2530

LAWS OF MARYLAND

Ch. 458

267.

(A)  Any person [or persons, or his, her or their aiders or
abettors,] who [shall] wilfully [destroy, mutilate, deface,
injure or remove] DESTROYS, MUTILATES, DEFACES, INJURES, OR
REMOVES any tomb, monument, gravestone, or other structure placed
in any cemetery, or any building, wall, fence, railing, or other
work, for the use, protection, or ornamentation of any [public or
private] cemetery in this State [or] IS GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR
AND:

(1) MAY BE ORDERED TO PAY RESTITUTION FOR ANY

PROPERTY THAT WAS DESTROYED, MUTILATED, DEFACED, INJURED,

REMOVED, OR THAT HAD ITS VALUE SUBSTANTIALLY IMPAIRED; AND

(2) SHALL BE FINED NOT MORE THAN $2,000, OR
IMPRISONED FOR NOT MORE THAN 3 YEARS, OR BOTH.

(B)  ANY PERSON WHO [shall] wilfully [destroy, cut, break,
or remove] DESTROYS, CUTS, BREAKS, OR REMOVES any tree, plant, or
shrub [within its limits] IN ANY CEMETERY IN THIS STATE, or who
[shall be] IS FOUND guilty of indecent or disorderly conduct
within said limits, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and [upon
conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction of this
State, shall]:

(1) MAY BE ORDERED TO PAY RESTITUTION FOR ANY TREE,
PLANT, OR SHRUB THAT WAS DESTROYED, CUT, BROKEN, OR REMOVED, AND

(2) SHALL BE FINED NOT [be punished by a fine of not
less than five dollars nor] more than [five hundred dollars]
$500, or [imprisonment in the county jail, or in the house of
correction,] IMPRISONED for not [less than thirty days nor] more
than [two] 2 years, or [by] both [such fine and imprisonment in
the discretion of said court, according to the gravity of the
offense].

(C)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
the removal of the remains of any human body, or of any monument,
gravestone, or other marker from an abandoned cemetery, provided
that the prior consent in writing of the State's attorney of the
county or of Baltimore City shall have been secured and provided
further that such remains, monuments, gravestone, or other marker
is placed in an accessible place in a permanent cemetery.

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall
take effect July 1, 1984.

Approved May 15, 1984.