HB395 and SB106 are quite similar in nature. :
As Introduced
131st General Assembly
Regular Session H. B. No. 395
2015-2016
Representative Pelanda
Cosponsors: Representatives Green, Grossman, Fedor, Ruhl,
Hill, Sprague
A BILL
To amend sections 3705.17 and 4767.01 and to enact section
4767.09 of the Revised Code to establish the cemetery grant program and to make
an appropriation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Introduced
131st General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 106
2015-2016
Senator Tavares
Cosponsors: Senators Yuko, Seitz, Williams
A BILL
To amend section 4767.03 and to enact section
4767.10 of the Revised Code to establish the
Township Abandoned Cemetery Maintenance Grant
Program.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Even one of these bills would have helped with supplying
some appropriation of funds for abandoned cemeteries in Ohio. I suppose most folks don't really care about
Ohio’s early burial grounds; that is unless and until they discover their own
ancestors are buried in them; and if they also discover that their grave stones
are either sinking out of sight, vandalized, or barely readable.
Also, cemetery vandalism is on the rise at all cemeteries,
not just the abandoned ones. Look at
Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus which is having to reach out through a
Go-Fund-Me account to obtain enough funds because of currently over a million dollars
worth of damage done there due to repeated episodes of vandalism of gravestones and monuments in the last few
years.
Untold numbers of volunteers who care are working on their own or in small groups to do the best that they can to restore gravestones, gravesites, and clean up cemetery grounds, but the need is so great in every Ohio county.
Untold numbers of volunteers who care are working on their own or in small groups to do the best that they can to restore gravestones, gravesites, and clean up cemetery grounds, but the need is so great in every Ohio county.
Ohio also greatly lacks strong enough laws to properly
protect and preserve its cemeteries.
Townships are dependent on levies to pass, ongoing disputes arise over cemetery ownership due to various reasons including owners who have left the state and abandoned them. The list goes on an on; and yet Ohio state government is largely absent for its part in reversing this situation that is so adversely affecting its cemeteries.
Townships are dependent on levies to pass, ongoing disputes arise over cemetery ownership due to various reasons including owners who have left the state and abandoned them. The list goes on an on; and yet Ohio state government is largely absent for its part in reversing this situation that is so adversely affecting its cemeteries.
Too much history has already been lost; cemeteries are an
integral part of their communities; yet some are so lost and forgotten that
even local residents don't realize that they are even there.
From: Greater Ohio Policy Center <greaterohio@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, December 2, 2016 3:12 PM
Subject: Re: [Restoring Prosperity to Ohio] Comment: "Ohio General Assembly: 2016 Election Review, Lame Duck, and Upcoming Budget "
"The issues you inquired about fall outside of our usual scope of work. However, we do have a brief summary of the bills you inquired about:
HB395 (Pelanda) has received a single hearing in the House Finance Committee. That took place on November 15. The bill is not scheduled to be heard next week.
We have inquired with Rep. Pelanda’s office to find out if there is a plan to take any other form of action on the bill in lame duck (such as amending it into another bill) but as of 3pm have not received a response.
SB106 (Tavares) has not received any hearings and will not before the end of lame duck session."
Hope this helps.
Best,
Greater Ohio Policy Center staff
"Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its
dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its
people, their respect for the laws of the land and their loyalty to high
ideals."
By Sir William Gladstone
