AN ACT relating to cemeteries.

UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1099
Page 1 of 1
XXXX 10/28/2025 1:18 PM Jacketed
AN ACT relating to cemeteries. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 381.697 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Every cemetery in Kentucky except private family cemeteries shall be maintained 4
by its legal owner or owners, without respect to the individual owners of burial 5
plots in the cemetery, in such a manner so as to keep the burial grounds or cemetery 6
free of growth of weeds, free from accumulated debris, displaced tombstones, or 7
other signs and indication of vandalism or gross neglect. 8
(2) The owner or owners of public or private burial grounds, regardless of si ze or 9
number of graves, shall protect the burial grounds from desecration or destruction 10
as stipulated in KRS 525.115(1)(a), (b), or (c) or from being used for dumping 11
grounds, building sites, or any other use which may result in the burial grounds 12
being damaged or destroyed. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the 13
owner or owners of public or private burial grounds when the public or private 14
burial grounds have been desecrated, damaged, or destroyed as the result of a crime 15
by another as defined by KRS 500.080. 16
(3) The owner or owners of private burial grounds shall be required to construct 17
cemetery protection structures only if the burial ground is located in a county with a 18
county cemetery board and if the board provides compensation to t he private burial 19
ground owner for supplies, labor, and other expenses associated with such 20
construction. 21
(4) The governing authorities of any city within whose corporate limits any public or 22
private burial grounds lie shall[may] require the owner or those having claims to 23
the grounds to properly care for them. 24