Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3161 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	H.B. No. 3161
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the duties of a justice of the peace, medical examiner,
6	6	or other investigator regarding the bodies of unidentified deceased
7	7	persons and to the control by certain persons of the disposition of
8	8	a deceased person's remains.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 49.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	Art. 49.01. DEFINITIONS. (a) In this chapter [article]:
13	13	(1) "Autopsy" means a post mortem examination of the
14	14	body of a person, including X-rays and an examination of the
15	15	internal organs and structures after dissection, to determine the
16	16	cause of death or the nature of any pathological changes that may
17	17	have contributed to the death.
18	18	(2) "Inquest" means an investigation into the cause
19	19	and circumstances of the death of a person, and a determination,
20	20	made with or without a formal court hearing, as to whether the death
21	21	was caused by an unlawful act or omission.
22	22	(3) "Inquest hearing" means a formal court hearing
23	23	held to determine whether the death of a person was caused by an
24	24	unlawful act or omission and, if the death was caused by an unlawful
25	25	act or omission, to obtain evidence to form the basis of a criminal
26	26	prosecution.
27	27	(4) "Institution" means any place where health care
28	28	services are rendered, including a hospital, clinic, health
29	29	facility, nursing home, extended-care facility, out-patient
30	30	facility, foster-care facility, and retirement home.
31	31	(5) "Physician" means a practicing doctor of medicine
32	32	or doctor of osteopathic medicine who is licensed by the Texas State
33	33	Board of Medical Examiners under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations
34	34	Code.
35	35	(b) For purposes of this chapter, a person or body is
36	36	considered unidentified if:
37	37	(1) the deceased person's legal name is unknown; and
38	38	(2) there is no known person with the duty to inter the
39	39	deceased person's remains under Section 711.002(a), Health and
40	40	Safety Code.
41	41	SECTION 2. Article 49.04(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
42	42	amended to read as follows:
43	43	(a) A justice of the peace shall conduct an inquest into the
44	44	death of a person who dies in the county served by the justice if:
45	45	(1) the person dies in prison under circumstances
46	46	other than those described by Section 501.055(b), Government Code,
47	47	or in jail;
48	48	(2) the person dies an unnatural death from a cause
49	49	other than a legal execution;
50	50	(3) the body or a body part of a person is found and
51	51	either:
52	52	(A) the person is identified but [,] the cause or
53	53	circumstances of death are unknown[, and:
54	54	[(A) the person is identified]; or
55	55	(B) the person is unidentified, regardless of
56	56	whether the cause or circumstances of death are known;
57	57	(4) the circumstances of the death indicate that the
58	58	death may have been caused by unlawful means;
59	59	(5) the person commits suicide or the circumstances of
60	60	the death indicate that the death may have been caused by suicide;
61	61	(6) the person dies without having been attended by a
62	62	physician;
63	63	(7) the person dies while attended by a physician who
64	64	is unable to certify the cause of death and who requests the justice
65	65	of the peace to conduct an inquest; or
66	66	(8) the person is a child younger than six years of age
67	67	and an inquest is required by Chapter 264, Family Code.
68	68	SECTION 3. Section 6(a), Article 49.25, Code of Criminal
69	69	Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
70	70	(a) Any medical examiner, or his duly authorized deputy,
71	71	shall be authorized, and it shall be his duty, to hold inquests with
72	72	or without a jury within his county, in the following cases:
73	73	1. When a person shall die within twenty-four hours
74	74	after admission to a hospital or institution or in prison or in
75	75	jail;
76	76	2. When any person is killed; or from any cause dies an
77	77	unnatural death, except under sentence of the law; or dies in the
78	78	absence of one or more good witnesses;
79	79	3. When the body or a body part of a person is found and
80	80	either:
81	81	(A) the person is identified but [,] the cause or
82	82	circumstances of death are unknown[, and:
83	83	[(A) the person is identified]; or
84	84	(B) the person is unidentified, regardless of
85	85	whether the cause or circumstances of death are known;
86	86	4. When the circumstances of the death of any person
87	87	are such as to lead to suspicion that he came to his death by
88	88	unlawful means;
89	89	5. When any person commits suicide, or the
90	90	circumstances of his death are such as to lead to suspicion that he
91	91	committed suicide;
92	92	6. When a person dies without having been attended by a
93	93	duly licensed and practicing physician, and the local health
94	94	officer or registrar required to report the cause of death under
95	95	Section 193.005, Health and Safety Code, does not know the cause of
96	96	death. When the local health officer or registrar of vital
97	97	statistics whose duty it is to certify the cause of death does not
98	98	know the cause of death, he shall so notify the medical examiner of
99	99	the county in which the death occurred and request an inquest;
100	100	7. When the person is a child who is younger than six
101	101	years of age and the death is reported under Chapter 264, Family
102	102	Code; and
103	103	8. When a person dies who has been attended
104	104	immediately preceding his death by a duly licensed and practicing
105	105	physician or physicians, and such physician or physicians are not
106	106	certain as to the cause of death and are unable to certify with
107	107	certainty the cause of death as required by Section 193.004, Health
108	108	and Safety Code. In case of such uncertainty the attending
109	109	physician or physicians, or the superintendent or general manager
110	110	of the hospital or institution in which the deceased shall have
111	111	died, shall so report to the medical examiner of the county in which
112	112	the death occurred, and request an inquest.
113	113	SECTION 4. Section 711.002, Health and Safety Code, is
114	114	amended by amending Subsection (l) and adding Subsections (l-1) and
115	115	(l-2) to read as follows:
116	116	(l) A person listed in Subsection (a) may not control the
117	117	disposition of the decedent's remains if:
118	118	(1) [,] in connection with the decedent's death, [an
119	119	indictment has been filed charging] the person has been arrested or
120	120	an arrest warrant has been issued for the person for [with] a crime
121	121	under Chapter 19, Penal Code, that involves family violence against
122	122	the decedent; or
123	123	(2) the decedent had filed an application for a
124	124	protective order against or with respect to the person under
125	125	Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal Procedure, Article
126	126	17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 6.504, Family Code, or
127	127	Subtitle B, Title 4, Family Code, or an order has been issued
128	128	against or with respect to the person under one of those provisions.
129	129	(l-1) A person regulated under Chapter 651, Occupations
130	130	Code, who knowingly allows a person described by Subsection (l)
131	131	[the person charged with a crime] to control the disposition of the
132	132	decedent's remains in violation of that [this] subsection commits a
133	133	prohibited practice under Section 651.460, Occupations Code, and
134	134	the Texas Funeral Service Commission may take disciplinary action
135	135	or assess an administrative penalty against the regulated person
136	136	under that chapter.
137	137	(l-2) A court with jurisdiction over probate proceedings
138	138	shall expedite the proceedings to resolve any dispute over the
139	139	right to control the disposition of a decedent's remains among the
140	140	persons listed in Subsection (a) if the dispute involves the
141	141	control of the disposition of the remains by a prohibited person
142	142	described by Subsection (l).
143	143	SECTION 5. Articles 49.01, 49.04, and 49.25, Code of
144	144	Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to an
145	145	investigation of a death of an unidentified person that commences
146	146	on or after the effective date of this Act. An investigation of the
147	147	death of an unidentified person that commences before the effective
148	148	date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
149	149	investigation commenced, and the former law is continued in effect
150	150	for that purpose.
151	151	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
152	152	______________________________ ______________________________
153	153	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
154	154	I certify that H.B. No. 3161 was passed by the House on May 2,
155	155	2023, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 5, 3 present, not
156	156	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
157	157	No. 3161 on May 25, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 136, Nays 0,
158	158	1 present, not voting.
159	159	______________________________
160	160	Chief Clerk of the House
161	161	I certify that H.B. No. 3161 was passed by the Senate, with
162	162	amendments, on May 21, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
163	163	0.
164	164	______________________________
165	165	Secretary of the Senate
166	166	APPROVED: __________________
167	167	Date
168	168	__________________
169	169	Governor