Montana Code 22-3-802. Legislative findings and intent
22-3-802. Legislative findings and intent. (1) The legislature of the state of Montana finds that:
Terms Used In Montana Code 22-3-802
- Board: means the burial preservation board established in 22-3-804. See Montana Code 22-3-803
- Burial material: means any item found at the burial site or with the human skeletal remains and directly associated with the burial or burial site. See Montana Code 22-3-803
- Burial site: means , except for cemeteries and graveyards protected under existing state law, any natural or prepared physical location, whether originally below, on, or above the surface of the earth, into which human remains were intentionally deposited as a part of the death rites or ceremonies of a culture. See Montana Code 22-3-803
- Human skeletal remains: means any part of the human body in any state of decomposition taken from a burial site. See Montana Code 22-3-803
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(a)the state and its citizens have an obligation to protect from disturbance or destruction all human skeletal remains, burial sites, and burial material, including those in marked, unmarked, unrecorded, registered, or unregistered graves or burial grounds located on state or private lands that are not protected as cemeteries or graveyards under existing state law;
(b)marked, unmarked, unrecorded, registered, or unregistered graves or burial grounds not protected as cemeteries or graveyards under existing state law are increasingly subject to pilferage, disturbance, and destruction for commercial purposes, including land development, agriculture, mining, and the sale of artifacts;
(c)private collection of artifacts may result in the destruction of burial sites. Existing law reflects the value society places on preserving human burial sites, but the law does not clearly provide equal and adequate protection or incentives to ensure preservation and protection of all burial sites in the state regardless of ethnic origin, burial context, or age.
(d)while some human skeletal remains and burial sites may be of interest to science, the needs of the scientific community to gather information and material from burial sites must be balanced with the legal, moral, and religious rights and obligations of tribal groups, next of kin, or descendants;
(e)preservation in place is the preferred policy for all human skeletal remains, burial sites, and burial material; and
(f)notwithstanding any other provision of law, this part is the exclusive law governing the treatment of human skeletal remains, burial sites, and burial materials.
(2)It is the intent of the legislature to:
(a)ensure that all burials be accorded equal treatment and respect for human dignity without reference to ethnic origin, cultural background, or religious affiliation;
(b)provide adequate protection for all interests related to any burial site encountered during archaeological excavation or agricultural, mining, construction, or other ground-disturbing activity on state and private lands without causing avoidable or undue delay or hardship for any person who has an interest in using the land on which the burial site is located;
(c)recognize the interests, concerns, and obligations of those having a kinship, tribal, cultural, or religious affiliation with the burial site and balance those interests against the interests of scientists, landowners, and developers;
(d)provide to the board an exemption from the open meeting and public records laws when public disclosure of the location of a burial site could result in pilferage, disturbance, or destruction of the site; and
(e)recognize the need for forensic examination of human skeletal remains, burial sites, and burial material if the county coroner, county attorney, or state medical examiner determines an examination is necessary under state law.