SRC-AXB H.B. 1571 76(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   H.B. 1571
76R10386  DLF-FBy: Grusendorf (Harris)
Administration
5/9/1999
Engrossed


DIGEST 

Currently, if a married couple divorce subsequent to a husband purchasing a
burial plot for his wife, the law does not clarify her surviving spouse's
discretion in the matter of her grave marker, if she remarries and then
passes away.  H.B. 1571 specifies regulations governing what name should
appear on an individual's grave marker, and provides a presumption that a
married woman wants her grave marker to reflect her married name. 

PURPOSE

As proposed, H.B. 1571 specifies regulations governing what name should
appear on an individual's grave marker. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 711.002, Health and Safety Code, by amending
subsections (g) and (j) and adding Subsection (k), to authorize the
directions for the disposition of a person's remains to govern the grave
marker inscription for a plot in which the decedent had the right of
sepulture at the time of death, and where the decedent is buried.
Specifies that it is presumed that a married woman's name includes the last
name she used at the time of her death, as it appears on her grave marker,
in the absence of evidence of a contrary intent.  Makes a conforming
change. 

SECTION 2.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date:  upon passage.