Bob Cortes files bill to require cemeteries to notify next-of-kin before moving graves

A new bill filed by House District 30 Rep. Bob Cortes, HB 107, would make it more difficult for cemeteries to move graves without telling the deceased’s loved ones.

Cortes said the bill’s purpose is to keep families in the know about any occasion where a cemetery might move the grave of a loved one in a cemetery. It stems from a case brought to him by a local constituent.

“This is a true constituents’ issue bill,” he told FloridaPolitics.com. “A constituent came to me about this issue. Her mother and her aunt were buried in one of the local historical African American cemeteries, and they went there once a month to put flowers there. Well, one time, they came to find that the graves were moved.”

Cortes said the bill would require that cemeteries notify next-of-kin before moving graves. It would apply to mostly non-regulated and public ones that don’t have it as a requirement already. In addition, if a grave has been entombed there for 75 years or more, notice would have to be provided in the local newspaper.

Those who do not comply with the new rule, if passed, would face a second-degree felony charge, which is currently the state norm for those who willfully and knowingly disturb the contents of a grave.

But Cortes said he didn’t want his bill to place more regulations on cemeteries that would pile on taxes or require more insurance that could, in the end, just harm them. He just wanted to make sure next-of-kin knew when their loved ones’ graves were being moved.

“Any regulation would drive up the cost,” he said. “We’re not going to do that. We’re just asking if you’re going to move a grave, tell us and you wont be in violation of the law.”

The bill’s specific subject matter has also prompted some to take it in a more humorous manner, Cortes admitted as an aside.

“Someone just asked ‘is this the ‘Walking Dead’ bill?’” Cortes said. “I said, come on, guys, be serious.”