But a bill regarding vacant burial plots takes a different direction.
Annapolis, Md (KM) A bill dealing with vacancies on the Frederick County School Board is moving forward. On Friday, the local Legislative Delegation agreed to move the measure to the General Assembly.
Delegate Karen Lewis Young made the passing motion to move the bill forward. She said it actually won Delegation support. last year. “It got stuck in {the} Ways and Means {Committee} because of a misunderstanding. And I’ve been guaranteed they’re going to move it this year,” she says.
But Legislators need to act now. “There’s new leadership there so you don’t want to take a risk by getting it in too late,” Young said.
The local bill would let voters decide on a replacement in most cases if a vacancy occurs on the Board of Education. Depending upon when the vacancy occurs, the voters could decide on the School Board replacement during a general election. The measure was drafted by County Councilman Steve McKay.
Legislation dealing with vacant burial plots is being referred to legislators whose committees handle these issues. The bill proposed by the County Executive would require the owners of burial plots to notify the cemetery of their current address. It also says any plot which is unused for 75-years, and the owners can’t be found could revert back to the cemetery. This measure would help alleviate the problem of persons purchasing burial plots who do not tell other family members about it.
Frederick County State Senator Michael Hough made the passing motion to send a letter to the relevant committee chair people. “It would say that this issue has been brought up from a constituent in our area. We’re bringing it to your attention. That’s literally all I’m suggesting that we do. We just forward it to the appropriate people,” he said. “I think it’s a statewide issue, not a local issue.”
This motion also says the Delegation will not be discussing this issue in the future.
The idea for this legislation came from the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association in Monrovia.
By Kevin McManus