1. (a)

   1. (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.

   2. (2)

      1. (i) “Perpetual care” means the maintenance, including the cutting of grass abutting memorials or monuments, administration, supervision, and embellishments of a cemetery and its grounds, roads, and paths.
      2. (ii) “Perpetual care” includes the repair and renewal of buildings, including columbaria and mausoleums, and the property of the cemetery.

   3. (3) “State facility” means:

      1. (i) a facility maintained by the Behavioral Health Administration of the Maryland Department of Health and listed in § 10-406 of the Health--General Article;
      2. (ii) a State residential center for individuals with an intellectual disability in the Developmental Disabilities Administration of the Maryland Department of Health; and

      3. (iii) a facility that formerly met the definition of “State facility” under item (i) or (ii) of this subsection, including:

         1. 1. the former Rosewood Center; and
         2. 2. the former Crownsville Hospital Center.
2. (b) A cemetery owned by the State and located on the grounds of a State facility may not be sold by the State if the State facility is downsized, consolidated, closed, or sold.
3. (c) A cemetery owned by the State and located on the grounds of a State facility shall be provided perpetual care and marked with a monument commemorating the individuals interred in the cemetery.

4. (d) Activities or projects undertaken under subsection (c) of this section shall be undertaken in consultation with the Maryland Historical Trust, in accordance with the consultation provisions:

   1. (1) for capital projects under § 5A-325 of this article; and
   2. (2) for issuance of permits or licenses or provision of financial assistance under § 5A-326(d)(2) of this article.
5. (e) Any easement or right of entry to a cemetery owned by the State and located on the grounds of a State facility that has been recorded among the land records of the county where the cemetery is located on or before October 1, 2004 may not be transferred or sold.
6. (f) Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (e) of this section, a cemetery or an easement or right of entry to a cemetery owned by the State and located on the grounds of a State facility may be sold by the State if the deed for the property includes a restrictive covenant requiring the owner and any future owner to maintain the cemetery as provided under subsection (c) of this section.
7. (g) The provisions of § 5-502 of the Business Regulation Article apply to a cemetery owned by the State and located on the grounds of a State facility.
8. (h) Beginning January 1, 2015, and on or before January 1 of each succeeding year, the Maryland Department of Health shall report, in accordance with § 2-1257 of the State Government Article, to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Health and Government Operations Committee on the implementation of this section.

Added by Acts 2004, c. 414, § 1, eff. July 1, 2004. Amended by Acts 2009, c. 119, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2009; Acts 2014, c. 305, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2014; Acts 2014, c. 460, § 1, eff. July 1, 2014; Acts 2017, c. 62, § 6; Acts 2019, c. 8, § 5.