Florida Senate - 2017 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 844
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: WD .
03/13/2017 .
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The Committee on Criminal Justice (Simmons) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Substitute for Amendment (129514) (with title
2 amendment)
3
4 Delete everything after the enacting clause
5 and insert:
6 Section 1. Section 872.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to
7 read
8 872.02 Injuring or removing tomb or monument; disturbing
9 contents of grave or tomb; penalties.—
10 (1) A person commits a felony of the third degree,
11 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084
12 if he or she:
13 (a) who Willfully and knowingly destroys, mutilates,
14 defaces, injures, or removes any tomb, monument, gravestone,
15 burial mound, earthen or shell monument containing human
16 skeletal remains or associated burial artifacts, or other
17 approved structure or approved thing placed or designed for a
18 memorial of the dead, or any fence, railing, curb, or other
19 thing intended for the protection or ornamentation of any tomb,
20 monument, gravestone, burial mound, earthen or shell monument
21 containing human skeletal remains or associated burial
22 artifacts, or other structure before mentioned, or for any
23 enclosure for the burial of the dead;, or
24 (b) Willfully destroys, mutilates, removes, cuts, breaks,
25 or injures any tree, shrub, or plant placed or being within any
26 such enclosure, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable
27 as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
28
29 This subsection does not apply to anyone performing routine
30 maintenance and upkeep.
31 (2) A person who willfully and knowingly excavates,
32 exposes, moves, removes, or otherwise disturbs the contents of a
33 tomb or grave commits a felony of the second degree, punishable
34 as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
35 (3) This section does shall not apply to any person acting
36 under the direction or authority of the Division of Historical
37 Resources of the Department of State, to cemeteries operating
38 under chapter 497, any cemeteries removing or relocating the
39 contents of a grave or tomb as a response to a natural disaster,
40 or to any person otherwise authorized by law to remove or
41 disturb a tomb, monument, gravestone, burial mound, or similar
42 structure, or its contents, as described in subsection (1).
43 (4) For purposes of this section, the term “tomb” includes
44 any mausoleum, columbarium, or belowground crypt.
45 (5) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), an owner,
46 officer, employee, or agent of a cemetery exempt from regulation
47 pursuant to s. 497.260 may relocate the contents of a grave or
48 tomb:
49 (a) After receiving a written and signed contract between
50 the owner and a legally authorized person as defined in s.
51 497.005(43).
52 (b) If a legally authorized person cannot be located after
53 a reasonable search or if 75 years or more have elapsed since
54 the date of entombment, interment, or inurnment, then public
55 notice must be posted. The public notice must be published once
56 a week for 4 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
57 circulation in the county where the cemetery is located. The
58 public notice must contain the name of the cemetery; the name,
59 address, and telephone number of the cemetery representative
60 with whom objections may be filed; the reason for relocation of
61 the contents of the graves or tombs; the names of the human
62 remains to be relocated; the approximate date of the initial
63 entombment, interment, or inurnment; the proposed site of
64 relocation; and the proposed date of relocation. The proposed
65 date of relocation may not be less than 30 days from last date
66 of publication.
67 1. If no objection from a legally authorized person is
68 received within 30 days from the last date of publication of the
69 public notice, the cemetery may proceed with relocation.
70 2. If an objection is received from a legally authorized
71 person, a public hearing shall be held before the county
72 commission of the county where the cemetery is located, or the
73 city council, if the cemetery is located in a municipality, and
74 the county commission or the city council shall have sole
75 authority to grant a request for relocation of the contents of
76 such graves or tombs.
77 Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2017.
78
79 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
80 And the title is amended as follows:
81 Delete everything before the enacting clause
82 and insert:
83 A bill to be entitled
84 An act relating to criminal offenses involving tombs
85 and memorials; amending s. 872.02, F.S.; providing
86 that a person who willfully and knowingly excavates,
87 exposes, moves, or removes the contents of a tomb or
88 grave commits a felony; revising applicability;
89 authorizing an owner, officer, employee, or agent of
90 specified cemeteries to relocate the contents of a
91 grave or tomb, subject to certain conditions;
92 providing an effective date.