Tex. Health & Safety Code Section 711.021
Formation of Corporation to Maintain and Operate Cemetery


(a)

An individual, corporation, partnership, firm, trust, or association may not engage in a business for cemetery purposes in this state unless the person is a corporation organized for those purposes.

(b)

A corporation conducting a business for cemetery purposes, including the sale of plots, may be formed only as provided by this section. The corporation must be a filing entity or foreign filing entity, as those terms are defined by Section 1.002 (Definitions), Business Organizations Code.

(b-1)

The formation and governance of a nonprofit corporation for cemetery purposes is subject to Sections 711.022 (Formation of Nonprofit Cemetery Corporation by Plot Owners) and 711.023 (Rights of Plot Owners in Cemetery Operated by Nonprofit Cemetery Corporation).

(c)

The charter of a cemetery corporation formed after May 15, 1947, but before September 1, 1993, must state whether the corporation:

(1)

is operated for profit or not for profit; and

(2)

is operating a perpetual care cemetery or a nonperpetual care cemetery.

(d)

A corporation formed before September 3, 1945, under statutory authority other than Section 5, Chapter 340, Acts of the 49th Legislature, Regular Session, 1945 (Article 912a-5, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes), to maintain and operate a cemetery is governed by this chapter only to the extent that this chapter does not conflict with the charter or articles of incorporation of the corporation.

(e)

This section does not apply to a corporation chartered by the state before September 3, 1945, that, under its charter, bylaws, or dedication, created a perpetual care trust fund and maintains that fund in accordance with the corporation’s trust agreement, Chapter 712 (Perpetual Care Cemeteries), and this chapter. The corporation may operate a perpetual care cemetery without amending the corporation’s charter as if it had been incorporated under this section.

(f)

Any cemetery that begins its initial operations on or after September 1, 1993, shall be operated as a perpetual care cemetery in accordance with Chapter 712 (Perpetual Care Cemeteries).

(g)

This section does not apply to:

(1)

a family, fraternal, or community cemetery that is not larger than 10 acres;

(2)

an unincorporated association of plot owners not operated for profit;

(3)

a church, a religious society or denomination, or an entity solely administering the temporalities of a church or religious society or denomination; or

(4)

a public cemetery belonging to this state or a county or municipality.

(h)

A cemetery corporation, including a corporation described by Subsection (d), that does not operate as a perpetual care cemetery in accordance with Chapter 712 (Perpetual Care Cemeteries) may not use the words “perpetual care” or “endowment care,” or any other term that suggests “perpetual care” or “endowment care” standards, in:

(1)

the cemetery’s name; or

(2)

any advertising relating to the cemetery.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 634, Sec. 9, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 405, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 123 (S.B. 661), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2013.

Source: Section 711.021 — Formation of Corporation to Maintain and Operate Cemetery, https://statutes.­capitol.­texas.­gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.­711.­htm#711.­021 (accessed Mar. 23, 2024).

711.001
Definitions
711.002
Disposition of Remains
711.003
Records of Interment
711.004
Removal of Remains
711.007
Nuisance
711.008
Location of Cemetery
711.009
Authority of Cemetery Keeper
711.010
Abandoned, Unknown, or Unverified Cemetery
711.011
Filing Record of Unknown or Abandoned Cemetery
711.012
Rules
711.021
Formation of Corporation to Maintain and Operate Cemetery
711.022
Formation of Nonprofit Cemetery Corporation by Plot Owners
711.023
Rights of Plot Owners in Cemetery Operated by Nonprofit Cemetery Corporation
711.024
Authority of Nonprofit Cemetery Corporation
711.031
Rules
711.032
Discrimination by Race, Color, or National Origin Prohibited
711.033
Property Acquisition by Cemetery Organization
711.034
Dedication
711.035
Effect of Dedication
711.036
Removal of Dedication
711.037
Lien Against Cemetery Property
711.038
Sale of Plots by Cemetery Organizations
711.039
Rights of Interment in Plot
711.040
Multiple Owners of Plot
711.041
Access to Cemetery
711.042
Authority of Nonprofit Cemetery Organization
711.051
Enforcement by Attorney General
711.052
Criminal Penalties
711.053
Definition
711.054
Enforcement by Finance Commission of Texas
711.055
Enforcement by Commissioner
711.056
Pattern of Wilful Disregard
711.057
Emergency Order
711.058
Restitution
711.059
Seizure of Accounts and Records
711.061
Requirements for Lawn Crypts
711.063
Construction
711.064
Contract Disclosures
711.081
Definitions
711.082
Administration
711.083
Records
711.084
Examination Fee
711.0105
Method of Removal of Remains
711.0111
Notice of Unverified Cemetery
711.0381
Sale or Resale of Plots by Certain Persons
711.0395
Multiple Interments in Same Plot
711.0515
Enforcement by Attorney General
711.0521
Access to Cemeteries

Accessed:
Mar. 23, 2024

§ 711.021’s source at texas​.gov