State lawmakers advanced a bill Thursday that could help improve conditions at Sunset Memorial Park in Pearl City after concerns were raised that the cemetery has been neglected and is in disrepair. The problems include overgrown grass and weeds, missing grave markers and sinking graves, and stolen urns.

House Bill 1245 would require the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, with consultation with the state comptroller, to develop short- and long-term strategies for the upkeep, repair and maintenance of Sunset Memorial. The measure would also shield volunteers and nonprofits who help to maintain and repair cemetery grounds from liability, except for injury or damages due to gross negligence or intentional misconduct. This provision would apply to cemeteries statewide.

The Senate Ways and Means and the Judiciary and Labor committees agreed to advance the bill Thursday. The measure passed the second of three readings in the full Senate on March 24. If the Senate votes to pass the bill on third reading, it would be sent back to the House for approval of added amendments.

State Rep. Gregg Takayama, the bill’s lead sponsor, said Thursday that he has spoken to residents from Ewa, Waipahu, Aiea, Moanalua and other areas who detailed the deteriorating conditions at the cemetery. Takayama (D, Pearl City-Waimalu-Pacific Palisades) had introduced a similar bill last year that stalled, but said this time around he believes there is more widespread understanding of the cemetery’s disrepair.

“It’s not strictly a neighborhood problem. There are people from all around the island who are affected,” Takayama said. “It’s been common knowledge that the condition of Sunset Memorial has been poor, and it’s been deteriorating over the years.”

The 4-acre cemetery on 4th Street is registered to the Hawaiian Cemetery Association Ltd., with Lago Dozinn listed as director and president, according to state records. The cemetery’s license expired in 1995, and it owes about $16,800 in property taxes.

Concerns from family members and officials prompted the Pearl City Neighborhood Board to hold a meeting in October 2015 at which there was support to form a volunteer board called Friends of Sunset Memorial Park to oversee the cemetery’s maintenance and operations. At that time Dozinn said he got involved in the cemetery with a friend, who has since died, and had no paid workers but that volunteers and others from a nearby church helped him maintain the property. There is a trust fund for the cemetery with about $200,000, he said.

Takayama said the situation has been challenging because the cemetery’s owner died, and that Dozinn and his church have been trying to care for the property.

Dozinn could not be reached for comment.

In written testimony submitted Thursday, Catherine Awakuni Colon, director of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, said the department supports the provision that would shield cemetery volunteers from liability. Colon said the department would also work on short- and long-term strategies.

Roderick Becker, state comptroller, said his department would work with the DCCA in developing strategies, according to testimony.

Several family members whose relatives are buried at Sunset Memorial also submitted testimony in support of the bill, detailing problems such as homeless living on the site, overflowing trash bins and a lack of security. Some family members said they regularly visit the cemetery with their own water and supplies to maintain relatives’ plots.

“I’ve witnessed and been a part of a travesty that no one should have to endure,” said James Bright in written testimony. Bright said his mother is buried at Sunset Memorial. “I have been visiting her grave for over twenty years and … after a while the cultural norm was such that instead of merely bringing flowers to pay your respects, landscaping tools like line trimmers, buckets and shovels were customary.”

Darrell Salvador of the Friends of Sunset Memorial Park said Wednesday that if the bill passes, it will help set into motion plans that the six-member board has been discussing, adding that volunteers are willing to help but do not want to risk liability.

The goal is to maintain and beautify the cemetery, but Salvador said he does not know how to address the issue of burial plot ownership, pointing out that it has been “terrible” and “a total nightmare” for many families. He said it has been heartbreaking for some families who have been unable to find their relatives’ graves, while others are looking to remove their loved ones from the cemetery.

Salvador, funeral director of nearby Leeward Funeral Home, which operates independently from Sunset Memorial, said he has been communicating with Dozinn, who he said has been working to fill in the sunken graves. He added that he does not blame Dozinn for the disrepair because he “did not know what he was getting into.”

“It’s been a long time in the works,” said Salvador, who has five generations of family members buried at Sunset Memorial. “We’re going to do everything with dignity and respect for all concerns. I’m … hoping that everybody does their part to get this place fixed. It is a part of Pearl City history.”