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Misc Oklahoma Statutes Regarding Cemeteries

§21-1167.  Injury to cemetery or tomb.

Every person who shall willfully with malicious intent destroy, mutilate, deface, injure or remove any tomb, monument or gravestone, or other structure placed in any cemetery or private burying ground, or any fence, railing, or other work for the protection or ornament of any such cemetery or place of burial of any human being, or tomb, monument or gravestone, memento, or memorial, or other structure aforesaid, or of any lot within a cemetery, or shall willfully or with malicious intent destroy, cut, break, or injure any tree, shrub or plant, within the limits thereof, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00), nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

R.L.1910, § 2462.  Amended by Laws 2001, c. 386, § 1, eff. July 1, 2001.
os_21-1167.rtf

§8-187. Abandoned cemetery on privately owned land - Visitation rights.

Any relative of the deceased who wishes to visit an abandoned cemetery which is completely surrounded by privately owned land, for which no public ingress or egress is available, shall have the right to reasonable ingress or egress for the purpose of visiting such cemetery. This right of access to such cemeteries extends only to visitation during reasonable hours and only for purposes usually associated with cemetery visits. For the purposes of this section, "abandoned cemetery" means any place where human skeletal remains are buried and which no body has been interred for at least twenty-five (25) years and where such site is readily identifiable as a cemetery by an inspection of the property. Any relative of the deceased who wishes to visit an abandoned cemetery shall make a good faith effort to notify the owners and tenants, if any, of said property prior to visiting the cemetery. This section shall not be interpreted to allow the creation of an easement or claim of easement nor a right of ownership or claim of right of ownership to an abandoned cemetery.

Added by Laws 1992, c. 214, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1992.
http://www2.lsb.state.ok.us/os/os%5F8%2D187.rtf

§8-186. Ingress to and egress from certain cemeteries.

Any cemetery in this state consisting of ten or more grave spaces, lots, crypts or niches, including but not limited to, locations on property held in fee title, by leasehold, estate or easement by the state, any county, municipality, district, religious or fraternal organization, corporation, nonprofit corporation, partnership, association, individual or trust or charitable or eleemosynary institution, shall be allowed sufficient ingress to and egress from such cemetery by allowing the establishment of streets, roads or other public rights of way for such purpose. Such entity shall further allow sufficient ingress to and egress from any grave space, lot, crypt or niche within the cemetery by allowing sufficient access to any portion of the cemetery for such purpose.

Added by Laws 1986, c. 90, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1986. 
http://www2.lsb.state.ok.us/os/os%5F8%2D186.rtf

§21-1168.1.  Buying, selling or bartering for profit of human skeletal remains or associated burial furniture

Anyone who knowingly buys, sells or barters for profit human skeletal remains or associated burial furniture, previously buried within this state, shall be guilty of a felony.

Added by Laws 1987, c. 204, § 13, operative July 1, 1987.
Amended by Laws 1997, c. 133, § 303, eff. July 1, 1999.
os_21-1168.1.rtf

NOTE:  Laws 1998, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 2, § 23 amended the effective date of Laws 1997, c. 133, § 303 from July 1, 1998, to July 1, 1999.

Laws 1971, c. 267, § 1.

It shall be unlawful for any person, group of persons, firm, corporation, organization, association or any other entity of any type to deny, refuse or prohibit the interment, entombment or burial of the remains of any deceased person in any cemetery, whether owned publicly or privately, because of the race, color or national origin of such deceased person.

source: http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/deliverdocument.asp?citeID=74276

§8-143. Maintenance and improvement of certain cemeteries by county commissioners.

In any county of this state wherein a county cemetery association has not been organized, as authorized by 8 O.S. 1951, Sections 131-141, inclusive, or has ceased to function after organization, the board of county commissioners is hereby authorized and empowered to utilize employees under their jurisdiction and county-owned tools, machinery, equipment, and materials for the purposes of opening and closing graves and maintaining and improving any publicly owned cemetery or other cemetery within the county not owned and maintained by an individual or private organization; provided that, where appropriate, a reasonable fee, not to exceed the actual cost of the service, may be charged for such services.

Laws 1961, p. 14, § 1; Laws 1977, c. 64, § 1, emerg. eff. May 23, 1977.
http://www2.lsb.state.ok.us/os/os%5F8%2D143.rtf