Chapter 759 | Cemeteries

Section 759.01 | Cemeteries and crematories.

• Effective: October 20, 1999
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 18 - 123rd General Assembly

Any municipal corporation may provide public cemeteries and crematories for burial or incineration of the dead and regulate public and private cemeteries and crematories. Any cemetery established by a municipal corporation shall register with the division of real estate in the department of commerce pursuant to section 4767.03 of the Revised Code. Any cemetery of that nature is subject to Chapter 4767. and to sections 517.23 to 517.25 and 1721.211 of the Revised Code in addition to being subject to this chapter.

Section 759.02 | Cemeteries outside corporate limits.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The legislative authority of a municipal corporation may provide a place for the interment of the dead outside of the corporate limits, and the police powers of the municipal corporation shall extend to those places.

Section 759.03 | Powers of legislative authority as to cemeteries.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The legislative authority of a municipal corporation owning a public burial ground or cemetery, whether within or without the municipal corporation, may pass and provide for the enforcement of ordinances necessary to carry into effect sections 759.02 to 759.48, inclusive, of the Revised Code, and may regulate such public burial grounds and cemeteries, the improvement thereof, the burial of the dead therein, define the tenure and conditions on which lots therein shall be held, and protect such burial grounds and cemeteries and all fixtures thereon.

Section 759.04 | Power to sell portions of cemetery.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The legislative authority of a municipal corporation may sell any portion of the cemetery grounds owned by it and not used for the burial of the dead, which grounds are unsuitable for burial purposes, and may purchase with the proceeds thereof other suitable lands lying contiguous thereto. No such sale shall be made until the legislative authority has contracted for an equal or greater quantity of land suitable for burial purposes. For the purpose of paying any indebtedness arising out of the purchase or improvement of such cemetery, the director of public service in cities, or the board of cemetery trustees in villages, with the consent of the legislative authority, may sell or mortgage such portion of the real estate belonging to the cemetery as has not been used for burial purposes, or as may not, in its opinion, be needed for such purposes, and the money arising from the sale or mortgage thereof shall be applied by it to the payment of the indebtedness, and for no other purpose. Upon such sale, if there is a surplus after the payment of the indebtedness, such surplus money shall be used by the director or the board in the improvement of the cemetery grounds, and for no other purpose.

Section 759.05 | Burials prohibited within municipal corporation.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The legislative authority of a municipal corporation may prohibit the interment of the dead within the municipal corporation limits, and, for the purpose of making such prohibition effective, may impose proper fines and penalties and cause any body, interred contrary thereto, to be taken up and buried without the limits of the municipal corporation.

Section 759.06 | Bond of officer to secure cemetery funds.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The legislative authority of a municipal corporation may require the officer authorized to receive and disburse moneys arising from the sale of lots, or otherwise, and to invest, manage, and control the property and funds in his hands, to give a bond to the municipal corporation with sufficient sureties, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duty, account for all moneys received by him, and pay over to his successor all moneys or other property unexpended. Such bond shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the municipal corporation.

Section 759.07 | Conveyance of lands abandoned for cemetery purposes.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When a municipal corporation holds land within its limits which has been used as a cemetery or burial ground, in which land interments have been prohibited by the municipal corporation, and it has been decided to remove the bodies interred therein, the legislative authority thereof may sell or otherwise dispose of such land, but the sale or transfer does not give the purchaser possession until the bodies therein interred have been removed, and all monuments and tombstones are removed and re-erected at the place of reinterment of the remains of each person.

Section 759.08 | Title vested in municipal corporation.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The title to and right of possession of public cemeteries and burial grounds located within a municipal corporation and set apart and dedicated as public cemeteries or burial grounds, and grounds used as such by the public but not dedicated, except those owned or under the care of a religious or benevolent society, or an incorporated company or association, are hereby vested in the municipal corporation in which such cemetery or burial ground is located.

Section 759.09 | Duties of director of public service.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The director of public service shall take possession and charge, and have the entire management, control, and regulation of public burial grounds and cemeteries located in or belonging to the city, subject to its ordinances. The director may direct the laying of such grounds out into lots, avenues, walks, and paths, or other subdivisions, which lots shall be numbered and the avenues named. A plat thereof shall be made so as to exhibit a fair and distinct outline of the grounds, and such plat shall be kept in the office of the auditor of the city for the use of the public.

The director shall direct all the improvements and embellishments of such grounds and lots, protect and preserve them, and, subject to the approval of the legislative authority of the city, appoint necessary superintendents, employees, and agents, and shall determine their term of office and the amount of their compensation.

Section 759.10 | Institution of suits.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The director of public service shall, when necessary, institute suits in the name of the city to recover the possession of burial grounds, remove trespassers therefrom, and recover damages for injuries thereto or to any tombstone or monument therein. He shall see that all laws and ordinances passed for the protection of public burial grounds and cemeteries, and the burial of the dead, are enforced.

Section 759.11 | Bylaws and regulations.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The director of public service may make bylaws and regulations, not inconsistent with the ordinance of the city and the constitution and laws of this state, for the management and protection of the burial grounds and cemeteries under his control, and for the burial of the dead therein, and they shall have the same validity as the ordinances of the city. The director shall perform such other duties pertaining to the office as the legislative authority by ordinance prescribes.

Section 759.12 | City may accept and maintain permanent fund for care of lots in cemeteries.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

In the bylaws and regulations provided for by section 759.11 of the Revised Code, the director of public service shall declare the amount of money he will accept by agreement, gift, devise, bequest, or otherwise and hold as a permanent fund of the cemetery. He shall pledge the faith and credit of the city for the perpetual care of the lots designated, using only the interest or income of the money. On receipt of the sum of money so designated, the director shall issue therefor a written receipt and acknowledgment thereof, signed by him, binding the faith and credit of the city to forever hold such money as a permanent fund and to provide perpetual care of the lots therein named, for the use, income, or interest of such money. He shall enter on the minutes of his proceedings full detail of the obligation, and shall enter the receipt and income of the money and the expenditure thereof in detail on his books of accounts, keeping each case separately.

Section 759.13 | Price of lots and terms of payment.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The director of public service shall determine the size and price of cemetery lots, the terms of payment therefor, and shall give to each purchaser a receipt, showing the amount paid and a pertinent description of the lots sold. Upon producing such receipt to the proper officer, such purchaser shall be entitled to a deed for the lots described therein.

No more shall be charged for lots than is necessary to reimburse the city for the expense of lands purchased or appropriated for cemetery purposes, and to keep in order and embellish the grounds. Provision shall be made for the interment in such cemetery of persons buried at the expense of the city.

Section 759.14 | Sale of lots - laying off and embellishing of grounds - donations.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The director of public service shall have entire charge and control of receipts from the sale of cemetery lots, and of laying off and embellishing the grounds. He may receive donations by bequest, devise, deed of gift, or otherwise, or money or other property, the principal or interest of which is to be used for the enlargement, improvement, embellishment, or care of the cemetery grounds generally, or for any particular parts or lots therein, as the donor directs, or as the director determines if no such direction is given. The director shall sell lots, receive payment therefor, direct the improvements, and make the expenditures under such rules and orders as he prescribes, and shall invest, manage, and control property received by donations and surplus funds in his hands from any source.

Section 759.15 | Funds of cemeteries to be deposited - investment - payments.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The director of public service shall turn over to the legislative authority of the city property on hand under his control or held by him as a permanent fund, for cemetery purposes, or such money as may thereafter come to him for such purposes, and shall render a full statement thereof, by whom, when, and for what purpose paid. The legislative authority shall acknowledge receipt thereof to the director in writing signed by its clerk.

By resolution duly passed and entered on the minutes of its proceedings, the legislative authority shall pledge the faith and credit of the city to forever hold such money as a permanent fund, and pay to the director in semiannual payments as interest on the funds, a sum sufficient to provide perpetual care of the lots as agreed by the director. The legislative authority shall invest such funds and keep them invested in interest-bearing debts of the city, and if no such debts are owed by the city, then in safe interest-bearing bonds, or in interest-bearing certificates of deposit in financial institutions within this state authorized by law to accept deposits and subject to inspection by either the United States or this state. All such money and the income thereof shall be exempt from taxation, the same as other cemetery property.

Section 759.16 | Appointment of clerk.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The director of public service shall appoint a clerk, and shall keep accurate minutes of all proceedings concerning cemeteries.

Section 759.17 | Annual and quarterly report to legislative authority.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

On the first Monday of January each year, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, the director of public service shall report in writing to the legislative authority of the city the number of cemetery lots sold, to whom sold, and the amount received therefor, during the year preceding, and a detailed statement of the expenditures during the same period, showing the time and purpose of each payment and to whom made.

Such report shall contain a pertinent statement as to whether any funds on hand are invested, the character of the securities therefor, and such other matters as the director deems expedient or the legislative authority requires.

The director shall report quarterly to the legislative authority all the moneys received and disbursed by him in the management of the cemetery.

Section 759.18 | Enlargement of grounds.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When, in his judgment , an enlargement of any burial or cemetery grounds becomes necessary, or grounds for additional cemeteries should be provided, the director of public service shall report such fact to the legislative authority of the city, and recommend such action as he deems most expedient.

Section 759.19 | Transfer of village cemetery - powers and duties of township trustees.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

In all cases in which the legislative authority of a village which has title to a cemetery fails to take proper care thereof, and the township in which the village is located desires to control such cemetery, the village may, by ordinance, transfer any real property acquired for cemetery purpose to the board of township trustees, upon such terms as are agreed to between the village and the board.

The board may receive and accept transfer, and receive and accept from any other source or acquire in any other manner, any real property for the purpose of such cemetery, and may use and apply it for such purpose and enter into any contract relating thereto. After such transfer has been completed the board shall regulate the cemetery as provided in sections 517.01 to 517.32, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

Section 759.20 | Board of cemetery trustees.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The mayor of a village owning a public burial ground or cemetery may appoint a board to be known as the board of cemetery trustees. Such board shall consist of three members, whose term of office shall be three years, but the term of office of the members first appointed shall extend until the first municipal election thereafter, and until the officers chosen at such election are qualified and placed in office. Thereafter the mayor shall appoint a board of three trustees as follows: One for a term of six years, one for a term of four years, and one for a term of two years. Biennially thereafter, after each municipal election has been held and the newly elected officers have been qualified and placed in office, the mayor shall at the first meeting of the legislative authority of such village appoint one member to the board whose term of office shall be for six years.

Section 759.21 | Vacancies.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

In case of vacancy in the board of cemetery trustees in any village appointed as provided in section 759.20 of the Revised Code by reason of death, disability, or removal from office of a member, the mayor shall appoint a member to fill such vacancy. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made at the first meeting of the legislative authority of the village after such vacancy has been brought to the attention of the mayor and the legislative authority.

Section 759.22 | Removals.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The mayor of a village in which there is a board of cemetery trustees appointed under section 759.20 of the Revised Code may remove from office any member of such board for misconduct, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.

Section 759.23 | Organization of board of trustees for village cemeteries.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The board of cemetery trustees shall have the powers and perform the duties prescribed by sections 759.09 to 759.18, inclusive, of the Revised Code, for the director of public service in cities.

Section 759.25 | Villages may tax for funeral coach or vault on vote of electors.

• Effective: July 2, 2010
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 48 - 128th General Assembly

The legislative authority of a village may levy a tax for the purchase of a funeral coach or the construction of a vault for the dead, for the use of the village. Such resolution shall be filed with the board of elections not later than four p.m. of the ninetieth day before the day of the election. The question of levying such tax, for either or both purposes, and the amount asked therefor, shall be separately submitted to the electors of the village at a general election. Twenty days' notice of such election shall be given by posting in at least three public places in the village. The notice shall state specifically the amount to be raised, and for what purpose. If a majority of all the votes cast at the election is in favor of either or both propositions, they shall be considered adopted and the tax authorized. The funeral coach and vault shall be under the control of the board of cemetery trustees of the village where there is such board, otherwise under the control of the legislative authority or person appointed by it.

Section 759.26 | Form of ballot.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The electors of a village voting at an election as provided by section 759.25 of the Revised Code shall have placed on their ballots the words, "Tax for Funeral Coach--Yes," or "Tax for Funeral Coach--No," and upon the same ballot, "Tax for Vault--Yes," or "Tax for Vault--No," and may vote for one proposition and against the other, or for or against both.

Section 759.27 | Union of municipal corporations and townships for cemetery purposes.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The legislative authorities of two or more municipal corporations, or of one or more municipal corporations and the boards of township trustees of one or more townships, when conveniently located for that purpose, may unite in the establishment and management of a cemetery, by the purchase or appropriation of land therefor not exceeding one hundred acres, to be paid for as provided by section 759.30 of the Revised Code.

Section 759.28 | Appropriation of land for cemetery purposes.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When an appropriation of land for cemetery purposes mentioned in section 759.27 of the Revised Code becomes necessary, it shall be made by the municipal corporation, or if there is more than one such municipal corporation, then by the one having the largest number of inhabitants at the last federal census. Such municipal corporation, in making the appropriation, shall act for itself and any other municipal corporation or township uniting with it, and the proceedings therefor shall be the same as provided in section 719.01 to 719.21, inclusive, of the Revised Code, where the appropriation is to be made for the use of the corporation alone.

Section 759.29 | Titles vested.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The title to the grounds of the cemetery provided for in section 759.27 of the Revised Code, whether by purchase or otherwise, shall vest in and be held by the municipal corporation making the appropriation, in trust for the use of its inhabitants and the inhabitants of the other municipal corporations or townships in common. Provisions shall be made for the interment in such cemetery of all persons buried at the expense of the municipal corporation or township.

Section 759.30 | Apportionment of expense.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The expense of the purchase, or of the proceedings in case of appropriation and the damages awarded, or both, for land for cemetery purposes under section 759.27 of the Revised Code, shall be borne by the municipal corporations and townships in proportion to the property of each on the duplicate for taxation. The amount of bonds issued by each for such cemetery purposes shall be in the same proportion, and the percentage of taxation for all such cemetery purposes shall be the same in the municipal corporations and townships, but moneys in the hands of the board of cemetery trustees, derived from any source, not needed to keep in order or embellish the grounds, by resolution of the legislative authorities of the municipal corporations and the boards of township trustees, may be applied to the expenses of purchase, or of appropriation and damages awarded, or both, in securing additional lands for the cemetery.

Section 759.31 | Control and management - compensation.

• Effective: September 9, 1988
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 704 - 117th General Assembly

A cemetery owned in common as provided by section 759.27 of the Revised Code, shall be under the control and management of the board of township trustees and the legislative authorities of the municipal corporations, and their authority over it and duties in relation thereto shall be the same as where the cemetery is the exclusive property of a single municipal corporation.

A board of union cemetery trustees may fix the compensation of the members thereof, and such compensation shall be in accordance with the time actually consumed by such members in the discharge of their official duties, but such compensation shall not exceed fifteen dollars for each meeting nor exceed one hundred eighty dollars per year. Such compensation shall be in addition to compensation received as a member of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation or of the board of township trustees.

Section 759.32 | Power to enforce ordinances.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The legislative authority of a municipal corporation owning a cemetery in common with any other municipal corporation or township may pass and enforce all ordinances necessary to carry into effect sections 759.27 to 759.44, inclusive, of the Revised Code, and such as are deemed necessary for the preservation and regulation of the cemetery and the protection thereof, and for the punishment of any person violating the ordinances, rules, and regulations, relating to the cemetery. The mayor and police officers of the municipal corporation shall have complete jurisdiction and authority to enforce all ordinances, rules, and regulations, as if the cemetery grounds were located within or owned exclusively by such municipal corporation.

Section 759.33 | Discrimination forbidden.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

No distinction or discrimination of any kind shall be made by the board of cemetery trustees of a cemetery owned in common as provided in section 759.27 of the Revised Code in favor of one municipal corporation against another, or in favor of a municipal corporation against a township, or in favor of a township against a municipal corporation, but the affairs of the cemetery shall in all respects be managed as though it were owned and governed in the interests of the municipal corporation or township alone.

Section 759.34 | Joint meeting.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

In case of a union for cemetery purposes between a municipal corporation and a township as provided by section 759.27 of the Revised Code, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation and the board of township trustees shall have a joint meeting at the council-chamber of the municipal corporation, on the day of the first regular meeting of the legislative authority in the month of May each year, for the purpose of determining the rate of tax to be levied upon the taxable property of the municipal corporation and the township for such purposes. Upon the passage of a joint resolution by a majority of the members of the legislative authority and the board of township trustees, fixing the rate of taxation, the clerk of the municipal corporation shall certify such rate to the county auditor for assessment and collection. If there is more than one municipal corporation or township united for such purposes, the legislative authorities and boards shall become such joint body with the same powers as if there has been one municipal corporation and one township, and the clerk of the municipal corporation containing the greatest number of inhabitants shall certify to the auditor as provided by this section, the rate of taxation.

Section 759.341 | Union cemetery district.

• Effective: October 20, 1987
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 140 - 117th General Assembly

The legislative authority of each municipal corporation and the board of township trustees of each township that has united in the establishment and management of a cemetery under section 759.27 of the Revised Code, by an affirmative vote of a majority of each legislative authority and board, may form a union cemetery district comprised of all of the territory within the united municipal corporation and township for the purpose of levying taxes within the territory of the district for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of the cemetery. The legislative authority and board, acting jointly, shall constitute the taxing authority of the union cemetery district. Notwithstanding sections 759.37, 5705.19, and 5705.191 of the Revised Code, in order to adopt a resolution to levy a tax in excess of the ten-mill limitation within the district, a majority of the members of each legislative authority and board of township trustees constituting the taxing authority must vote in favor of the resolution. In all other matters, when the legislative authority and board are acting jointly as the taxing authority of the union cemetery district, each member of the legislative authority and board shall have one vote as described in section 759.37 of the Revised Code.

Section 759.35 | Joint meetings to make rules.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The boards of township trustees of townships or the legislative authorities of municipal corporations which have a cemetery owned in common as provided in section 759.27 of the Revised Code may at any time call a joint meeting of such legislative authorities and boards on a reasonable notice given by either, for the purpose of making joint rules and regulations for the government of the cemetery, or changing them, and making such orders as are found necessary for the application of moneys arising from the sale of lots, taxes, or otherwise.

Section 759.36 | Board of cemetery trustees - clerk-treasurer.

• Effective: September 29, 2015
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly

At any joint meeting provided for by section 759.35 of the Revised Code, or at the joint meeting provided for by section 759.34 of the Revised Code, by a majority vote of all present counting members of the legislative authorities of municipal corporations and of boards of township trustees, the meeting may elect a board of cemetery trustees consisting of three members, of which one or more must be a member of each of the separate boards of township trustees and legislative authorities which comprise the union cemetery association represented by the joint meeting.

The board of cemetery trustees so elected shall have the custody of the funds derived from the tax levy provided by section 759.34 of the Revised Code, and the political subdivision shall pay the funds to the board of cemetery trustees upon its application for them. The board of cemetery trustees also shall have the custody of the funds derived from any tax levied by the union cemetery district under Chapter 5705. of the Revised Code. The board of cemetery trustees shall have all the powers and perform all the duties exercised and performed by the director of public service of a municipal corporation under sections 759.09 to 759.14 of the Revised Code. The board of cemetery trustees may create a permanent endowment fund for the express purpose of keeping the cemetery clean and in good order and may:

(A) Add to the price regularly charged for lots a sum for that purpose;

(B) Receive gifts for that purpose;

(C) Enter into separate agreements with the purchasers of lots by which an agreed part of the purchase price shall constitute a permanent fund;

(D) Receive individual gifts for the fund, the income thereof to be used for the upkeep and care of lots.

When any such funds are received or created, they shall be a permanent fund for such use and the income therefrom shall be used only for such purpose, and the principal sum shall be kept and invested under the same terms fixed by law for the investment of the funds of a minor by the minor's guardian except that upon unanimous consent of the board of cemetery trustees, the board may use the principal of the fund if the board is unable to keep the cemetery clean and in good order using only the income from the fund.

At the first election of the board of cemetery trustees, one member shall be chosen for one year, one for two years, and one for three years, together with the part of a year intervening between the time of the election and the first day of January next thereafter. Yearly thereafter, at the joint meeting held in May, one member shall be chosen for three years commencing on the first day of January next thereafter. Any regular or regularly called joint meeting of the board of township trustees and municipal legislative authority may fill vacancies occurring on the board of cemetery trustees by a majority vote of the members present, the election to be for the unexpired term.

One member of the board of cemetery trustees or a person selected by the board of trustees shall be designated the clerk-treasurer for a term not to exceed two years. The clerk-treasurer shall be compensated from the cemetery fund in an amount fixed by the board of trustees in view of the size and financial condition of the cemetery association. The clerk-treasurer shall be charged with the duty of accounting for the fund and shall be bonded in an amount equal to or greater than the amount in the fund, but not less than one thousand dollars, the bond to be subject to the approval of the board of cemetery trustees and to be paid for from the cemetery funds.

Any member of the board of cemetery trustees may be removed by the joint meeting, on a two-thirds vote of all members entitled to sit in such meeting, for misfeasance or malfeasance in office, gross neglect of duty, or gross immorality, but no member shall be so removed until having had at least ten days' notice in writing, together with a copy of the charges against the member, and an opportunity to appear and defend self either in person or by counsel.

Section 759.37 | Vote and record of joint meetings.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

In joint meetings mentioned in sections 759.34 and 759.35 of the Revised Code, each member of the legislative authorities of municipal corporations and each member of the boards of township trustees shall have one vote in determining all questions. The proceedings of joint meetings shall be recorded by the clerk of the municipal corporation having the greatest number of inhabitants.

Section 759.38 | Adjoining townships admitted to participation.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

A township adjoining one in which a union cemetery is established as provided in section 759.27 of the Revised Code, may, by the consent of the board of township trustees of the latter township and of the legislative authorities of the municipal corporations, be admitted to an equal participation with the inhabitants thereof in the rights and privileges in the cemetery, upon such terms as are mutually agreed upon, but the title and control of such cemetery shall continue vested in the municipal corporation.

Section 759.39 | Municipal corporation or township may withdraw.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

A municipal corporation or township united with other municipal corporations or townships in the establishment or control of a union cemetery, or both, may, by a resolution of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation or of the board of township trustees and with the consent of the legislative authorities of the remaining municipal corporations and the boards of the remaining townships, withdraw from the management and control of such cemetery and relinquish interest therein. Thereupon the cemetery shall be under the management and control of the remaining municipal corporations and townships.

Section 759.40 | Public burial ground may be appropriated.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

In the establishment of a union cemetery, a municipal corporation and a township may make use of a public burial ground or cemetery held by the municipal corporation or township, and may make use of any land acquired by dedication, gift, or devise for burial purposes.

Section 759.41 | Purchase of lands - improvements.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The legislative authority of a municipal corporation and the board of township trustees of a township, may purchase, for cemetery purposes, from an incorporated cemetery association the lands, lots, and improvements of such association remaining unsold and take a conveyance thereof. Such purchase money shall be applied to the payment of the legal debts of the association, and to the embellishment and preservation of the land purchased, and such other purposes as the trustees of the cemetery direct.

Section 759.42 | Municipal corporation or township may transfer cemetery property to cemetery association.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The legislative authority of a municipal corporation and the board of township trustees may transfer to an incorporated cemetery association the lands, lots, and improvements of a cemetery owned and controlled by the municipal corporation or township for cemetery purposes. The association shall assume all legal debts on the cemeteries so transferred.

Section 759.43 | Rights and titles inviolate.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The rights and titles of lot owners, purchased prior to the sale and conveyance under section 759.42 of the Revised Code, shall not be questioned, and such lot owners shall continue to hold and occupy their lots, under such rules and regulations as are adopted for the government and regulation of the cemetery by the authorities making the purchase.

Section 759.44 | Clerk shall record plat of ground.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The clerk of the municipal corporation shall record in a book provided for that purpose, a plat of all grounds for cemetery purposes laid out into avenues, walks, paths, and lots, and he shall execute to the purchasers of lots such conveyances as are necessary to carry into effect the contracts of sale. The conveyance shall, at the expense of the person receiving it, be recorded by the clerk in a book kept for that purpose.

Section 759.45 | Acquisition of cemetery approach.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The officers having control and management of a public cemetery, acting under sections 759.02 to 759.48, inclusive, of the Revised Code, may acquire property necessary, in the judgment of a majority of them, for a better approach thereto. No lot or parcel of land or part thereof upon which a dwelling house is situated shall be so appropriated. Such property may be acquired by gift, purchase, appropriation, or by exchange therefor of property of the cemetery used for an approach thereto, and which is, in the judgment of a majority of such officers, rendered unnecessary by such new approach.

Section 759.46 | Conveyances.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The title to property acquired under section 759.45 of the Revised Code shall vest in the township or municipal corporation owning the cemetery. The officers making such exchange shall execute, in the name of the township or municipal corporation, conveyances of the property so exchanged. No property shall be acquired by purchase or appropriation unless the money necessary to pay for it is in the cemetery fund. Land so acquired may not be used for burial purposes nor be subject to statutory restrictions against the appropriation and use of property for cemetery purposes.

Section 759.47 | Sale of old approach.

• Effective: September 29, 2011
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 153 - 129th General Assembly

Land belonging to a public cemetery and used for an approach thereto, and which is, in the judgment of a majority of the officers having control or management thereof, unnecessary for cemetery purposes, may be sold by them at public sale to the highest bidder after advertisement as provided in section 7.16 of the Revised Code or once a week for five consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the county in which the cemetery is situated. The board of township trustees or board of cemetery trustees of a municipal corporation making such sale shall execute in the name of the township or municipal corporation owning such cemetery proper conveyances for the land so sold.

Section 759.48 | Appropriation of property.

• Effective: January 1, 1966
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 94 - 106th General Assembly

When the officers having control or management of a public cemetery deem it necessary to appropriate property for a new and better approach to the cemetery, and have passed a resolution declaring the necessity thereof and their intention to make such appropriation, they shall make application to the court of common pleas or to a judge thereof in vacation, or to the probate court of the county in which the property or a part thereof is located, in the manner prescribed in section 163.05 of the Revised Code, and the proceedings therefor shall be conducted as prescribed by sections 163.01 to 163.22, inclusive, of the Revised Code.

Section 759.49 | Rules governing product of fetal death.

• Effective: September 12, 2008
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 175 - 127th General Assembly

(A) As used in this section and section 759.491 of the Revised Code, "fetal death" has the same meaning as in section 3705.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) The legislative authority of a municipal corporation owning a public burial ground or cemetery, whether within or without the municipal corporation, may pass and provide for the enforcement of ordinances for the burial, re-interment, or disinterment of the product of a fetal death in that public burial ground or cemetery.

(C) With regard to the product of a fetal death, on the request of the mother and in compliance with the public burial ground or cemetery's ordinances, a public burial ground or cemetery shall inter the product of the fetal death in accordance with one of the following:

(1) In a single grave within the public burial ground or cemetery that contains, or will contain, the remains of a parent, sibling, or grandparent;

(2) In another location of the public burial ground or cemetery, including a separate burial ground for infants, on a temporary or permanent basis.

Section 759.491 | Reinterment or disinterment of product of fetal death.

• Effective: September 12, 2008
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 175 - 127th General Assembly

(A) Subject to division (B) of this section, re-interment or disinterment of the product of a fetal death buried in accordance with division (C)(2) of section 759.49 of the Revised Code is not subject to section 517.24 of the Revised Code if one or both surviving parents provide written consent for the re-interment or disinterment to the public burial ground or cemetery and comply with any ordinances passed under division (B) of section 759.49 of the Revised Code.

(B) If two surviving parents are indicated on the public burial ground's or the cemetery's burial documents for the product of a fetal death buried in accordance with division (C)(2) of section 759.49 of the Revised Code and only one has given consent under division (A) of this section, prior to re-interment or disinterment, the public burial ground or cemetery promptly shall give notice of the consent to the parent who did not give consent. The notice shall be sent by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the parent's last known address and contain a statement that the re-interment or disinterment will occur if the burial ground or cemetery does not receive written objection within thirty days from the date the notice is sent. That parent may object to the re-interment or disinterment by giving notice to the burial ground or cemetery by registered mail, return receipt requested, not later than thirty days after the burial ground's or the cemetery's notice is sent. If the burial ground or cemetery receives timely notice of the objection, the re-interment or disinterment is subject to section 517.24 of the Revised Code.

(C) The public burial ground or cemetery shall re-inter or disinter the product of a fetal death if both surviving parents provide written consent for the re-interment or disinterment or if one parent consents and the public burial ground or cemetery does not receive timely notice of an objection under division (B) of this section.