-399.

Note.--Former s. 559.481; s. 497.027.