# Virginia HB1237: Cemeteries; maintenance of abandoned or neglected graveyards, owner unknown. Virginia HB1237, Cemeteries; maintenance of abandoned or neglected graveyards, owner unknown., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Briana D. Sewell (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0278)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1237-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia HB1237 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Cemeteries; maintenance of abandoned or neglected graveyards, owner unknown. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-14 - Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0278) - Sponsor: Briana D. Sewell (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 8 (319 yes, 1 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 2 ## Summary Cemeteries; maintenance of abandoned or neglected graveyards; owner unknown. Permits the owner of adjacent land or an incorporated nonprofit entity to petition the circuit court for an exclusive license to maintain a graveyard that has been abandoned, is unused and neglected by the owner, and the owner of such graveyard is unknown, or cannot with reasonable diligence be found. The bill requires the petitioner to (i) demonstrate a good faith effort to identify and contact an owner of record of the graveyard and (ii) publish in a newspaper having general circulation in the locality in which the graveyard is located, once a week for two consecutive weeks, notice that a petition for a maintenance license has been filed. The bill allows a court to grant a petitioner an exclusive license for the maintenance of an abandoned graveyard not to exceed five years. Such petitioner may, by petition of the court, renew such license indefinitely. After the court grants a petitioner a license to maintain the property, the owner of such graveyard may petition the circuit court of the county or city in which the graveyard is located to terminate the license. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Protections for identified graveyard owners: benefit, low. If you own the graveyard, you can ask the circuit court to end a maintenance license that was granted to someone else. You are generally immune from civil lawsuits for access granted under this law, unless you were grossly negligent or acted with willful misconduct. - Neighbors and nonprofits can get graveyard license: mixed, low. If you own land next to an abandoned, unused, and neglected graveyard, or you are a local nonprofit, you can ask the circuit court in that county or city for an exclusive license to maintain it when the owner is unknown or cannot be found. Before the hearing, you must try in good faith to contact t… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Briana D. Sewell (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-03-06 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 | | | 2026-03-06 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Reported from General Laws and Technology | pass | 15 | 0 | | | 2026-02-04 | House | Passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 | | | 2026-02-04 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 97 | 1 | | | 2026-01-29 | House | Reported from General Laws | pass | 21 | 0 | | | 2026-01-27 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 9 | 0 | | ## Actions (28) - 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0278) (Governor) - 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 278 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor) - 2026-03-25: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor) - 2026-03-25: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 25, 2026 (House) - 2026-03-16: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1237) (House) - 2026-03-14: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1237ER) (House) - 2026-03-14: Enrolled (House) - 2026-03-14: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-14: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-03-09: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-09: Read third time (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Reported from General Laws and Technology (15-Y 0-N) (Senate) - 2026-02-05: Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology (Senate) - 2026-02-05: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate) - 2026-02-04: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 1-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-02-04: Passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-02-04: Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House (House) - 2026-02-03: Read second time and engrossed (House) - 2026-02-03: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1237) (House) - 2026-02-02: Read first time (House) - 2026-01-29: Reported from General Laws (21-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-01-27: Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N) (House) - 2026-01-26: Assigned HGL sub: ABC/Gaming (House) - 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on General Laws (House) - 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102487D (House) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217179.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217178.PDF) - Enrolled, 2026-03-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209031.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209030.PDF) - Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087873.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087872.PDF) ## Related bills - HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed) - SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed) - HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed) - HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed) - HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed) - HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed) ## Sources - [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217179.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217178.PDF) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209031.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209030.PDF) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087873.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087872.PDF) ## Related - [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026) - [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026) - [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026) - [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026) - [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026) - [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026) - [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills) - [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1237-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).