Previous Story
Floor Leader seeks regulation of public cemeteries
|
Posted on Aug 17 2008
House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho has introduced legislation that seeks to regulate public cemeteries in the CNMI.
Under Camacho’s House Bill 16-141, the mayors of Saipan, Rota, Tinian, and the Northern Islands shall be in-charge of administering and managing public cemeteries within their respective municipalities.
The legislation also gives the mayors authority to charge not exceed to $250 in application requirements, approval, issuance and fee for burial permits.
However, the fee may be waived for indigent families as well as unclaimed bodies.
“Having the mayor’s office in charge makes sure that public cemeteries are kept clean, well groomed, and the people know where to go in the unfortunate event a family member passes away,” Camacho told Saipan Tribune in an e-mail.
Camacho pointed out that all existing burial plots, headstones, and markers prior to the enactment of the bill shall be grandfathered.
“I know that burial plots with the headstones and markers have started to grow out of control and it needs to be regulated,” he said.
The Floor Leader stressed that if his bill is signed into law, it will only affect future burial plots.
“Out of respect to the souls of the departed and the families we will not touch those burial plots that exist prior to this bill,” he said.
Citing the scarcity of land for public cemeteries, Camacho underscored the need to regulate the size, length, and wide of future burial plots.
“Because land space is limited we have to make better use of it and one way is to regulate the location, size, length, wide of burial plots,” the lawmaker said.
Camacho said the only current statute pertaining to public cemeteries provides for the administration of the Marpi Public Cemetery.
The bill mandated the mayors to keep record of burial plot locations, names, dates, and other identifying information.
