A bill that aims to ease the financial burdens of abandoned cemeteries has unanimously passed the House, writes Jeff Werner for the Patch.

The bill, introduced by State Representative Tim Brennan, a state lawmaker, provides financial help to municipalities that take over abandoned cemeteries.

When a cemetery becomes abandoned, municipalities in Pennsylvania can become the owner of last resort, and then have to register as a cemetery company with the State Real Estate Commission. This comes with sizable financial and administrative obligations. While religious and fraternal organizations are exempt from this, local municipalities are not.

The Bucks County Association of Township Officials has been working for over a decade to change this due to the effect on local municipalities, said Brennan.

“Only private, for-profit companies who sell burial plots to the public should be tasked with registering as a cemetery – not local governments,” he added.

“This requirement impedes the work of our already burdened municipalities, who are simply maintaining these burial grounds, not profiting from them. If we can save our municipalities some costs and trouble by avoiding this needless registration, our state government should be helping them and making it easier for our taxpayers.”

Read more about Tim Brennan’s bill in the Patch.

Brennan on Municipal Ownership of Cemeteries