Section 14-121 - Burial sites - Access. - Maryland Statutes

§ 14-121. Burial sites - Access.
 

(a)  Definitions.-  

(1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 

(2) (i) "Burial site" means any natural or prepared physical location, whether originally located below, on, or above the surface of the earth into which human remains or associated funerary objects are deposited as a part of a death rite or ceremony of any culture, religion, or group. 

(ii) "Burial site" includes the human remains and associated funerary objects that result from a shipwreck or accident and are intentionally left to remain at the site. 

(3) "Cultural affiliation" means a relationship of shared group identity that can be reasonably traced historically between a present-day group, tribe, band, or clan and an identifiable earlier group. 

(4) "Person in interest" means a person who: 

(i) Is related by blood or marriage to the person interred in a burial site; 

(ii) Is a domestic partner, as defined in § 1-101 of the Health - General Article, of a person interred in a burial site; 

(iii) Has a cultural affiliation with the person interred in a burial site; or 

(iv) Has an interest in a burial site that the Office of the State's Attorney for the county where the burial site is located recognizes is in the public interest after consultation with a local burial sites advisory board or, if such a board does not exist, the Maryland Historical Trust. 

(b)  Request for access - Restoration, maintenance or viewing.- Any person in interest may request the owner of a burial site or of the land encompassing a burial site that has been documented or recognized as a burial site by the public or any person in interest to grant reasonable access to the burial site for the purpose of restoring, maintaining, or viewing the burial site. 

(c)  Request for access - Agreements.-         (1) A person requesting access to a burial site under subsection (b) or (d) of this section may execute an agreement with the owner of the burial site or of the land encompassing the burial site using a form similar to the form below:
 


  
"Permission to Enter
   I hereby grant the person named below permission to enter my property, subject to the terms of the agreement, on the following dates:

  
Signed  ....................

         (Landowner)

  
Agreement
   In return for the privilege of entering on the private property for the purpose of restoring, maintaining, or viewing the burial site or transporting human remains to the burial site, I agree to adhere to every law, observe every safety precaution and practice, take every precaution against fire, and assume all responsibility and liability for my person and my property, while on the landowner's property.

   Signed"

(2) The owner of the burial site or of the land encompassing the burial site may grant access to the burial site in accordance with the terms of the agreement signed under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 

(d)  Request for access - Interments.- In addition to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, if burials are still taking place at a burial site, any person who is related by blood or marriage, heir, appointed representative, or any other person in interest may request the owner of the land encompassing the burial site to grant reasonable access to the burial site for the purpose of transporting human remains to the burial site to inter the remains of a person for whose burial the site is dedicated, if access has not been provided in a covenant or deed of record describing the metes and bounds of the burial site. 

(e)  Liability of owner.- Except for willful or malicious acts or omissions, the owner of a burial site or of the land encompassing a burial site who allows persons to enter or go on the land for the purposes provided in subsections (b) and (d) of this section is not liable for damages in a civil action to a person who enters on the land for injury to person or property. 

(f)  Reporting location to Supervisor of Assessments; notation on tax maps.-  

(1) An owner of a burial site, a person who is related by blood or marriage to the person interred in a burial site, heir, appointed representative, or any other person in interest, or any other person may report the location of a burial site to the supervisor of assessments for a county, together with supporting documentation concerning the location and nature of the burial site. 

(2) The supervisor of assessments for a county may note the presence of a burial site on a parcel on the county tax maps maintained under § 2-213 of the Tax - Property Article. 

(g)  Scope of section.- Nothing in this section may be construed to interfere with the normal operation and maintenance of a public or private cemetery being operated in accordance with State law. 
 

[1994, ch. 203; 2008, ch. 590.]