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