H.B. No. 3161
AN ACT
relating to the duties of a justice of the peace, medical examiner,
or other investigator regarding the bodies of unidentified deceased
persons and to the control by certain persons of the disposition of
a deceased person's remains.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 49.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 49.01. DEFINITIONS. (a) In this chapter [article]:
(1) "Autopsy" means a post mortem examination of the
body of a person, including X-rays and an examination of the
internal organs and structures after dissection, to determine the
cause of death or the nature of any pathological changes that may
have contributed to the death.
(2) "Inquest" means an investigation into the cause
and circumstances of the death of a person, and a determination,
made with or without a formal court hearing, as to whether the death
was caused by an unlawful act or omission.
(3) "Inquest hearing" means a formal court hearing
held to determine whether the death of a person was caused by an
unlawful act or omission and, if the death was caused by an unlawful
act or omission, to obtain evidence to form the basis of a criminal
prosecution.
(4) "Institution" means any place where health care
services are rendered, including a hospital, clinic, health
facility, nursing home, extended-care facility, out-patient
facility, foster-care facility, and retirement home.
(5) "Physician" means a practicing doctor of medicine
or doctor of osteopathic medicine who is licensed by the Texas State
Board of Medical Examiners under Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations
Code.
(b) For purposes of this chapter, a person or body is
considered unidentified if:
(1) the deceased person's legal name is unknown; and
(2) there is no known person with the duty to inter the
deceased person's remains under Section 711.002(a), Health and
Safety Code.
SECTION 2. Article 49.04(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A justice of the peace shall conduct an inquest into the
death of a person who dies in the county served by the justice if:
(1) the person dies in prison under circumstances
other than those described by Section 501.055(b), Government Code,
or in jail;
(2) the person dies an unnatural death from a cause
other than a legal execution;
(3) the body or a body part of a person is found and
either:
(A) the person is identified but [,] the cause or
circumstances of death are unknown[, and:
[(A) the person is identified]; or
(B) the person is unidentified, regardless of
whether the cause or circumstances of death are known;
(4) the circumstances of the death indicate that the
death may have been caused by unlawful means;
(5) the person commits suicide or the circumstances of
the death indicate that the death may have been caused by suicide;
(6) the person dies without having been attended by a
physician;
(7) the person dies while attended by a physician who
is unable to certify the cause of death and who requests the justice
of the peace to conduct an inquest; or
(8) the person is a child younger than six years of age
and an inquest is required by Chapter 264, Family Code.
SECTION 3. Section 6(a), Article 49.25, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Any medical examiner, or his duly authorized deputy,
shall be authorized, and it shall be his duty, to hold inquests with
or without a jury within his county, in the following cases:
1. When a person shall die within twenty-four hours
after admission to a hospital or institution or in prison or in
jail;
2. When any person is killed; or from any cause dies an
unnatural death, except under sentence of the law; or dies in the
absence of one or more good witnesses;
3. When the body or a body part of a person is found and
either:
(A) the person is identified but [,] the cause or
circumstances of death are unknown[, and:
[(A) the person is identified]; or
(B) the person is unidentified, regardless of
whether the cause or circumstances of death are known;
4. When the circumstances of the death of any person
are such as to lead to suspicion that he came to his death by
unlawful means;
5. When any person commits suicide, or the
circumstances of his death are such as to lead to suspicion that he
committed suicide;
6. When a person dies without having been attended by a
duly licensed and practicing physician, and the local health
officer or registrar required to report the cause of death under
Section 193.005, Health and Safety Code, does not know the cause of
death. When the local health officer or registrar of vital
statistics whose duty it is to certify the cause of death does not
know the cause of death, he shall so notify the medical examiner of
the county in which the death occurred and request an inquest;
7. When the person is a child who is younger than six
years of age and the death is reported under Chapter 264, Family
Code; and
8. When a person dies who has been attended
immediately preceding his death by a duly licensed and practicing
physician or physicians, and such physician or physicians are not
certain as to the cause of death and are unable to certify with
certainty the cause of death as required by Section 193.004, Health
and Safety Code. In case of such uncertainty the attending
physician or physicians, or the superintendent or general manager
of the hospital or institution in which the deceased shall have
died, shall so report to the medical examiner of the county in which
the death occurred, and request an inquest.
SECTION 4. Section 711.002, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (l) and adding Subsections (l-1) and
(l-2) to read as follows:
(l) A person listed in Subsection (a) may not control the
disposition of the decedent's remains if:
(1) [,] in connection with the decedent's death, [an
indictment has been filed charging] the person has been arrested or
an arrest warrant has been issued for the person for [with] a crime
under Chapter 19, Penal Code, that involves family violence against
the decedent; or
(2) the decedent had filed an application for a
protective order against or with respect to the person under
Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal Procedure, Article
17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 6.504, Family Code, or
Subtitle B, Title 4, Family Code, or an order has been issued
against or with respect to the person under one of those provisions.
(l-1) A person regulated under Chapter 651, Occupations
Code, who knowingly allows a person described by Subsection (l)
[the person charged with a crime] to control the disposition of the
decedent's remains in violation of that [this] subsection commits a
prohibited practice under Section 651.460, Occupations Code, and
the Texas Funeral Service Commission may take disciplinary action
or assess an administrative penalty against the regulated person
under that chapter.
(l-2) A court with jurisdiction over probate proceedings
shall expedite the proceedings to resolve any dispute over the
right to control the disposition of a decedent's remains among the
persons listed in Subsection (a) if the dispute involves the
control of the disposition of the remains by a prohibited person
described by Subsection (l).
SECTION 5. Articles 49.01, 49.04, and 49.25, Code of
Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to an
investigation of a death of an unidentified person that commences
on or after the effective date of this Act. An investigation of the
death of an unidentified person that commences before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
investigation commenced, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3161 was passed by the House on May 2,
2023, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 5, 3 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 3161 on May 25, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 136, Nays 0,
1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3161 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 21, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor