An Act To Allow Municipalities To Acquire Title to Abandoned Cemeteries
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1029
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: PINGREE, DAMON, BARSTOW, KOFFMAN, SCHATZ, COWGER, MAYO, ROSEN

Legislative Document 
No. 1029 
H.P.714 
House of Representatives, March 1,2005 
An Act To Allow Municipalities To Acquire Title to Abandoned 
Cemeteries 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative PINGREE of North Haven. 
Cosponsored by Senator DAMON of Hancock and 
17/~ 
1J1.1l!rl£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BARSTOW of Gorham, KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor, SCHATZ of Blue Hill, 
Senators: COWGER of Kennebec, MAYO of Sagadahoc, ROSEN of Hancock. 
Primed 011 recycled pape .. 
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, 
~l;loned cemetery" means a cemetery in which no burial has been 
~ 
in the previous 40 years and the lots or grave sites Qf 
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~noccupied lots or grave sites and provide 
notice to the owners of the municipality's intentiQn to acquire 
the abandoned cemet~. 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. 
3. Notice. The notice required in subsection 2 must give a 
basic description of the abandoned cemetery by referencing the 
municipality's tax maps, set a date and place where objections to 
the acquisition of. the abandoned cemetery by the municipality 
will be received and heard and, if there are unoccupied lots or 
grave sites in the ---.abandoned cemetery, state the municipality's 
intention to acquire the unoccupied lots or grave sites. 
4. Reassertion by owner. If an owner who 
receives notice 
under subsection 2 objects to the municipality's acquisition of 
the abandoned cemetery or an unoccupied lot or grave site in the 
cemetery, 
the owner must in writing object and reassert the 
owner's 
right 
of 
ownership 
over 
the 
abandoned 
cemetery 
or 
unoccupied lot or grave site wi thin 14 days of the date of the 
notice. 
An 
owner 
who 
reasserts ownership rights 
under 
this 
subsection shall promptly conform to all municipal ordinances 
concerning the abandoned cemetery or unoccupied lot or gravesite. 
5. Reversion to municipality. Title to an abandoned cemetery 
and any unoccupied lots or grave sites described in the notice 
required under subsection 2 reverts to the municipality if an 
objection by an owner of the abandoned cemetery or unoccupied lot 
or grave site within the cemetery is not received by the 15th day 
after notice is sent to an identified owner or the last notice is 
published in a newspaper of general circulation as required under 
subsection 
2. 
After 
title 
has 
reverted 
pursuant 
to 
this 
Page l-LR1363(1) 
subsection, 
the municipality shall file a confirmation of the 
acquisition 
of 
the 
abandoned 
cemetery, 
including 
a 
basic 
descr iption of the cemetery referencing the municipality's tax 
maps, 
in the 
registry of deeds 
in the 
county in which the 
municipality is located. 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows municipalities to take title to abandoned 
cemeteries, which are cemeteries in which no burial has taken 
place for at least 40 years and whose lots or grave sites have 
not been maintained for at least 10 years. 
The municipality 
shall 
attempt 
to 
identify 
and 
notify 
the 
owner 
of 
the 
municipality's intention to acquire the cemetery. 
If no owner is 
identified, the municipality shall publish notice in a newspaper 
of general circulation of the municipality's intention to acquire 
the 
cemetery. 
If 
an 
owner 
objects 
and 
reasserts 
ownership 
rights, 
the 
owner 
shall 
promptly 
conform 
to 
any 
municipal 
ordinance concerning the cemetery. 
If no owner objects within 14 
days of the last published notice, then title to the cemetery 
reverts to the municipality.