H.B. No. 2430

	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.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2430 was passed by the House on May 3,
	2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 0, 1 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2430 was passed by the Senate on May
	22, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor