CHAPTER 714. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO CEMETERIES - Texas Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

TITLE 8. DEATH AND DISPOSITION OF THE BODY

SUBTITLE C. CEMETERIES AND CREMATORIES

CHAPTER 714. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO CEMETERIES

Sec. 714.001. DEPTH OF GRAVES; CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) The body

of a decedent may not be buried in a manner so that the outside

top surface of the container of the body is:

(1) less than two feet below the surface of the ground if the

container is not made of an impermeable material; or

(2) less than 1-1/2 feet below the surface of the ground if the

container is made of an impermeable material.

(b) The governing body of a political subdivision of this state

may, because of subsurface soil conditions or other relevant

considerations, permit, by ordinance or rule, burials in that

political subdivision at a shallower depth than that required by

Subsection (a).

(c) This section does not apply to burials in a sealed surface

reinforced concrete burial vault.

(d) A person commits an offense if the person buries the body of

a decedent in violation of this section or in violation of an

ordinance or rule adopted under this section.

(e) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by

a fine of not less than $100 or more than $200.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 714.002. LIMITATION ON LOCATION OF FEED OR SLAUGHTER PENS

NEAR CEMETERY. (a) The maintenance or location of a feed pen

for hogs, cattle, or horses, a slaughter pen, or a slaughterhouse

500 feet or nearer to an established cemetery in a county with a

population of at least 525,000 is a nuisance.

(b) The cemetery owner or a lot owner may bring suit to abate

the nuisance and to prohibit its continuance. If a nuisance under

this section exists or is threatened, the court shall grant a

permanent injunction against the person responsible for the

nuisance.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Sec. 714.003. ABANDONED PLOTS IN PRIVATE CEMETERIES. (a) The

ownership or right of sepulture in an unoccupied plot for which

adequate perpetual care has not been provided in a private

cemetery operated by a nonprofit organization reverts to the

cemetery on a finding by a court that the plot is abandoned. A

cemetery may convey title to any plot that has reverted to the

cemetery.

(b) A plot is presumed to be abandoned if for 10 consecutive

years an owner or an owner's successor in interest does not:

(1) maintain the plot in a condition consistent with other plots

in the cemetery; or

(2) pay any assessments for maintenance charged by the cemetery.

(c) An owner or an owner's successors in interest may rebut the

presumption of abandonment by:

(1) delivering to the governing body or by filing with the court

written notice claiming ownership of or right of sepulture in the

plot; and

(2) paying the cemetery for any past due maintenance charges on

the plot plus interest at the maximum legal rate.

(d) A notice for rebuttal of a presumption must be given by

delivery in person or by prepaid United States mail, properly

addressed. If the notice is mailed, delivery is effective on the

date the envelope containing the notice is postmarked.

(e) The governing body may petition a court of competent

jurisdiction for an order declaring that a plot is abandoned if,

not later than the 91st day and not earlier than the 120th day

before the date the petition is filed, the governing body gives

written notice of its claim of the plot to the owner or, if the

owner is deceased or his address is unknown, to the owner's known

successors in interest. The notice must be delivered in person or

by prepaid United States mail, sent to the last known address of

the owner or the owner's successors in interest.

(f) If after reasonable effort the governing body cannot locate

or ascertain the identity of an owner or an owner's successors in

interest, the governing body must give the notice required by

this section by publishing it once each week for four consecutive

weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in

which the cemetery is located.

(g) After deducting reasonable expenses related to the

reacquisition and sale of an abandoned plot, including

restoration, expenses of the sale, court costs and legal fees, a

cemetery shall deposit the balance of the funds from the sale of

the plot into an account to be used for the care of the cemetery.

(h) This section prevails over Sections 711.035, 711.036,

711.038, 711.039, and 711.040 to the extent of any conflict.

(i) In this section:

(1) "Governing body" means the person in a nonprofit

organization responsible for conducting a cemetery business.

(2) "Nonprofit organization" means an organization described by

Section 501(c)(13), Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.

Section 501(c)(13)).

(3) "Plot" means a grave space in a cemetery that has not been

used to inter human remains.

(4) "Private cemetery" means a cemetery that is not owned or

operated by the United States, this state, or a political

subdivision of this state, but is owned and operated by a

nonprofit organization.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.

Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1124, Sec. 1, 2, eff. June

18, 1999.

Sec. 714.004. REMOVAL OF REMAINS FROM ABANDONED CEMETERY IN

COUNTY OF AT LEAST 525,000. (a) If an abandoned and neglected

cemetery in a county with a population of at least 525,000 for

which no perpetual care and endowment fund has been regularly and

legally established is abated as a nuisance, the court abating

the nuisance and enjoining its continuance or the governing body

of the municipality in which the cemetery is located may

authorize the removal of all bodies, monuments, tombs, and other

similar items from the cemetery to a perpetual care cemetery as

defined by Section 711.001.

(b) If there is no perpetual care cemetery in the county that

under its rules permits the interment of the bodies of the

persons that are to be removed, the bodies, monuments, tombs, and

other similar items may be removed to a nonperpetual care

cemetery that has provided for assessments for the cemetery's

future care.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.