81R9500 YDB-F
By: Flynn H.B. No. 2369
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the sale of a cemetery plot; providing a criminal
penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 711.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivision (2-a) to read as follows:
(2-a) "Cemetery broker" means a person who sells the
exclusive right of sepulture for another person. The term does not
include a person who:
(A) is an officer, agent, or employee of the
cemetery organization in which the plot is located; or
(B) originally purchased the exclusive right of
sepulture for personal use.
SECTION 2. Section 711.012(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The Finance Commission of Texas may adopt rules to
enforce and administer Sections 711.003, 711.008, 711.021-711.024,
711.032-711.035, 711.038, 711.0381, 711.040-711.042, 711.052,
711.061, and 711.062 relating to perpetual care cemeteries.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 711.038, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 711.038. SALE OF PLOTS BY CEMETERY ORGANIZATIONS.
SECTION 4. Section 711.038(e), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) A person who is an officer, agent, or employee of the
cemetery organization or its affiliate is not required to be
licensed to sell a plot in a dedicated cemetery.
SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 711, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 711.0381 to read as follows:
Sec. 711.0381. SALE OF PLOTS BY CERTAIN PERSONS. (a) A
person who is not an officer, agent, or employee of the cemetery
organization in which a plot is located may act as a cemetery broker
in the sale of the exclusive right of sepulture in the plot:
(1) if the person is:
(A) the person named as grantee in the quitclaim
agreement or other instrument of conveyance;
(B) an heir of the grantee as described by
Section 711.039; or
(C) the grantee's agent who is registered with
the commission;
(2) subject to the rules of the cemetery organization
and the restrictions in the quitclaim agreement or other instrument
of conveyance;
(3) after a quitclaim agreement or other instrument of
conveyance that is acceptable to the cemetery organization is filed
and recorded with the cemetery organization;
(4) after payment in full to the cemetery organization
of any fees related to the transfer of ownership of the exclusive
right of sepulture in the plot; and
(5) after payment in full of the purchase price of the
exclusive right of sepulture in the plot.
(b) A quitclaim agreement or other instrument evidencing
the conveyance of the exclusive right of sepulture must be filed
with the cemetery organization not later than the third business
day after the date of the sale, and must be signed by the person
named in the original instrument of conveyance as the transferor or
the transferee and by any agent assisting in the transfer of the
interment rights.
(c) The sale of the exclusive right of sepulture in a group
of interment rights that were conveyed collectively may not be
divided without the consent of the cemetery organization.
(d) A person selling the right of sepulture in a plot shall
collect and remit to the cemetery organization all fees required
under Section 712.028.
(e) A person selling the right of sepulture in a plot must
collect and remit all other fees as required by the rules of the
cemetery organization. Fees required by the rules of the cemetery
organization for the sale of the right of sepulture in a plot under
this section may not exceed the fees charged on the sale of the
right of sepulture in a plot by the cemetery organization under
Section 711.038.
(f) A cemetery broker must keep a record of each sale under
this section. The record must include:
(1) the name and address of the purchaser;
(2) the date of the purchase;
(3) a copy of the purchase agreement, with the name and
address of the cemetery;
(4) a specific description of the interment rights;
(5) the purchase price;
(6) the amount of fees collected and remitted in
accordance with Subsection (d); and
(7) information on the disposal of the purchase
agreement, including whether the agreement was conveyed, canceled,
or voided.
(g) A person acting as a cemetery broker may only use the
quitclaim agreement or other instrument conveying ownership that is
authorized by the cemetery organization in which the plot is
located.
(h) A person who is not an officer, agent, or employee of the
cemetery organization in which the plot is located must register
with the Finance Commission of Texas to act as a cemetery broker in
the sale of the exclusive right of sepulture in a plot.
SECTION 6. Section 711.052(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person who is an individual, firm, association,
corporation, or municipality, or an officer, agent, or employee of
an individual, firm, association, corporation, or municipality,
commits an offense if the person:
(1) engages in a business for cemetery purposes in
this state other than through a corporation organized for that
purpose, if a corporation is required by law;
(2) fails or refuses to keep records of interment as
required by Sections 711.003 and 711.004;
(3) sells, offers to sell, or advertises for sale a
plot or the exclusive right of sepulture in a plot for purposes of
speculation or investment; [or]
(4) represents through advertising or printed
material that a retail department will be established for the
resale of the plots of plot purchasers, that specific improvements
will be made in the cemetery, or that specific merchandise or
services will be furnished to a plot owner, unless adequate funds or
reserves are created by the cemetery organization for the
represented purpose; or
(5) fails or refuses to keep records of sales or fails
or refuses to collect and remit fees as required by Section
711.0381.
SECTION 7. 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, 2009.