AB350 - Revises provisions relating to cemeteries. (BDR 40-874)

- 83rd Session (2025) Assembly Bill No. 350–Committee on Judiciary CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to cemeteries; revising provisions relating to the disinterment and removal of human remains from certain cemeteries; revising certain requirements applicable to certain cemetery owners; expanding eligibility for interment in a veterans’ cemetery to include certain additional veterans; requiring the Director of the Department of Veterans Services to charge certain fees relating to the interment of such veterans; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law authorizes a cemetery authority to order the disinterment and removal of all human remains interred in all or any part of a cemetery if: (1) a governmental authority other than the cemetery authority makes certain determinations relating to the maintenance of the cemetery in accordance with the health, safety and comfort of the public; or (2) the cemetery authority determines that a financial provision must be made for the future care of certain gravesites. (NRS 451.070) Section 1 of this bill instead provides that, before a cemetery authority may disinter or remove human remains interred in all or any part of a cemetery: (1) the cemetery authority must petition the district court of the county in which a cemetery is located for an order authorizing the disinterment and removal; and (2) the court must issue an order authorizing the disinterment and removal. Sections 2-4 of this bill make conforming changes relating to the issuance by the court, rather than the cemetery authority, of an order for the disinterment and removal of human remains interred in a cemetery. Existing law: (1) requires the owner of a cemetery to keep the cemetery in an orderly condition; and (2) authorizes a board of county commissioners to make rules relating to this requirement. (NRS 452.030) Section 5 of this bill removes the authority of a board of county commissioners to make such rules. Instead, section 5 requires the owner of a cemetery to take certain specific actions to ensure that a cemetery is kept in an orderly condition. Existing law provides for the establishment, operation and maintenance of veterans’ cemeteries and sets forth the eligibility requirements for the interment of veterans in such cemeteries. (NRS 417.210) Section 6 of this bill expands the eligibility requirements to include certain veterans who were members of a reserve component of the National Guard or who received a commemorative plaque or urn furnished by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Section 6 also requires the Director of the Department of Veterans Services to charge a fee for: (1) the interment of a veteran made eligible under the expanded criteria set forth in section 6; and (2) a headstone or marker provided by the Department for certain veterans made eligible for interment under the expanded criteria set forth in section 6. – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. NRS 451.070 is hereby amended to read as follows: 451.070 1. Except as otherwise provided in [NRS 451.075,] subsection 7, a cemetery authority shall not disinter or remove human remains interred in all or any part of a cemetery owned, leased or operated by the cemetery authority without a court order authorizing the cemetery authority to do so. 2. A cemetery authority may petition the district court of the county in which a cemetery is located for an order authorizing the disinterment and removal of [all] human remains interred in all or any part of [any] a cemetery [if: 1. A governmental authority other than the cemetery authority determines that:] owned, leased or operated by the cemetery authority. The petition must: (a) Contain a concise statement as to the necessity of the proposed action; and (b) Be accompanied by adequate documentation to justify a hearing on the petition. 3. Upon the filing of a petition pursuant to subsection 2, the court shall fix a time for a hearing on the matter. The petitioner shall provide notice and a copy of the petition to every person who owns, holds or has the right of interment in any plot of the cemetery or part affected whose name appears on the records of the cemetery or upon the real property assessment roll of the county in which the cemetery is located. If a person who receives such notice wishes to oppose the petition, the person must appear before the court at the hearing. If the person appears before the court at the hearing, the court must provide the person an opportunity to be heard on the matter. 4. After the hearing described in subsection 3, the court may issue an order authorizing the disinterment and removal of human remains from all or any part of the cemetery if: (a) The court finds by clear and convincing evidence that: (1) The maintenance of all or any part of the cemetery that is the subject of the petition as a burial place for the human dead is not in accordance with the health, safety, comfort or welfare of the public; [(b)] (2) The cemetery authority is unable to restore the cemetery or part of the cemetery that is the subject of the petition to – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) a condition where the maintenance of the cemetery as a burial place for the human dead is in accordance with the health, safety, comfort and welfare of the public; and [(c)] (3) The cemetery authority is unable, at current market rates, to sell or lease the cemetery that is the subject of the petition to or enter into a contract with another cemetery authority that will maintain the cemetery that is the subject of the petition as a burial place for the human dead in accordance with the health, safety, comfort and welfare of the public; or [2.] (b) The [cemetery authority determines] court finds by clear and convincing evidence that such disinterment and removal is necessary because of the financial [provision must be made] obligations of the cemetery authority for future care of gravesites within a specified area. 5. Upon the issuance of an order pursuant to subsection 4, a cemetery authority may proceed to disinter and remove the remains in accordance with the provisions of NRS 451.069 to 451.330, inclusive. 6. The cemetery authority shall: (a) Maintain a written record for each person whose remains are disinterred and removed, which must include, without limitation: (1) The name of the person; (2) A description of the plot from which the remains were removed; and (3) The location where the remains are reinterred, if known; and (b) Provide a copy of any such record described in paragraph (a) to a local health officer, county coroner or the Nevada Funeral and Cemetery Services Board upon request. 7. The provisions of this section do not apply to: (a) The disinterment and removal of human remains: (1) Interred in a burial plot that is owned in fee simple by a person other than the cemetery authority; or (2) By a cemetery authority if the cemetery authority is acting at the direction of a: (I) Person to whom a permit for disinterment has been issued pursuant to NRS 451.045; (II) County coroner, in the performance of his or her official duties; or (III) Person who is authorized to order the burial or cremation of human remains pursuant to NRS 451.024; – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) (b) Any area within a cemetery that contains a historical marker or is designated as a historical site, including, without limitation, any tomb, monument, gravestone or other structure marked as historical or located on land designated as part of a historical site; or (c) A historic cemetery owned or operated by a county. 8. As used in this section, “historic” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 381.195. Sec. 2. NRS 451.075 is hereby amended to read as follows: 451.075 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including, without limitation, any provision of NRS 451.069 to 451.330, inclusive, a cemetery authority shall not [: 1. Order the disinterment and removal of human remains interred in a burial plot that is owned in fee simple by a person other than the cemetery authority; or 2. Sell,] sell, mortgage or encumber or require the sale, mortgage or encumbrance of [such] a burial plot [.] owned in fee simple by a person other than the cemetery authority. Sec. 3. NRS 451.080 is hereby amended to read as follows: 451.080 1. The cemetery authority may prescribe reasonable regulations governing the manner of making disinterments and removals and providing for reinterment in a portion of the existing cemetery or in any other cemetery or for deposit of the remains in any memorial mausoleum or columbarium or for providing appropriate future care. 2. The cemetery authority must prescribe a reasonable time of not less than 1 year after the date on which [it] a court orders the disinterment and removal of remains pursuant to NRS 451.070, after which the cemetery authority may proceed to disinter and remove the remains and reinter them in a portion of the existing cemetery or another cemetery or deposit them in a memorial mausoleum or columbarium. Sec. 4. NRS 451.310 is hereby amended to read as follows: 451.310 If, before receiving [notice of any determination made by a governmental authority] an order authorizing the disinterment and removal of human remains interred in all or any part of a cemetery pursuant to NRS 451.070, [any] a cemetery authority has in good faith entered into [any] an agreement to sell or has granted [any] an option to buy all or any portion of its cemetery lands for a price reasonable at the time the agreement to sell was made, or the option granted, the district court shall confirm the sale at the price stipulated in the agreement to sell or the option to buy. – 5 – - 83rd Session (2025) Sec. 5. NRS 452.030 is hereby amended to read as follows: 452.030 1. [Every] Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, every owner of a cemetery shall keep the same in an orderly condition, [and authority is conferred on the board of county commissioners of each county to make such rules as will carry out the intent of this section. 2.] including, without limitation, by: (a) Mowing any grass within the limits of the cemetery at least once per month during the growing season, based on the climate of the area, unless: (1) Grass growth is dormant due to temperature conditions; or (2) Mowing is impracticable due to irrigation restrictions imposed during a drought by a governmental entity with authority over water resource management or distribution in the area, including, without limitation, a water district, water authority, water utility, water system or irrigation district; (b) Regularly removing or treating weeds within the limits of the cemetery; (c) Replenishing, pruning or replacing landscaping elements within the limits of the cemetery as necessary to preserve the appearance and dignity of the cemetery; (d) Maintaining pathways and entryways that lead into or through the cemetery in safe condition for pedestrian traffic, including, without limitation, by ensuring that: (1) Such pathways and entryways are free of debris and erosion; and (2) Landscaping elements that encroach on such pathways and entryways within the limits of the cemetery are trimmed; (e) Removing litter and garbage within the limits of the cemetery without undue delay; (f) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (g), ensuring that any tomb, monument, gravestone or other structure within the limits of the cemetery is properly placed in accordance with any sales or interment records maintained by the owner of the cemetery or available to the owner; and (g) Permitting the temporary removal and subsequent replacement of a tomb, monument, gravestone or other structure within the limits of the cemetery as necessary to allow access for equipment, the installation of a memorial or the performance of any other activity required for the normal operation of the cemetery. – 6 – - 83rd Session (2025) 2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection [4,] 5, [in addition to any action that may be taken pursuant to the rules described in subsection 1,] the district attorney of the county in which a cemetery is located or a relative of any person interred in a cemetery may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the [provisions of] requirements set forth in subsection 1. If the court finds that the owner of the cemetery has failed to keep the cemetery in an orderly condition, the court may [: (a) Order] order the owner of the cemetery to take any action necessary to bring the cemetery into such a condition . [; or (b)] If the [court also determines that continued ownership of the cemetery by the] owner [is not in accordance with the health, safety, comfort or welfare] of the [public, transfer title to the cemetery to the city or, if the] cemetery [is located in an unincorporated area of a county, the county in which the cemetery is located, if] fails to comply with any such order, the city or county [accepts such a transfer of title.] in which the cemetery is located may, at the expense of the owner, take any action necessary to comply with the order and restore the cemetery to the required condition. 3. [A city or county to which title] An owner of a cemetery [is transferred pursuant to this section] who conducts an annual weed treatment shall [: (a) Operate the cemetery; (b) Lease the cemetery to a cemetery authority to operate the cemetery; (c) Enter into a contract with a cemetery authority to operate the cemetery; or (d) Transfer title of the cemetery] be deemed to [a nonprofit organization acting as] have complied with the [cemetery authority] requirements prescribed by paragraph (b) of [the cemetery.] subsection 1. 4. The provisions of subsection 1 do not apply to: (a) Any area within a cemetery that contains a historical marker or is designated as a historical site, including, without limitation, any tomb, monument, gravestone or other structure marked as historical or located on land designated as part of a historical site; or (b) A historic cemetery owned or operated by a county. 5. The provisions of subsection 2 do not apply to [a] : (a) A cemetery owned by a city or county [.] ; (b) A veterans’ cemetery; or (c) A cemetery tha [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]