Title HS, Health and Safety Code

Sec. 712.0444. EMERGENCY ORDER. (a) The commissioner may issue an emergency order that takes effect immediately if the commissioner finds that immediate and irreparable harm is threatened to the public or a plot owner, marker purchaser, or other person whose interests are protect…

Sec. 712.0445. RECEIVERSHIP PROCEEDINGS. (a) In conjunction with a proceeding to forfeit the right to do business in this state brought by the attorney general, the attorney general may seek the appointment of a receiver. This remedy is in addition to other grounds for the appoin…

Sec. 712.045. REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY. (a) The commissioner by order may revoke or suspend a certificate of authority issued under this chapter if the commissioner determines through an investigation or other credible evidence that the certificate hol…

Sec. 712.048. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. (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 sells, offers to sell, or ad…

Sec. 712.061. OFFER AND SALE OF UNDEVELOPED MAUSOLEUM SPACE. (a) A corporation may not directly or indirectly sell or offer for sale an undeveloped mausoleum space unless before the sale or offer the corporation: (1) establishes a preconstruction trust as provided by Section 712.…

Sec. 712.062. DEPOSITS TO FUND. This subchapter does not affect the corporation's obligation to make deposits to its fund as provided in Subchapter B. Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 345 (S.B. 1173), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2005. Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1290 (H.B.…

Sec. 712.063. PRECONSTRUCTION TRUST. (a) Except as provided by Section 712.067, a corporation that intends to directly or indirectly sell or offer for sale undeveloped mausoleum spaces shall establish a preconstruction trust by written declaration and agreement appointing as prec…

Sec. 712.064. CONSTRUCTION; DEFAULT. (a) The corporation shall start construction of the mausoleum or mausoleum section in which sales or reservations for sale of undeveloped mausoleum spaces are being made on or before a date that is 48 months after the date of the first of thos…

Sec. 712.065. RELEASE OF TRUST FUNDS TO CORPORATION. (a) On completion of construction of a mausoleum or mausoleum section subject to this subchapter, the corporation may withdraw all money deposited in the preconstruction trust and the net income earned on the money after submit…

Sec. 712.066. CONTRACT DISCLOSURES. (a) A sales contract for an undeveloped mausoleum space, whether in English or Spanish, must inform the buyer: (1) that the buyer by written notice may cancel the contract for the failure of the corporation or its agent or contractor to constru…

Sec. 712.067. BOND IN LIEU OF PRECONSTRUCTION TRUST. (a) In lieu of establishing the preconstruction trust required by Section 712.063, a corporation may execute and submit a bond issued by a surety company authorized to do business in this state and reasonably acceptable to the …

Sec. 712.068. REPORTS. On or before the date the corporation's annual statement of funds is due as required by Section 712.041, the corporation shall cause the preconstruction trustee to file with the department, in the form prescribed by the department, a full and true statement…

Sec. 713.001. MUNICIPAL CEMETERY AUTHORIZED. The governing body of a municipality may: (1) purchase, establish, and regulate a cemetery; and (2) enclose and improve a cemetery owned by the municipality. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 19…

Sec. 713.002. LOCAL TRUST FOR CEMETERY. (a) A municipality that owns or operates a cemetery or has control of cemetery property may act as a permanent trustee for the perpetual maintenance of the lots and graves in the cemetery. (b) To act as a trustee, a majority of the municipa…

Sec. 713.003. LOCAL AUTHORITY TO RECEIVE GIFTS; DEPOSITS FOR CARE; CERTIFICATES. (a) A municipality that is a trustee for the perpetual maintenance of a cemetery may adopt reasonable rules to receive a gift or grant from any source and to determine the amount necessary for perman…

Sec. 713.004. USE OF FUNDS. (a) A municipality may invest and reinvest deposits under this subchapter in interest-bearing bonds or governmental securities. (b) The principal of the funds must be kept intact as a principal trust fund, and the fund's trustee may not use those funds…

Sec. 713.005. DEPOSIT RECORDS. (a) A municipality that acts as a trustee under this subchapter shall maintain a permanent, well-bound record book including, for each deposit made: (1) the name of the depositor, listed in alphabetical order; (2) the purpose and amount of the depos…

Sec. 713.006. TAX. (a) A municipality acting as a trustee for a cemetery may include in the municipality's annual budget an amount considered necessary for cemetery maintenance. (b) The municipality may impose a tax on all property in the municipality in an amount not exceeding f…

Sec. 713.007. APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE. The district judge of the county in which the cemetery is located shall appoint a suitable successor or trustee to faithfully execute a trust in accordance with this subchapter if the municipality renounces a trust assumed under thi…

Sec. 713.008. TERMINATION OF MUNICIPAL TRUST BY CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) This section applies to the governing body of a municipality in a county with a population of: (1) at least 128,000 but not more than 300,000; or (2) at least 20,000 but not more than 21,000. (b) The gove…

Sec. 713.009. LOCAL POSSESSION AND CONTROL OF UNKEPT OR ABANDONED CEMETERY. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (i), a municipality with a cemetery inside the municipality's boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction may, by resolution, take possession and control of the cemete…

Sec. 713.010. PRIVATE CARE OF GRAVES. This subchapter does not affect the right of a person who has an interest in a grave or burial lot, or who is related within the fifth degree by affinity or consanguinity, as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code, to, or is a direct d…

Sec. 713.011. MAINTENANCE OF MUNICIPAL CEMETERIES. (a) A municipality that operates or has jurisdiction over a public cemetery shall maintain the cemetery in a condition that does not endanger the public health, safety, comfort, or welfare. (b) A municipality's responsibility to …

Sec. 713.012. ABANDONED PLOTS IN CERTAIN CEMETERIES IN MUNICIPAL POSSESSION AND CONTROL. (a) This section applies only to a cemetery for which the governing body of a municipality by official action issues the findings described by Section 713.009(f-1). (b) After notice provided …

Sec. 713.013. APPEAL OF FINDING OF ABANDONMENT. (a) Not later than the 10th day after the date the governing body of a municipality declares a plot abandoned under Section 713.012, a person aggrieved by the declaration or a taxpayer residing in the municipality may file with a di…

Sec. 713.021. COUNTY TRUST FOR CEMETERY. A commissioners court by resolution may establish a perpetual trust fund to provide maintenance for a neglected or unkept public or private cemetery in the county. The commissioners court shall appoint the county judge as trustee for the f…

Sec. 713.022. GIFTS FOR MAINTENANCE OF CEMETERY. (a) A trustee for a county perpetual trust fund may adopt reasonable rules to receive a gift or grant from any source and to determine the amount necessary for permanent maintenance of the cemetery. (b) A person who is interested i…

Sec. 713.023. USE OF FUNDS. (a) The trustee may invest the fund in interest-bearing bonds or federal, state, or local government securities. (b) The principal of the fund must be kept intact as a permanent principal trust fund. (c) The income or revenue of the fund may be used on…

Sec. 713.024. APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE. If a county judge who is acting as a trustee under this subchapter vacates the office or renounces the trust, the district judge shall appoint a person, other than a county commissioner, as successor trustee to execute the trust. Ac…

Sec. 713.025. PRIVATE CARE OF GRAVES. This subchapter does not affect the right of a person to maintain a grave or burial lot in a cemetery if the person: (1) has an interest in the grave or burial lot; or (2) is related within the fifth degree by affinity or consanguinity, as de…

Sec. 713.026. USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS AND PROPERTY PROHIBITED; EXCEPTIONS. (a) Except as provided by Sections 713.027, 713.0271, and 713.028, a trustee of a fund established under this subchapter or a member of the commissioners court or any other elected county officer may not pay o…

Sec. 713.027. CEMETERY OWNED BY COUNTY OF 8,200 OR LESS. (a) A county with a population of 8,200 or less may own, operate, and maintain a cemetery and sell the right of burial in the cemetery. (b) The sale of the right of burial is exempt from the requirements of Sections 263.001…

Sec. 713.0271. CEMETERY OWNED BY CERTAIN COUNTIES. A county with a population of more than 800,000 that borders a county with a population of more than 3.3 million may own, operate, and maintain a cemetery. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 492 (H.B. 4179), Sec. 1, eff. Ju…

Sec. 713.028. COUNTY CARE OF CEMETERY OLDER THAN 50 YEARS. (a) For purposes of historical preservation or public health, safety, or welfare, a commissioners court may use public funds, county employees, county inmate labor as provided by Article 43.10, Code of Criminal Procedure,…

Sec. 713.029. COUNTY AUTHORITY TO PURCHASE BURIAL GROUNDS FOR VETERANS. (a) A commissioners court may purchase burial grounds to be used exclusively for the burial of honorably discharged persons who: (1) have served in the United States armed forces during a war in which the Uni…

Sec. 714.001. DEPTH OF GRAVES; CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) The body of a decedent may not be buried in a manner so that the outside top surface of the container of the body is: (1) less than two feet below the surface of the ground if the container is not made of an impermeable materia…

Sec. 714.002. LIMITATION ON LOCATION OF FEED OR SLAUGHTER PENS NEAR CEMETERY. (a) The maintenance or location of a feed pen for hogs, cattle, or horses, a slaughter pen, or a slaughterhouse 500 feet or nearer to an established cemetery in a county with a population of at least 52…

Sec. 714.003. ABANDONED PLOTS IN PRIVATE CEMETERIES. (a) The ownership or right of sepulture in an unoccupied plot for which adequate perpetual care has not been provided in a private cemetery operated by a nonprofit organization reverts to the cemetery on a finding by a court th…

Sec. 714.004. REMOVAL OF REMAINS FROM ABANDONED CEMETERY IN COUNTY OF AT LEAST 525,000. (a) If an abandoned and neglected cemetery in a county with a population of at least 525,000 for which no perpetual care and endowment fund has been regularly and legally established is abated…

Sec. 715.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "Burial park," "cemetery purposes," "crematory," "mausoleum," and "plot" have the meanings assigned by Section 711.001. (2) "Cemetery" means a place that is used for interment, including a graveyard, burial park, or a mausoleum loca…

Sec. 715.002. PETITION OF NONPROFIT CORPORATION. A nonprofit corporation organized under this chapter to restore, operate, and maintain a historic cemetery may petition the district court of the county in which the cemetery is located to authorize the nonprofit corporation to res…

Sec. 715.003. PARTIES TO ACTION. An action commenced under this chapter shall be brought by the incorporators of the nonprofit corporation on behalf of the nonprofit corporation. The necessary parties to the action on which citation shall be served under Section 715.006 are: (1) …

Sec. 715.004. CONTENTS OF PETITION. (a) A petition filed by a nonprofit corporation under this chapter must contain a legal description of the real property comprising the historic cemetery and must aver to the court that: (1) the nonprofit corporation, through its members and in…

Sec. 715.005. WRITTEN PLAN. (a) The written plan accompanying the nonprofit corporation's petition must include: (1) a description of the actions to be taken by the nonprofit corporation to restore, operate, and maintain the historic cemetery, which must include: (A) repair of an…

Sec. 715.006. SERVICE OF CITATION. (a) Before the 31st day after the date an action is commenced by a nonprofit corporation under this chapter, the nonprofit corporation shall cause citation to be issued and served by certified mail, return receipt requested, on: (1) the record o…

Sec. 715.007. HEARING. (a) Not later than the 90th day after the date the petition is filed, the court shall hold a hearing on the petition. (b) Notice of the hearing shall be given by the nonprofit corporation to the parties listed in Section 715.003 not later than the 30th day …