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Relating to the continuation and transfer of the regulation of willed body programs to the Texas Funeral Service Commission, the regulation of willed body programs and non-transplant anatomical donation organizations, and the creation of the State Anatomical Advisory Committee; authorizing a fee.
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB 1565, Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted: a POSTIVE impact of $358,896 through the biennium ending August 31, 2023.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
HB 1565 would abolish the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas, and move its authority to the Texas Funeral Service Commission and creates the State Anatomical Advisory Committee within this commission. To do this, HB 1565 is largely made up of administrative language changes regarding authority over willed body programs. (Programs wherein an individual can choose to donate their body after death to institutes of higher education, accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks.)
However, the bill also grants new authority, new regulatory powers, and the ability to impose and collect a fee for inspecting institutions or individuals allowed to receive cadavers under existing law.
HB 1565 was amended on the House floor to ensure that the commission would not be able to adopt a rule related to standards before considering advice and recommendations from the newly established advisory committee.
HB 1565 would beneficially eliminate overlap and waste between the Texas Funeral Service Commission and the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas. It is rare that the sunset review process actually leads to the abolition of a government entity; doing so is consistent with our limited government principle and we support HB 1565 on that basis. However, we recommend amending the bill to eliminate new fees and regulations the bill would create.
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