BILL ANALYSIS
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
One particular area of need for state law enforcement is reliable data on decomposition of bodies.
The closest such facility is located at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and the data
produced is not necessarily reliable in the different climatic and terrain conditions of Texas. In
addition, state law enforcement officials often do not have the budget to travel to out-of-state
training seminars, and experts from the facility in Tennessee are usually not available to assist
with investigations in Texas. A decomposition facility at a forensic science program in Texas
would help resolve both problems, offering a training site to state law enforcement personnel and
further developing a network of forensic anthropologists available to assist these investigators.
Founded in 1999, Baylor University’s forensic science program has grown to roughly 500
students and is the only undergraduate program of its kind in Texas. Baylor’s forensic science
faculty assist law enforcement in various capacities, and graduates of the program provide
excellent candidates for the state’s medical schools, graduate schools, and law enforcement
agencies.
Baylor’s forensic science program proposes to establish a decomposition facility in which the
rate of decay of bodies in different settings can be monitored to better inform crime scene
investigation. However, current law only allows bodies or body parts to be donated to an entity
that is on a statutory list. To develop a decomposition facility, Baylor must be designated as an
eligible donees of bodies. This bill allows for that designation.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
The bill adds that a forensic science program at a defined general academic teaching institution or private or independent institution of higher education may be donees of gifts of bodies or parts of bodies. Makes a conforming change.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2005.