| TO: | Honorable Jaime Capelo, Chair, House Committee on Public Health |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB987 by Coleman (Relating to removal of human body parts after death; providing a penalty.), As Introduced |
The bill would transfer Section 693.002 of the Texas Health and Safety Code (Removal of Body Part or Tissue from Decedent who died Under Circumstances Requiring an Inquest) to Chapter 692.0155 of the Texas Health and Safety Code (Texas Anatomical Gift Act) and add language to the Health and Safety Code making it a criminal penalty if a person removes a body part from a decedent knowing that a gift authorizing the removal was not made in accordance with Sections 692.003 and 692.004 of the Texas Anatomical Gift Act. The Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
The Texas Department of Health (TDH) indicates that the bill would have no fiscal impact on the department. TDH does not have jurisdiction over the authorization to the removal of human body parts or tissue and cannot impose penalties for the unauthorized removal of body parts.
For this analysis it is assumed that the number of additional offenders convicted under this statute would not result in a significant impact on the programs and workload of state corrections agencies or on the demand for resources and services of those agencies.
| Source Agencies: | 501 Department of Health
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| LBB Staff: | JK, EB, GG
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