Lawmakers hear bills to fund, inventory and better protect abandoned and historic cemeteries

Annapolis — Advocacy groups, genealogists and local preservationists urged the House Health and Government Operations Committee to move a package of bills aimed at documenting, funding and protecting abandoned and historic cemeteries across Maryland.

Delegate Gary Simmons, sponsor of several related measures, told the committee that constituents from Anne Arundel and other counties brought the issue forward as a priority. “This is something that came out of my community, bringing to my concern about abandoned and neglected cemeteries, not only throughout Anne Arundel County, but throughout the state of Maryland,” he said.

Four measures drew testimony: House Bill 535 would create an abandoned and neglected cemetery fund funded by an optional income‑tax checkoff; House Bill 509 would create a Maryland Inventory of Cemeteries and Burial Sites work group to design a unified state database; House Bill 711 would direct a study of death‑care and funeral practices including crematory emissions and record retention; and House Bill 724 would establish a Commission on Abandoned and Neglected Maryland Cemeteries to coordinate state and local action.

Witnesses including Jennifer Johnson of Friends of St. Peter’s Cemetery, Eileen McGuckie of the Coalition to Protect Maryland Burial Sites and David Zinner of the Maryland Advisory Council for Cemetery Oversight told the committee the state lacks a single authoritative inventory of burial sites and that ownership and records gaps block preservation and maintenance. “So having a GPS location for every cemetery is really critical,” Zinner said.

Advocates said a low‑cost tax checkoff could seed a fund to support restoration and leverage private and local grants. “The purpose of this fund is to give care, maintenance, and restoration of these cemeteries,” Christine Simmons, a genealogist from Anne Arundel County, told the committee.

Local officials and nonprofit volunteers described examples in which churches disbanded, families moved away or deed and tax records were incomplete, leaving sites unmaintained. The Joint Chairmen’s Report that studied historic African American cemeteries in 2022 recommended a publicly accessible map and data layer; supporters said the proposed inventory and commission would implement that recommendation.

Committee members asked about eligibility, dispersal mechanisms and coordination with the State Treasurer and Controller. Delegate Simmons was asked to consult with the Treasurer and Controller’s offices — both of which are involved in fund administration and tax‑checkoff mechanics — and to provide the committee with additional detail about grant eligibility and the fund‑disbursement mechanism.

Several witnesses and committee members also pointed out potential fiscal and staffing implications. The Office of Cemetery Oversight told the committee that additional staff would be needed to support a new statewide inventory unless partner institutions such as universities or nonprofits were tapped to supply staff time or technical work.

Why it matters: Maryland has thousands of small and historic family and church cemeteries. Preservation advocates say better documentation, modest dedicated funding and a state coordinating function would make it possible to protect burial sites and allow descendants to locate graves, especially in counties where recordkeeping is patchy or ownership is unclear.

What’s next: Sponsors pledged to follow up with the Treasurer’s and Controller’s offices to clarify administration and distribution rules for any checkoff fund and to work with the Office of Cemetery Oversight on staffing and partnerships for a statewide inventory and commission.