By:  Mabry                                                        H.B. No. 3334



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to requirements regarding certification that a forensic 
anthropologist must meet in order to assist a medical examiner.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subsection (n), Article 49.10, Code of Criminal 
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
	(n)  On discovering the body of a deceased person in the 
circumstances described by Article 49.04(a)(3)(B), the justice of 
the peace [medical examiner may request the aid of a forensic 
anthropologist in the examination of the body.  The forensic 
anthropologist must be eligible for board certification by a 
nationally recognized association that accredits practitioners in 
the forensic sciences.  The forensic anthropologist shall attempt 
to establish whether the body is of a human or animal, whether 
evidence of childbirth, injury, or disease exists, and the sex, 
race, age, stature, and physical anomalies of the body.  The 
forensic anthropologist may also attempt to establish the cause, 
manner, and time of death.
	SECTION 2.  Section 13, Article 49.25, Code of Criminal 
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 13.  On discovering the body of a deceased person in the 
circumstances described by Subdivision 3(B) of Section 6(a), the 
medical examiner may request the aid of a forensic anthropologist 
in the examination of the body.  The forensic anthropologist must be 
eligible for board certification board certified by a nationally 
recognized association that accredits practitioners in the 
forensic sciences.  The forensic anthropologist shall attempt to 
establish whether the body is of a human or animal, whether evidence 
of childbirth, injury, or disease exists, and the sex, race, age, 
stature, and physical anomalies of the body.  The forensic 
anthropologist may also attempt to establish the cause, manner, and 
time of death.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.