CHAPTER 225

H.P. 714 - L.D. 1029

An Act To Allow Municipalities To Acquire Title to

Abandoned Cemeteries

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §3107 is enacted to read:

§3107. Abandoned cemeteries

1. Abandoned cemetery.__For purposes of this section, "abandoned cemetery" means a cemetery in which no burial has been made in the previous 40 years and the lots or grave sites of which have not been maintained within the previous 10 years, except for maintenance rendered by the municipality in which the cemetery is located.

2. Acquisition by municipality.__A municipality may acquire an abandoned cemetery, including ownership of any unoccupied lots or grave sites in the cemetery.__The municipality shall use due diligence in identifying any owners of the abandoned cemetery or any of the cemetery's unoccupied lots or grave sites and provide notice to the owners of the municipality's intention to acquire the abandoned cemetery. If a municipality cannot locate an owner pursuant to this subsection, the municipality shall publish notice of its intention to acquire the abandoned cemetery for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the county in which the municipality is located.