Honorable John Carona, Chair, Senate Committee On Business & Commerce
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB661 by Carona (Relating to cemeteries and perpetual care cemetery corporations; creating an offense.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Health and Safety Code as it relates to cemeteries and perpetual care cemetery corporations. The provisions of the bill would create the following two second-degree offenses: (1) making more than one interment in a plot in a cemetery operated by a cemetery organization unless each owner of the plot consents to the interment and (2) removing remains from a plot in a cemetery operated by a cemetery organization without complying with the requests of certain designated representatives and/or co-owners of the plot.
A felony of the second degree is punishable by confinement in prison for a term from 2 to 20 years and, in addition to confinement, an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
The bill would take effect on September 1, 2013, and only applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
This bill’s provisions would create two felony offenses. Creating an offense is expected to increase correctional supervision and/or incarceration populations and thereby increase demands on county and/or state correctional resources. The state is responsible for confining convicted felony offenders and supervising them when released to parole. With funding support from the state, local probation departments are responsible for supervising convicted felony offenders under community supervision.
It is assumed that the number of offenders supervised or incarcerated under this statute would not significantly impact state correctional agency resources. In fiscal year 2012, there were three third-degree felony arrests, one misdemeanor community supervision placement, and no admissions to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for cemetery-related offenses.