By Bailey                                              H.B. No. 815
         77R3373 ATP-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the presentation of the state flag to survivors of
 1-3     deceased peace officers.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter E, Chapter 615, Government Code, is
 1-6     amended by adding Section 615.105 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 615.105.  PRESENTATION OF STATE FLAG. (a)  This section
 1-8     applies only to:
 1-9                 (1)  an individual elected, appointed, or employed as a
1-10     peace officer by the state or a political subdivision of the state,
1-11     under Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or other law; or
1-12                 (2)  an individual who retired from a position
1-13     described by Subdivision (1).
1-14           (b)  On the death of an individual listed in Subsection (a),
1-15     regardless of whether the individual died in the course of duty as
1-16     a peace officer, the state shall provide, at no cost, to the
1-17     individual's next of kin:
1-18                 (1)  the state flag; and
1-19                 (2)  a letter expressing gratitude on behalf of the
1-20     people of the state for the officer's service as a peace officer.
1-21           (c)  The state flag shall be presented to the individual's
1-22     next of kin by:
1-23                 (1)  a representative of the political subdivision in
1-24     which the individual served as a peace officer or retired from
 2-1     service as a peace officer; or
 2-2                 (2)  a representative of the state.
 2-3           SECTION 2.  Subchapter I, Chapter 651, Occupations Code, is
 2-4     amended by adding Section 651.408 to read as follows:
 2-5           Sec. 651.408.  NOTICE OF DECEASED PEACE OFFICER. A funeral
 2-6     director shall make reasonable efforts to determine whether a
 2-7     deceased person being prepared by the funeral director for burial
 2-8     or other disposition was a peace officer.  If the deceased person
 2-9     is known or suspected by the funeral director to have been a peace
2-10     officer, the funeral director shall:
2-11                 (1)  contact the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
2-12     Standards and Education to verify the status of the individual as
2-13     an active or retired peace officer at the time of the individual's
2-14     death and determine with whom the individual served as a peace
2-15     officer; and
2-16                 (2)  notify the state or the political subdivision in
2-17     which the individual most recently served as a peace officer of the
2-18     individual's death.
2-19           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.  Section
2-20     1 of this Act applies only to a person who dies on or after
2-21     September 1, 2001.  Section 2 of this Act applies only to a funeral
2-22     director who prepares a deceased person for burial or other
2-23     disposition on or after September 1, 2001.