| TO: | Honorable Jaime Capelo, Chair, House Committee on Public Health |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB1764 by Deuell (Relating to the disclosure of certain information to a cemetery organization or funeral establishment for the purpose of marking a grave. ), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted |
The bill would amend Sections 576.0055 and 595.0055 of the Health and Safety Code to require the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (TDMHMR) to release the name, date of birth and date, or of death of a person who dies while a patient at a mental health facility or while a resident of a residential care facility. The bill would allow the information to be released on request to representative of a funeral home or cemetery. The bill would provide that the information may not be released if the patient or patient’s guardian provides written instructions to the contrary to the facility administrator. The bill would allow a representative of a funeral home or cemetery to use the information only for the purpose of inscribing a grave marker.
The bill would become effective immediately upon passage.
| Source Agencies: | 655 Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
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| LBB Staff: | JK, EB, KF, MB
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