Bill Text: TX HB2430 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to requirements in a suit for the removal of human remains from a cemetery.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2019-06-10 - Effective immediately [HB2430 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB2430-Introduced.html
  86R10460 EAS-F
 
  By: Reynolds H.B. No. 2430
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to requirements in a suit for the removal of human remains
  from a cemetery.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 711.004, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsection
  (d-1) to read as follows:
         (c)  If the consent required by Subsection (a) cannot be
  obtained, the remains may be removed by permission of a district
  court of the county in which the cemetery is located.  Before the
  date of application to the court for permission to remove remains
  under this subsection, notice must be given to:
               (1)  the cemetery organization operating the cemetery
  in which the remains are interred or if the cemetery organization
  cannot be located or does not exist, the Texas Historical
  Commission;
               (2)  each person whose consent is required for removal
  of the remains under Subsection (a); and
               (3)  any other person or entity that the court
  subsequently requires to be served.
         (d)  For the purposes of Subsection (c) and except as
  provided by this subsection or Subsection (d-1) or (k), personal
  notice must be given not later than the 11th day before the date of
  application to the court for permission to remove the remains, or
  notice by certified or registered mail must be given not later than
  the 16th day before the date of application. In an emergency
  circumstance described by Subsection (l) that necessitates
  immediate removal of remains from a plot, the court shall hear an
  application for permission to remove remains under Subsection (c)
  not later than the first business day after the application is made.
  In an emergency circumstance described by this subsection, personal
  notice may be given on the date the application is made.
         (d-1)  If the court subsequently requires an additional
  person or entity to be served under Subsection (c)(3), that
  additional service must be performed not later than the 11th day
  after the date of the judge's order.  Service may not be required
  for any court appointed representative or other court appointed
  official.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 711.010(b) and (c), Health and Safety
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  On petition of the owner of the property, a district
  court of the county in which an unknown cemetery is discovered or an
  abandoned cemetery is located may order the removal of any
  dedication for cemetery purposes that affects the property if the
  court finds that the removal of the dedication is in the public
  interest. If a court orders the removal of a dedication of a
  cemetery and all human remains in that cemetery have not previously
  been removed, the court shall order the removal of the human remains
  from the cemetery to:
               (1)  a perpetual care cemetery; [or]
               (2)  a municipal or county cemetery; or
               (3)  any other place on the owner's property that the
  district court finds is in the public interest.
         (c)  In addition to any notice required by Section 711.004,
  notice of a petition filed under Subsection (b) must be given to the
  Texas Historical Commission and to the county historical commission
  of the county in which the cemetery is located.  The court may
  consult the Texas Historical Commission and the county historical
  commission in making a decision under this section [may intervene
  and become parties to the suit]. The court may also designate or
  appoint any person, party, court appointed representative, or
  official the court considers necessary to assist in determining
  whether the removal is in the public interest.
         SECTION 3.  Section 711.036(b), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  An owner of land adjacent to a cemetery for which a
  cemetery organization or other governing body does not exist may
  petition a district court of the county in which the cemetery is
  located to remove any human remains and the dedication for all or
  any portion of the cemetery.  In addition to the notice required by
  Section 711.004, notice of a petition filed under this subsection
  must be given to the Texas Historical Commission and to the county
  historical commission of the county in which the cemetery is
  located.  The court may consult the Texas Historical Commission and
  the county historical commission in making a decision under this
  section [may intervene and become parties to the suit].  The court
  may also designate or appoint any person, party, court appointed
  representative, or official the court considers necessary to assist
  in determining whether the removal is in the public interest.  
  Unknown next of kin of deceased persons buried in the cemetery shall
  be served by publication of a notice in a newspaper of general
  circulation in the county in which the cemetery is located, or if
  there is not a newspaper of general circulation in the county, in a
  newspaper of general circulation in an adjacent county.  A
  reasonable good faith effort shall be made to remove all remains and
  monuments from the cemetery or that portion of the cemetery for
  which the dedication is to be removed.
         SECTION 4.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  a suit involving the removal of remains from an abandoned, unknown,
  or unverified cemetery pending in a trial court on the effective
  date of this Act or filed on or after that date. A suit involving
  the removal of remains from an abandoned, unknown, or unverified
  cemetery in which a final order is rendered before the effective
  date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
  order was rendered, and the former law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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