83R822 AED-D
By: Nelson S.B. No. 68
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the waiting period before human remains may be
cremated.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 716.004, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b) to
read as follows:
(a) A crematory establishment may not cremate human remains
within 48 hours of the time of death indicated on a death
certificate unless the waiting period is waived in writing by:
(1) a justice of the peace or medical examiner of the
county in which the death occurred; [or]
(2) a court order; or
(3) a physician licensed to practice medicine in this
state, subject to Subsection (b).
(b) A physician's written waiver of the time requirement
specified under Subsection (a) is valid only if the medical
certification required for filing a death certificate under Chapter
193 has been completed and either:
(1) any inquest or death investigation required under
Chapter 49, Code of Criminal Procedure, has been completed; or
(2) the physician submits a sworn affidavit stating
that, to the best of the physician's belief, no circumstance
requiring an inquest or death investigation under Chapter 49, Code
of Criminal Procedure, has occurred.
SECTION 2. Section 10a, Article 49.25, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 10a. WAITING PERIOD BETWEEN DEATH AND CREMATION. (a)
The body of a deceased person shall not be cremated within 48 hours
after the time of death as indicated on the regular death
certificate, unless:
(1) the death certificate indicates death was caused
by the pestilential disease [diseases] of Asiatic cholera, bubonic
plague, typhus fever, or smallpox; [,] or
(2) [unless] the time requirement is waived in writing
by:
(A) the county medical examiner;
(B) [or,] in counties not having a county medical
examiner, a justice of the peace; or
(C) a physician who is licensed to practice
medicine in this state, and the written waiver is valid under
Section 716.004(b), Health and Safety Code.
(b) In a public health disaster, the commissioner of public
health may designate other communicable diseases for which
cremation within 48 hours of the time of death is authorized.
SECTION 3. 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, 2013.