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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the regulation of transportation protection |
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agreements. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 154.002, Finance Code, is amended by |
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amending Subdivisions (9) and (13) and adding Subdivision (15) to |
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read as follows: |
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(9) "Prepaid funeral benefits" means prearranged or |
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prepaid funeral or cemetery services or funeral merchandise, |
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including an alternative container, casket, or outer burial |
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container. The term does not include: |
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(A) a grave, marker, monument, tombstone, crypt, |
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niche, plot, or lawn crypt unless it is sold in contemplation of |
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trade for a funeral service or funeral merchandise to which this |
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chapter applies; or |
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(B) a transportation protection agreement. |
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(13) "Funeral service" or "service": |
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(A) means a service sold or offered for sale on a |
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preneed basis that may be used to: |
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(i) [(A)] care for and prepare a deceased |
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human body for burial, cremation, or other final disposition; and |
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(ii) [(B)] arrange, supervise, or conduct a |
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funeral ceremony or the final disposition of a deceased human body; |
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and |
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(B) does not include a service provided under a |
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transportation protection agreement. |
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(15) "Transportation protection agreement" has the |
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meaning assigned by Section 101.056, Insurance Code. |
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SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 101, Insurance Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 101.056 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 101.056. TRANSPORTATION PROTECTION AGREEMENTS; |
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EXEMPTION FROM INSURANCE LAW. (a) In this section: |
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(1) "Seller" has the meaning assigned by Section |
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154.002, Finance Code. |
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(2) "Transportation protection agreement" means an |
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agreement that primarily provides for the coordination and |
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arrangement of all professional services related to the preparation |
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for purposes of transportation and subsequent transportation of a |
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deceased human body. |
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(b) A transportation protection agreement sold by a seller: |
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(1) does not constitute the business of insurance in |
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this state; and |
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(2) is otherwise exempt from the requirements of this |
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code. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |