Bill Text: TX HB1510 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the continuation and transfer of the regulation of willed body programs to the Texas Funeral Service Commission, the regulation of willed body programs, non-transplant anatomical donation organizations, and anatomical facilities, and the creation of the State Anatomical Advisory Committee; requiring registration; authorizing fees; authorizing an administrative penalty.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 4-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-13 - Left pending in committee [HB1510 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB1510-Introduced.html

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88R9990 MCF-D
By: Clardy H.B. No. 1510

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the continuation and transfer of the regulation of
willed body programs to the Texas Funeral Service Commission, the
regulation of willed body programs, non-transplant anatomical
donation organizations, and anatomical facilities, and the
creation of the State Anatomical Advisory Committee; requiring
registration; authorizing fees; authorizing an administrative
penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. STATE ANATOMICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE; TEXAS FUNERAL
SERVICE COMMISSION
SECTION 1.01. The heading to Chapter 691, Health and Safety
Code, is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 691. DONATION OF BODIES AND ANATOMICAL SPECIMENS
[ANATOMICAL BOARD OF THE STATE OF TEXAS]
SECTION 1.02. The heading to Subchapter A, Chapter 691,
Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS; STATE [ORGANIZATION OF]
ANATOMICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE [BOARD OF THE STATE OF TEXAS]
SECTION 1.03. Section 691.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (1-a),
(4), (5), and (6) to read as follows:
(1) "Advisory committee [Board]" means the State
Anatomical Advisory Committee [Board of the State of Texas].
(1-a) "Anatomical facility" means a facility
inspected and approved by the commission under Section 691.034 that
does not operate as a willed body program or a non-transplant
anatomical donation organization.
(4) "Commission" means the Texas Funeral Service
Commission.
(5) "Non-transplant anatomical donation organization"
means a person accredited to engage in the recovery, screening,
testing, processing, storage, or distribution of tissue or human
remains for any purpose other than transplantation into a living
individual in this state.
(6) "Willed body program" means a program operated at
an institution of higher education in this state that allows a
living individual to donate the individual's body or anatomical
specimen for educational or research purposes.
SECTION 1.04. Section 691.002, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.002. ADVISORY COMMITTEE [COMPOSITION OF BOARD].
(a) The State Anatomical Advisory Committee is established to
advise and provide expertise to the commission on matters related
to the regulation and operation of willed body programs,
non-transplant anatomical donation organizations, and anatomical
facilities in this state.
(b) The advisory committee is composed of seven members
appointed by the commission as follows:
(1) two members who represent institutions of higher
education that operate willed body programs;
(2) two members who represent non-transplant
anatomical donation organizations;
(3) two members who represent anatomical facilities;
and
(4) one public member [The Anatomical Board of the
State of Texas is composed of one representative from each school or
college of chiropractic, osteopathy, medicine, or dentistry
incorporated in this state].
(c) Members of the advisory committee serve two-year terms
[(b) On March 1 of each odd-numbered year, the chief executive
officer of each institution described by Subsection (a) shall
appoint as the institution's representative on the board one
professor of surgery or of basic anatomical sciences who is
associated with the institution].
(d) An advisory committee member may be reappointed.
(e) [(c)] Appointments to the advisory committee [board]
shall be made without regard to the race, creed, sex, religion, or
national origin of the appointees.
(f) Sections 2110.002 and 2110.008, Government Code, do not
apply to the advisory committee.
SECTION 1.05. Section 691.007(c), Health and Safety Code,
is redesignated as Section 691.011, Health and Safety Code, and
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.011. RECORDS. [(c)] The commission [board] shall
keep identification records of each body donated to the commission
[board] and of each body or anatomical specimen distributed by the
commission [board].
SECTION 1.06. Section 691.008(a), Health and Safety Code,
is redesignated as Section 691.012, Health and Safety Code, and
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.012. FEES. (a) The commission [board] may set and
collect reasonable and necessary fees for the cost of administering
this chapter, including:
(1) receiving and distributing bodies and anatomical
specimens; and
(2) conducting inspections of willed body programs and
anatomical facilities.
(b) The commission by rule may establish fees for the
registration of willed body programs and non-transplant anatomical
donation organizations in amounts reasonable and necessary to cover
the cost of administering this chapter.
(c) A non-transplant anatomical donation organization is
exempt from a fee described by Subsection (a)(1).
SECTION 1.07. Section 691.010, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.010. PUBLIC INFORMATION AND PARTICIPATION;
COMPLAINTS. (a) The commission [board] shall prepare information
of public interest describing the functions of the commission under
this chapter [board] and the commission's [board's] procedures by
which complaints are filed with and resolved by the commission
[board]. The commission [board] shall make the information
available to the public and appropriate state agencies.
(b) The commission [board] by rule shall establish methods
by which service recipients can be notified of the name, mailing
address, and telephone number of the commission [board] for the
purpose of directing complaints to the commission [board]. The
commission [board] may provide for that notification by including
the information on each written contract relating to bodies willed
or donated to an entity regulated by the commission [board] or
authorized by the commission [board] to receive bodies.
(c) The commission [board] shall keep an information file
about each complaint filed with the commission [board] relating to
its functions under this chapter. If a written complaint is filed
with the commission [board] relating to a person or an entity
regulated by the commission under this chapter [board], the
commission [board, at least as frequently as quarterly and until
final disposition of the complaint,] shall periodically notify the
parties to the complaint of the status of the complaint until final
disposition unless notice would jeopardize an undercover
investigation.
(d) The commission [board] shall develop and implement
policies that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to
appear before the commission [board] and to speak on any issue under
the jurisdiction of the commission [board].
SECTION 1.08. Section 691.022, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.022. GENERAL DUTIES. (a) The commission [board]
shall distribute bodies and anatomical specimens to [institutions
and other] persons authorized to receive a body or specimen under
this chapter [them].
(b) The commission [board] shall adopt rules to ensure that
each body and anatomical specimen is treated with respect while in
the custody of the commission [board] or person authorized to
receive the body or specimen [an institution represented on the
board is treated with respect].
(c) The commission shall adopt rules, establish procedures,
and prescribe forms necessary to administer and enforce this
chapter, including rules establishing registration and inspection
requirements and procedures. The commission may issue a reprimand,
assess an administrative penalty, impose other penalties, or
revoke, suspend, or probate a registration or other authorization
for a violation of this chapter or a commission rule adopted under
this chapter, including a violation related to an inspection
conducted under Section 691.034, in the manner provided by Chapter
651, Occupations Code.
SECTION 1.09. Section 691.0225, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.0225. INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENT. The commission
[board] shall develop a document to inform a person making a gift of
a decedent's body or anatomical specimen for purposes of education,
including forensic science education, or research of the risks and
benefits associated with donation. The commission [board] shall
make the document available on the commission's [board's] Internet
website.
SECTION 1.10. Section 691.023, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.023. DUTY TO DELIVER CERTAIN BODIES TO COMMISSION
[BOARD]. (a) An officer, employee, or representative of the state,
of a political subdivision, or of an institution having charge or
control of a body not claimed for burial or a body required to be
buried at public expense shall:
(1) notify the commission [board] or the commission's
[board's] representative of the body's existence when the body
comes into the person's possession, charge, or control if notified
in writing to do so by the commission [board] or the commission's
[board's] representative;
(2) deliver the body in accordance with the direction
of the commission [board]; and
(3) allow the commission [board], the commission's
[board's] representative, or a physician designated by the
commission [board] who complies with this chapter to remove the
body to be used for the advancement of medical or forensic science.
(b) If the commission [board] does not require a political
subdivision or agency of the political subdivision to deliver a
body under this section, the political subdivision shall pay all
costs of preparation for burial, including costs of embalming.
SECTION 1.11. Section 691.025(c), Health and Safety Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) A body that is not claimed for burial within 48 hours
after a relative receives notification shall be delivered as soon
as possible to the commission [board] or the commission's [board's]
representative.
SECTION 1.12. Section 691.026, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.026. BODY OF TRAVELER. If an unclaimed body is the
body of a traveler who died suddenly, the commission [board] shall
direct the institution or other person receiving the body to retain
the body for six months for purposes of identification.
SECTION 1.13. Section 691.027, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.027. AUTOPSY. Only the commission [board] may
grant permission to perform an autopsy on an unclaimed body. The
commission [board] may grant permission after receiving a specific
request for an autopsy that shows sufficient evidence of medical
urgency.
SECTION 1.14. Sections 691.028(a) and (b), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) An adult living in this state who is of sound mind may
donate the adult's body by will or other written instrument to the
commission [board], a willed body program of a medical or dental
school, a non-transplant anatomical donation organization, or
another donee authorized by the commission [board,] to be used for
the advancement of medical or forensic science.
(b) To be effective, the donor must provide informed consent
by signing [sign] the will or other written instrument and it must
be witnessed by two adults. The donor is not required to use a
particular form or particular words in making the donation, but the
will or other instrument must clearly convey:
(1) the donor's intent; and
(2) the donor's acknowledgment that the donor was
informed about the consequences of the donation before providing
consent.
SECTION 1.15. Section 691.029, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.029. AUTHORITY TO RECEIVE, DISTRIBUTE, AND
TRANSFER [ACCEPT] BODIES OR ANATOMICAL SPECIMENS [FROM OUTSIDE THE
STATE]. The commission [board] may receive, distribute, and
transfer a body or anatomical specimen from inside or [a body
transported to the board from] outside this state.
SECTION 1.16. Section 691.030, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.030. COMMISSION'S [BOARD'S] AUTHORITY TO
DISTRIBUTE BODIES AND ANATOMICAL SPECIMENS. (a) The commission
[board] or the commission's [board's] representative shall
distribute bodies donated to it and may redistribute bodies donated
to medical or dental schools or other donees authorized by the
commission [board] to:
(1) willed body programs of schools and colleges of
chiropractic, osteopathy, medicine, or dentistry incorporated in
this state;
(2) forensic science programs;
(3) search and rescue organizations or recovery teams
that are recognized by the commission [board], are exempt from
federal taxation under Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of
1986, and use human remains detection canines with the
authorization of a local or county law enforcement agency;
(4) physicians; [and]
(5) anatomical facilities; and
(6) other persons as provided by this section.
(b) In making the distribution, the commission [board]
shall give priority to the schools and colleges that need bodies for
lectures and demonstrations.
(c) If the commission [board] has remaining bodies, the
commission [board] or the commission's [board's] representative
shall distribute or redistribute those bodies to the schools and
colleges proportionately and equitably according to the number of
students in each school or college receiving instruction or
demonstration in normal or morbid anatomy and operative surgery.
The dean of each school or college shall certify that number to the
commission [board] when required by the commission [board].
(d) The commission [board] may transport a body or
anatomical specimen to an authorized recipient in another state if
the commission [board] determines that the supply of bodies or
anatomical specimens in this state exceeds the need for bodies or
anatomical specimens in this state and if:
(1) the deceased donated the deceased's [his] body in
compliance with Section 691.028 and at the time of the donation
authorized the commission [board] to transport the body outside
this state; or
(2) the body was donated in compliance with Chapter
692A and the person authorized to make the donation under Section
692A.009 authorized the commission [board] to transport the body
outside this state.
(e) This section does not apply to a body donated to a
registered non-transplant anatomical donation organization.
SECTION 1.17. Sections 691.031(a), (b), and (f), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission [board] shall adopt rules to ensure that:
(1) each body or anatomical specimen received or
distributed under this chapter [by the board] is properly
transported;
(2) a label with the statement "CONTENTS DERIVED FROM
DONATED HUMAN TISSUE" is affixed to the container in which the body
or anatomical specimen is transported; and
(3) each person who has control or possession of a body
or anatomical specimen:
(A) satisfactorily completes the information
required on a chain-of-custody form prescribed by the commission
[board];
(B) maintains a copy of the form for the person's
records; and
(C) transfers the form to any other person to
whom control or possession of the body or anatomical specimen is
transferred.
(b) The commission [board] may employ a public carrier to
transport bodies or anatomical specimens received or distributed by
the commission [board].
(f) The sender and receiver of each body or anatomical
specimen shall file the records required under this section in
accordance with commission [board] rules so that the commission
[board] or a district or county attorney may inspect the records at
any time.
SECTION 1.18. Section 691.032, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.032. COSTS OF DISTRIBUTION. A person or
institution receiving a body or anatomical specimen under this
chapter shall pay in a manner specified by the commission [board],
or as otherwise agreed on, all costs incurred in distributing the
body or anatomical specimen so that the state, a county, a
municipality, or an officer, employee, or representative of the
state, a county, or a municipality does not incur any expense.
SECTION 1.19. Sections 691.033(a), (b), and (d), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) To further medical or forensic science, a willed body
program, non-transplant anatomical donation organization,
anatomical facility, [school, college,] or other person designated
by the commission [board] may use, dissect, operate on, examine,
and experiment on a body or anatomical specimen distributed under
this chapter.
(b) A willed body program, non-transplant anatomical
donation organization, [school, college,] or other person shall
keep a permanent record of each body or anatomical specimen
received from the commission [board] or the commission's [board's]
representative. The record:
(1) must be sufficient to identify the body or
anatomical specimen;
(2) must track the body or anatomical specimen from
intake to final disposition; and
(3) may be inspected by the commission [board] or the
commission's [board's] representative.
(d) To aid prosecutions under Section 42.08, Penal Code, the
commission [board] shall adopt rules that clearly state the
activities that are authorized by the commission [board] in
relation to the use or dissection of a body.
SECTION 1.20. Section 691.034, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 691.034. REGULATION AND REGISTRATION OF PERSONS AND
INSTITUTIONS USING BODIES AND ANATOMICAL SPECIMENS. (a) A willed
body program or non-transplant anatomical donation organization
may not operate in this state unless the program or organization
registers with the commission in the form and manner prescribed by
the commission.
(a-1) To be eligible for registration under this section, a
non-transplant anatomical donation organization must be accredited
by the American Association of Tissue Banks under the association's
Standards for Non-Transplant Anatomical Donation.
(a-2) The commission [board] shall inspect and may approve
willed body programs, anatomical facilities, [institutions] and
other persons for the receipt and use of bodies and anatomical
specimens under this chapter.
(a-3) A registered non-transplant anatomical donation
organization is exempt from an inspection described by Subsection
(a-2).
(b) The commission [board] may investigate a willed body
program, non-transplant anatomical donation organization,
anatomical facility, or other person [or institution] if the
commission [board] has reason to believe that the program,
organization, facility, or person [or institution] has improperly
used a body or anatomical specimen.
(c) The commission [board] may suspend or revoke a willed
body program's, non-transplant anatomical donation organization's,
anatomical facility's, or other person's registration or other [or
institution's] authorization to receive and use or dissect bodies
or anatomical specimens if the commission [board] determines that
the program, organization, facility, or person [or institution] has
improperly used a body or anatomical specimen.
(d) A willed body program, non-transplant anatomical
donation organization, anatomical facility, or other person [or
institution] is entitled to a hearing before the commission [board]
or a hearing examiner appointed by the commission [board] before
the commission [board] may revoke the program's, organization's,
facility's, or person's registration or other [or institution's]
authorization to receive and use or dissect bodies or anatomical
specimens. The commission [board] shall make all final decisions
to suspend or revoke an authorization.
(e) A registered non-transplant anatomical donation
organization must inform the commission within the time prescribed
by commission rule if the organization loses its accreditation with
the American Association of Tissue Banks.
(f) A commission member or holder of any license issued by
the commission may not hold more than a 10 percent ownership
interest in a registered non-transplant anatomical donation
organization.
(g) The commission shall adopt rules and procedures
necessary to administer this section.
SECTION 1.21. Subchapter A, Chapter 651, Occupations Code,
is amended by adding Section 651.005 to read as follows:
Sec. 651.005. REGULATION OF WILLED BODY PROGRAMS,
NON-TRANSPLANT ANATOMICAL DONATION ORGANIZATIONS, AND ANATOMICAL
FACILITIES. The commission shall regulate willed body programs,
non-transplant anatomical donation organizations, and anatomical
facilities as provided by Chapter 691, Health and Safety Code, and
in accordance with the powers and duties granted by this chapter to
the extent necessary to regulate the programs, organizations, and
facilities under that chapter.
SECTION 1.22. The following provisions of the Health and
Safety Code are repealed:
(1) Section 691.003;
(2) Section 691.004;
(3) Section 691.005;
(4) Section 691.006;
(5) Sections 691.007(a), (b), and (d);
(6) Sections 691.008(b) and (d);
(7) the headings to Sections 691.007 and 691.008; and
(8) Section 691.009.
ARTICLE 2. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS
SECTION 2.01. Article 43.25, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 43.25. BODY OF CONVICT. The body of a convict who has
been legally executed shall be embalmed immediately and so directed
by the Director of the correctional institutions division of the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice [Department of Corrections].
If the body is not demanded or requested by a relative or bona fide
friend within forty-eight hours after execution then it shall be
delivered to the Texas Funeral Service Commission [Anatomical Board
of the State of Texas], if requested by the commission [Board]. If
the body is requested by a relative, a bona fide friend, or the
Texas Funeral Service Commission [Anatomical Board of the State of
Texas], such recipient shall pay a fee [of] not to exceed
twenty-five dollars to the mortician for the mortician's [his]
services in embalming the body for which the mortician shall issue
to the recipient a written receipt. When such receipt is delivered
to the Director of the correctional institutions division of the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice [Department of Corrections],
the body of the deceased shall be delivered to the party named in
the receipt or the party's [his] authorized agent. If the body is
not delivered to a relative, a bona fide friend, or the Texas
Funeral Service Commission [Anatomical Board of the State of
Texas], the Director of the correctional institutions division of
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice [Department of
Corrections] shall cause the body to be decently buried, and the fee
for embalming shall be paid by the county in which the indictment
which resulted in conviction was found.
SECTION 2.02. Section 404.093(b), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) This subchapter does not apply to:
(1) funds pledged to the payment of bonds, notes, or
other debts if the funds are not otherwise required to be deposited
in the treasury;
(2) funds held in trust or escrow for the benefit of a
person or entity other than a state agency;
(3) funds set apart out of earnings derived from
investment of funds held in trust for others, as administrative
expenses of the trustee agency; or
(4) funds, grants, donations, and proceeds from funds,
grants, and donations, given in trust to the Texas State Library and
Archives Commission for the establishment and maintenance of
regional historical resource depositories and libraries in
accordance with Section 441.154[; or
[(5) funds under the management of the
secretary-treasurer of the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas,
as provided by Section 691.008, Health and Safety Code].
SECTION 2.03. Sections 692A.011(a), (b), and (c), Health and
Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) An anatomical gift may be made to the following persons
named in the document of gift:
(1) an organ procurement organization to be used for
transplantation, therapy, research, or education;
(2) a hospital to be used for research;
(3) subject to Subsection (d), an individual
designated by the person making the anatomical gift if the
individual is the recipient of the part;
(4) an eye bank or tissue bank, except that use of a
gift of a whole body must be coordinated through the Texas Funeral
Service Commission [Anatomical Board of the State of Texas];
(5) a forensic science program at:
(A) a general academic teaching institution as
defined by Section 61.003, Education Code; or
(B) a private or independent institution of
higher education as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code;
(6) a search and rescue organization or recovery team
that is recognized by the Texas Funeral Service Commission
[Anatomical Board of the State of Texas], is exempt from federal
taxation under Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
and uses human remains detection canines with the authorization of
a local or county law enforcement agency; or
(7) the Texas Funeral Service Commission [Anatomical
Board of the State of Texas].
(b) Except for donations described by Subsections (a)(1)
through (6), the Texas Funeral Service Commission [Anatomical Board
of the State of Texas] shall be the donee of gifts of bodies or parts
of bodies made for the purpose of education or research that are
subject to distribution by the commission [board] under Chapter
691.
(c) A forensic science program that receives a donation
under Subsection (a)(5) must submit a report to the Texas Funeral
Service Commission [Anatomical Board of the State of Texas] on a
quarterly basis that lists:
(1) the number of bodies or parts of bodies that the
program received; and
(2) the method in which the program used the bodies or
parts of bodies for education or research.
ARTICLE 3. TRANSITIONS AND EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 3.01. (a) The Anatomical Board of the State of Texas
is abolished but continues in existence until September 1, 2024,
for the sole purpose of transferring obligations, property, rights,
powers, and duties to the Texas Funeral Service Commission. The
Texas Funeral Service Commission assumes all of the obligations,
property, rights, powers, and duties of the Anatomical Board of the
State of Texas as they exist immediately before the effective date
of this Act. All unexpended and unobligated funds under the
management of the secretary-treasurer of the Anatomical Board of
the State of Texas, as provided by Section 691.008, Health and
Safety Code, as that section existed immediately before the
effective date of this Act, are transferred to the general revenue
fund for the purpose of the Texas Funeral Service Commission
administering duties under Chapter 691, Health and Safety Code, as
amended by this Act.
(b) The Anatomical Board of the State of Texas and the Texas
Funeral Service Commission shall, in consultation with appropriate
state entities, ensure that the transfer of the obligations,
property, rights, powers, and duties of the Anatomical Board of the
State of Texas to the Texas Funeral Service Commission is completed
not later than September 1, 2024.
(c) All rules of the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas
are continued in effect as rules of the Texas Funeral Service
Commission until superseded by a rule of the Texas Funeral Service
Commission. An authorization issued by the Anatomical Board of the
State of Texas is continued in effect as provided by the law in
effect immediately before the effective date of this Act. An
authorization pending on the effective date of this Act is
continued without change in status after the effective date of this
Act. A complaint, investigation, or other proceeding pending on the
effective date of this Act is continued without change in status
after the effective date of this Act.
(d) Unless the context indicates otherwise, a reference to
the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas in a law or
administrative rule means the Texas Funeral Service Commission.
(e) The terms of the members of the Anatomical Board of the
State of Texas expire on September 1, 2024.
SECTION 3.02. (a) Not later than the 60th day after the
effective date of this Act, the Texas Funeral Service Commission
shall appoint members to the State Anatomical Advisory Committee in
accordance with Section 691.002, Health and Safety Code, as amended
by this Act.
(b) The members of the Anatomical Board of the State of
Texas whose terms expire under Section 3.01 of this Act shall
continue to provide advice to the Texas Funeral Service Commission
until a majority of the members of the State Anatomical Advisory
Committee are appointed under Subsection (a) of this section and
qualified. A member of the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas
described by this subsection may be appointed to the State
Anatomical Advisory Committee if the member is otherwise eligible
for appointment under Section 691.002, Health and Safety Code, as
amended by this Act.
SECTION 3.03. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.