An Act To Preserve and Protect Ancient Burial Grounds and Burial Grounds in Which Veterans Are Buried
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0274
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: SAVIELLO, WELSH, BLACK, COTTA
Amends: 13 MRSA §1101, 13 MRSA §1101-B

Legislative Document 
No. 274 
S.P. 107 
In Senate, February 7, 2013 
An Act To Preserve and Protect Ancient Burial Grounds and Burial 
Grounds in Which Veterans Are Buried 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator SAVIELLO of Franklin. 
Cosponsored by Representative WELSH of Rockport and 
Representatives: BLACK of Wilton, COTTA of China. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  13 MRSA §1101, as amended by PL 1999, c. 700, §1, is further amended 
to read: 
§1101.  Maintenance and repairs; municipality 
In any ancient burying ground, as referenced in Title 30-A, section 5723, or public 
burying ground in which any Revolutionary soldiers or sailors or veterans of the Armed 
Forces of the United State of America who served in any war are buried, the municipality 
in which said that burying ground is located shall keep in good condition and repair all 
graves, headstones, monuments or and markers designating the burial place of said 
Revolutionary soldiers or sailors or veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States of 
America who served in any war and, to the best of its ability given the location and 
accessibility of the ancient burying ground, shall keep the grass, weeds and brush suitably 
cut and trimmed on those graves from May 1st to September 30th of each year.  A 
municipality may designate a caretaker to whom it delegates for a specified period of 
time the municipality's responsibilities regarding an ancient burying ground. 
In any public burying ground in which any veterans of the Armed Forces of the 
United States of America are buried, the municipality in which the burying ground is 
located shall keep in good condition and repair all graves, headstones, monuments and 
markers designating the burial place of the veterans and shall keep the grass, weeds and 
brush suitably cut and trimmed on those graves from May 1st to September 30th of each 
year. 
Sec. 2.  13 MRSA §1101-B, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 700, §2, is amended to 
read: 
§1101-B.  Ancient burying grounds 
1.  Access to ancient burying grounds on privately owned land.  The owner of an 
ancient burying ground shall provide municipalities a municipality or its caretaker 
designated pursuant to section 1101 access necessary to perform the duties pursuant to 
section 1101 and Title 30-A, section 2901.  Any unreasonable denial to provide 
municipalities access may result in the owner being held responsible for any fines, court 
costs and attorney's fees incurred by municipalities in legally obtaining access or for 
failing to meet the requirements of section 1101. 
2.  Maintenance by landowner.  A person who owns a parcel of land that contains 
an ancient burying ground and chooses to deny access to the municipality or its caretaker 
designated pursuant to section 1101 shall assume the duties as described in section 1101 
and Title 30-A, section 2901, subsection 1.  Maintenance of an ancient burying ground by 
the owner exempts the municipality from performing the duties as described in section 
1101. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the law governing ancient burying grounds and public burying 
grounds. 
1.  It authorizes a municipality to delegate to a caretaker the municipality's 
responsibilities regarding an ancient burying ground. 
2.  Current law requires municipalities to care for public burying grounds in which 
veterans of the Armed Forces of the United States of America who served during a war 
are buried.  This bill removes language requiring service during a war.