Amend HB 2827 by adding appropriately numbered SECTIONS to
read as follows and by renumbering existing SECTIONS accordingly:
      SECTION ____.  Section 501.055, Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
      Sec. 501.055.  REPORT OF INMATE DEATH.  (a)  If an inmate
dies while in the custody of <confined in a facility operated by or
under contract with> the department, an employee of the facility
who is in charge of the inmate shall immediately notify the nearest
justice of the peace serving in the county in which the inmate died
and the office of internal affairs for the department. The justice
shall personally inspect the body and make an inquiry as to the
cause of death. The justice shall make written copies of evidence
taken during the inquest, and give one copy to the director and one
copy to a district judge serving in the county in which the inmate
died. The judge shall provide the copy to the grand jury and, if
the judge determines the evidence indicates wrongdoing, instruct
the grand jury to thoroughly investigate the cause of death.
      (b)  Subsection (a) does not apply if the inmate:
            (1)  dies of natural causes while attended by a
physician or a registered nurse <and an autopsy is scheduled to be
preformed>; or
            (2)  is lawfully executed.
      (c)  If an inmate dies as described by Subsection (b)(1), the
department or an authorized official of the department shall order
an autopsy to be performed on the inmate.
      (d)  For purposes of this section, an "inmate in the custody
of the department" is a convicted felon who:
            (1)  is confined in a secure correctional facility
operated by or under contract with the department; or
            (2)  has been admitted for treatment into a hospital
while remaining in the custody of the department.
      SECTION ____.  Article 49.13, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
      Art. 49.13.  CONSENT TO AUTOPSY.  (a)  Consent for a
physician to conduct an autopsy is sufficient if given by the
following:
            (1)  if the deceased was married, the surviving spouse;
            (2)  if the deceased was married but not survived by a
spouse, an adult child of the deceased;
            (3)  if the deceased was married but not survived by a
spouse, and a child of the deceased is under the care of a guardian
or a court, the guardian or court having care of the child; or
            (4)  if the deceased person was unmarried or is not
survived by a spouse or a child, the following persons in the order
stated:
                  (A)  a parent;
                  (B)  a guardian;
                  (C)  the next of kin; or
                  (D)  any person who assumes custody of and
responsibility for the burial of the body.
      (b)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), consent for a physician
to conduct an autopsy is sufficient if given by the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice or an authorized official of the
department in accordance with Section 501.055, Government Code.