SB 146: Health, Local Government, and Property; regulations and protections of cemeteries and burial grounds; provide

Georgia law already lets counties and cities protect abandoned cemeteries and requires permits before anyone disturbs human remains, but the rules for those permits were scattered and often ambiguous. This bill rewrites Chapter 72 of Title 36 to spell out exactly how someone applies for a 'disturbance permit' to disturb an abandoned cemetery, what a public hearing must look like, how descendants must be notified, and what penalties apply for skipping the process. It also updates the separate permit needed to disinter and reinter a body (O.C.G.A. section 31-10-20) so the local registrar checks for consent from the person legally in charge of the remains or a court order. The bill creates a brand new chapter (36-72A) requiring anyone who wants to start a private family burial plot after July 1, 2026 to get a local permit, and it sets minimum standards such as a half-acre lot and a perpetual-care covenant. Finally, it adds a new article to Title 44 letting a descendant sue a landowner in superior court for permission to visit, maintain, or search for an ancestral grave site on someone else's property.

• Rewrites Georgia's abandoned cemetery law (Chapter 72 of Title 36) to detail how a 'disturbance permit' application, public hearing, and notice to descendants must work before a known cemetery or burial ground can be disturbed.
• Adds civil penalties, including up to $5,000 per grave site and up to six months in jail for knowing violations, plus a new civil lawsuit right for descendants when a cemetery is disturbed without a permit.
• Updates the state's disinterment and reinterment permit process (O.C.G.A. 31-10-20) so local registrars only issue permits with consent from the person legally responsible for the remains, a disturbance permit, or a court order.
• Creates a brand-new permitting system (new Chapter 72A) requiring a local permit before establishing a private family burial plot on or after July 1, 2026, with minimum size, survey, and perpetual-care requirements.
• Sets a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation for creating a family burial plot without a permit, enforceable by county or city lawsuits.
• Adds a new article to Title 44 letting a descendant, or someone who believes they may be a descendant, sue a landowner in superior court for the right to enter land to visit, maintain, or search for an ancestral grave site.

Landowners whose property contains or may contain old or abandoned cemeteries, developers and government agencies planning construction near burial sites, county and municipal governments that process disturbance and family-plot permits, funeral directors, genealogists, archeologists, and descendants seeking to visit or protect ancestral graves.

Georgians who own or want to develop land with a historic grave site would face a clearer but more detailed permitting process, with real financial and criminal penalties for skipping it. Families seeking access to ancestors' graves on private land would gain a specific legal path to sue for entry, and anyone starting a private family cemetery after mid-2026 would need a government permit and meet minimum land standards.

• Section 1-2 rewrites O.C.G.A. section 31-10-20(f) so disinterment and reinterment permits require either the legally responsible person's consent, a disturbance permit, or a court order, and a licensed funeral director must oversee the process.
• Section 1-3 updates O.C.G.A. section 31-21-6 on notifying law enforcement when human remains are disturbed, clarifying when land-disturbing activity may resume.
• Section 1-4 rewrites Chapter 72 of Title 36 in detail, defining 'abandoned cemetery' with specific criteria (25+ years without burial, no known living descendant with rights, not a registered perpetual-care cemetery) and creating a full permit application, hearing, and appeal process.
• Section 1-4 sets penalties in new O.C.G.A. section 36-72-16: a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature with fines up to $5,000 per grave site, and up to six months jail plus a mandatory $5,000 minimum fine for knowingly disturbing a cemetery without a permit.
• Section 2-1 creates new Chapter 72A of Title 36, effective July 1, 2026, requiring a permit to establish a family burial plot and setting minimum requirements such as at least half an acre, no flood plains, and a perpetual-care covenant.
• Section 2-1 authorizes civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation for establishing a family burial plot without the required permit, enforceable by county or city lawsuit in superior court.
• Section 3-1 adds a new Article 4 to Title 44 allowing descendants to sue landowners in superior court for court-ordered access to visit, maintain, or search for ancestral grave sites, with courts able to set access dates, hours, and limits.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 486
3. 2026-05-11Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-03-27House Passed/Adopted (House)
6. 2026-03-27House Third Readers (House)
7. 2026-02-24House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
8. 2026-02-11House Second Readers (House)

• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)Primary sponsor
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
• John Kennedy (R, SD-018)
• Jesse Petrea (R, HD-166)

1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 9, 2026

   46 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #528

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 27, 2026

   163 yea, 2 nay (5 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #774

• cemetery protection
• burial permits
• property rights
• genealogy and ancestral graves
• local government regulation