2012 Missouri Revised Statutes
TITLE XII PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
Chapter 214 Cemeteries
Section 214.550 Scatter gardens, operation by churches maintaining religious cemeteries--maintenance of garden and records, duty of operator.

214.550. 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:

(1) "Cremains", the remains of a human corpse after cremation;

(2) "Operator", a church that owns and maintains a religious cemetery;

(3) "Religious cemetery", a cemetery owned, operated, controlled, or managed by any church that has or would qualify for federal tax-exempt status as a nonprofit religious organization pursuant to Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code as amended;

(4) "Scatter garden", a location for the spreading of cremains set aside within a cemetery.

2. It shall be lawful for any operator of a religious cemetery adjacent to a church building or other building regularly used as a place of worship to establish a scatter garden for the purpose of scattering human cremains.

3. The operator of any religious cemetery containing a scatter garden shall maintain, protect, and supervise the scatter garden, and shall be responsible for all costs incurred for such maintenance, protection, and supervision. Such operator shall also maintain a record of all cremains scattered in the scatter garden that shall include the name, date of death, and Social Security number of each person whose cremains are scattered, and the date the cremains were scattered.

4. A scatter garden established pursuant to this section shall be maintained by the operator of the religious cemetery for as long as such operator is in existence. Upon dissolution of such operator, all records of cremains shall be transferred to the clerk of the city, town, or village in which the scatter garden is located, or if the scatter garden is located in any unincorporated area, to the county recorder.

(L. 2002 H.B. 1148, A.L. 2010 H.B. 1692, et al. merged with H.B. 2226, et al. merged with S.B. 754)

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