HB 121 Summary

• Creates Task Force on Abandoned African-American Cemeteries composed of 7 members including the Secretary of State (chair), representatives from archaeological research, NAACP, churches, heritage preservation, public archaeology, and cemetery industry, requiring first meeting by August 1, 2020 and final report by March 1, 2021.

• Requires Department of State to partner with University of South Florida to investigate former Zion Cemetery site in Tampa and determine number of graves remaining; all recovered historical resources, records, artifacts, and human remains remain in university custody for preservation and identification.

• Mandates Department of State to reimburse next of kin or pay providers up to $7,500 per person for funeral, reinterment, and grave marker expenses for bodies buried and exhumed from former Zion Cemetery site.

• Appropriates $500,000 in nonrecurring funds for 2020-2021 fiscal year, with $50,000 allocated for memorial creation at former Zion Cemetery site and $450,000 for disinterment and reinterment costs.

• Task force expires July 1, 2021; Department of State must submit payment report by February 1, 2022; act takes effect July 1, 2020.