Maryland General Assembly Unanimously Passes Cemetery Protection Legislation

Updated on May 13

This year, MPI teamed with other advocates to address cemetery issues in the Maryland General Assembly. Without budget or paid staff but with determination, passion, and patience, Maryland Cemetery Legislative Advocates drafted bills that were revised by legislative staff, heard in committees, and ultimately revised to secure a compromise that will improve the future for Maryland burial sites. Victories this year and last were certainly worth years of planning and convincing. Senators and Delegates listened to compelling testimony and put in place a better structure to protect abandoned cemeteries and descendants, even as we recognized that a bill requiring money was not likely to pass in today’s climate.

SB233 provides a process to protect descendant rights and abandoned cemeteries plus direction to courts in case of sale or transfer. It enables government to acquire an abandoned cemetery and convey ownership to descendants or a nonprofit that will properly maintain and protect it.

MPI appreciates the sponsors and fighters for these bills. With initiation of a Comprehensive Inventory and Database of all Maryland Cemeteries and creation of a fund for Abandoned cemeteries, this is true progress. You can read the report of the Comprehensive Inventory and Database Workgroup — with detailed recommendations — at the Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Sites’ website.

Read the final SB233 that was signed by Governor Moore on May 12 and will go into effect on October 1, 2026.