381.697 Cemeteries maintained by legal owners. (1) Every cemetery in Kentucky except private family cemeteries shall be maintained by its legal owner or owners, without respect to the individual owners of burial plots in the cemetery, in such a manner so as to keep the burial grounds or cemetery free of growth of weeds, free from accumulated debris, displaced tombstones, or other signs and indication of vandalism or gross neglect. (2) The owner or owners of public or private burial grounds, regardless of size or number of graves, shall protect the burial grounds from desecration or destruction as stipulated in KRS 525.115(1)(a), (b), or (c) or from being used for dumping grounds, building sites, or any other use which may result in the burial grounds being damaged or destroyed. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the owner or owners of public or private burial grounds when the public or private burial grounds have been desecrated, damaged, or destroyed as the result of a crime by another as defined by KRS 500.080. (3) The owner or owners of private burial grounds shall be required to construct cemetery protection structures only if the burial ground is located in a county with a county cemetery board and if the board provides compensation to the private burial ground owner for supplies, labor, and other expenses associated with such construction. (4) The governing authorities of any city within whose corporate limits any public or private burial grounds lie may require the owner or those having claims to the grounds to properly care for them. Effective: July 15, 2016 History: Amended 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 22, sec. 7, effective July 15, 2016. -- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 276, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2002. -- Created 1972 Ky. Acts ch. 284, sec. 2.