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