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Code of Virginia
Title 10.1. Conservation
Chapter 22. Historic Resources
11/4/2024

§ 10.1-2211.2. Disbursement of funds appropriated for caring for historical African American cemeteries and graves.

A. For purposes of this section:

"Fund" means the Historical African American Cemeteries and Graves Fund created pursuant to § 10.1-2211.3.

"Historical African American cemetery" means a cemetery that was established prior to January 1, 1948, for interments of African Americans.

"Qualified organization" means a charitable corporation, charitable association, or charitable trust that has been granted tax-exempt status under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and whose primary purpose is the preservation of historical cemeteries and graves, any person or locality that owns a historical African American cemetery, or any locality whose purpose for applying for funding pursuant to this section is to maintain a neglected historical African American cemetery, or a portion thereof, that is located within its jurisdictional bounds.

B. At the direction of the Director, the Comptroller of the Commonwealth shall draw an annual warrant upon the State Treasurer from any sum that may be provided to the Department in the general appropriation act for the purpose of maintaining qualifying cemeteries and graves pursuant to this section. Any representative of a qualified organization desiring to receive funding from such appropriation for the maintenance of qualifying cemeteries and graves pursuant to this section shall submit an application to the Department on or before May 30 each year. Such appropriations shall be allocated on the bases of both (i) the number of graves, monuments, and markers in a cemetery of African Americans who were alive prior to January 1, 1900, regardless of the date of interment, and (ii) the number of graves, monuments, and markers in a cemetery of African Americans who were born on or after January 1, 1900, and interred in such cemetery prior to January 1, 1948, the dates to be determined by reference to grave markers or, at the discretion of the Director, other historical records. Such number of graves, monuments, and markers, as documented by the qualified organization, shall be multiplied by the rate of $5 or the average actual cost of routine maintenance of a grave, monument, or marker, whichever is greater, to determine the amount of the allocation. The Department shall determine the average actual cost of routine maintenance of a grave, monument, or marker in a biennial survey of at least four properly maintained cemeteries, each located in a different geographical region of the Commonwealth. The Director shall deposit any appropriated funds that are not disbursed during the same fiscal year into the Fund.

aIN THE COUNTY OF:NUMBER:
bArlington
cCalloway Cemetery 29
dLomax Cemetery 66
eMount Salvation Cemetery 29
fBuckingham
gStanton Family Cemetery 36
hHenrico
iEast End Cemetery 4,875
jLoudoun
kAfrican-American Burial Ground for the Enslaved at Belmont 44
lMt. Zion Old School Baptist Church Cemetery 33
mMontgomery
nWake Forest Cemetery 40
oWestview Cemetery 47
pPulaski
qNew River Cemetery 33
rWest Dublin Cemetery 44
sIN THE CITY OF:NUMBER:
tAlexandria
uBaptist Cemetery of the African American Heritage Park 28
vContrabands and Freedmen Cemetery 631
wDouglass Cemetery 83
xLebanon Union Cemetery 53
yMethodist Protestant Cemetery 1,134
zPenny Hill Cemetery 14
aaCharlottesville
abDaughters of Zion Cemetery 192
acChesapeake
adCuffeytown Cemetery 52
aeHampton
afBassette’s Cemetery 212
agElmerton Cemetery 339
ahGood Samaritan Cemetery 37
aiPleasant Shade Cemetery 29
ajQueen Street Cemetery 14
akTucker Family Cemetery 15
alUnion Street Cemetery 125
amHarrisonburg
anNewtown Cemetery 400
aoMartinsville
apMatthews Cemetery 8
aqThe People’s Cemetery 178
arSmith Street Cemetery 9
asPortsmouth
atMt. Calvary Cemetery 266
auRadford
avMountain View Cemetery 91
awRichmond
axEvergreen Cemetery 2,100
aySuffolk
azOak Lawn Cemetery 468

C. In addition to any sum provided to a qualified organization as set forth in subsection B, the Director may disburse funds to any qualified organization to fund maintenance and care of additional historical African American graves in the Commonwealth that have been certified by the Department and documented in the Department's cultural resources database. Funds disbursed under this subsection shall be disbursed at the rate set forth in subsection B.

D. A qualified organization receiving funds shall expend the funds for the routine maintenance of its historical African American cemetery, associated graves, and graves certified by the Department and documented in the Department's cultural resources database and the erection of and caring for markers, memorials, and monuments to the memory of such African Americans.

E. Each qualified organization, through its proper officer, shall after July 1 of each year submit to the Director a certified statement that the funds appropriated to the organization during the preceding fiscal year were or will be expended for the purposes set forth in subsection D. No organization that fails to comply with any of the requirements of this section shall receive moneys allocated under this section for any subsequent fiscal year until the organization fully complies with the requirements.

F. In addition to funds that may be provided pursuant to subsection B or C, any organization that receives funds pursuant to subsection B or C may apply to the Director for a grant to perform extraordinary maintenance, renovation, repair, or reconstruction of any of its historical African American cemeteries and graves. However, a locality that is eligible for funding pursuant to subsection B or C may apply to the Director for such a grant without having received funding pursuant to subsection B or C. A locality's application for the grant shall not preclude another qualified organization from applying for funding pursuant to subsection B or C for the same cemetery or grave. A grant made pursuant to this subsection shall be made from any appropriation made available by the General Assembly for such purpose or from the Fund.

G. Any locality may receive and hold funds drawn pursuant to subsection B or C on behalf of any qualified organization until such time as the organization is able to receive or utilize such funds. No local matching funds shall be required for any grants made pursuant to this section.

H. The owner of a historical African American cemetery shall reasonably cooperate with a qualified organization that receives funds pursuant to subsection B or C.

2017, c. 270; 2018, cc. 428, 433, 434, 614, 818; 2019, cc. 184, 251, 252, 257, 260, 268; 2020, cc. 82, 83, 455, 456; 2022, cc. 187, 450, 540, 541; 2023, cc. 95, 96.

The chapters of the acts of assembly referenced in the historical citation at the end of this section may not constitute a comprehensive list of such chapters and may exclude chapters whose provisions have expired.