2015 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 7 - Municipalities
Chapter 93 - Registrars of Vital Statistics
Section 7-66 - Duties of sextons. Sextons’ reports. Penalty.

(a) The sexton of a cemetery shall specify on the removal, transit and burial permit the place of burial, by section, lot or grave, or other place of interment. If the removal, transit and burial permit is recorded in an electronic death registry system, the sexton shall enter the place of burial in such system not later than three days after the date of the burial. For any removal, transit and burial permit in a paper format, the sexton shall forward such completed and signed removal, transit and burial permit to the registrar of the town where the body is buried, and send a copy of such removal, transit and burial permit to the registrar of the town where death occurred. For any disinterment of a body, the sexton who is in charge of reinterring such body shall: (1) Complete a disinterment permit as required pursuant to section 7-67 specifying the place of reinterment by section, lot or grave, or other place of interment; (2) return a completed disinterment permit to the registrar of the town where the body is buried; and (3) send a copy of such disinterment permit to the registrar of the town where the death occurred. Any removal, burial and transit permit and disinterment permit in a paper format shall be forwarded to the proper registrar by the first week of the month following interment or disinterment.

(b) For a body that is placed temporarily in a receiving vault of any cemetery and subsequently buried in the same cemetery, no additional removal, burial and transit permit shall be required. In each case herein provided for, the sexton of such cemetery shall endorse upon the removal, transit and burial permit the date when the body was placed in the temporary receiving vault, and the date when and the place where such body was subsequently buried. If such subsequent burial is to be in any cemetery other than the cemetery where the body was temporarily deposited or if the body is to be cremated, the sexton shall return the original burial permit to the registrar of the town where death occurred, who shall thereupon issue another removal, burial and transit, or cremation permit if necessary.

(c) Each sexton having charge of any burial place shall report all interments, disinterments and removals made by such sexton to the registrar of the town where the cemetery is located. If the death is recorded in an electronic death registry system, a sexton shall fulfill the requirements of this subsection by completing the removal, transit and burial permit in such registry system. For any removal, transit and burial permit in a paper format, the sexton shall forward to the registrar of the town where the cemetery is located a monthly list of all interments, disinterments and removals of bodies in temporary receiving vaults. Such list shall be due during the first week of the month following the month in which the sexton completed the interments, disinterments and removals of bodies in temporary receiving vaults.

(d) Any sexton who violates the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be guilty of a class D felony. Any sexton who fails to make the appropriate filing of reports as required by subsection (c) of this section, by the end of the third week of a month to the registrar of the town where the cemetery is located, shall be subject to a fine of not more than one hundred dollars per day.

(1949 Rev., S. 588; P.A. 04-255, S. 8; P.A. 07-104, S. 2; P.A. 09-232, S. 18; P.A. 13-258, S. 35.)

History: P.A. 04-255 added requirement that sexton specify place of burial, deleted references to disposal of ashes and made conforming changes; P.A. 07-104 substituted “removal, transit and burial permit” for “burial transit removal permit” and required sexton to send copy of endorsed removal, transit and burial permit or permit for final disposition, if death occurred in another state, to registrar of vital statistics who filed the death certificate for the body, effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 09-232 divided existing provisions into Subsecs. (a) and (b), amended Subsec. (a) by adding provisions re sexton’s duties concerning removal, transit and burial permits and disinterment permits, amended Subsec. (b) by providing that in cases involving subsequent burial in a different cemetery, sexton shall return original burial permit to town where the death occurred, and added Subsec. (c) re reporting requirements and Subsec. (d) re penalties; P.A. 13-258 amended Subsec. (d) to change penalty for violation of Subsecs. (a) and (b) from fine of not more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment of not more than 5 years to a class D felony.