Tex. Health & Safety Code Section 711.052
Criminal Penalties


(a)

A person who is an individual, firm, association, corporation, or municipality, or an officer, agent, or employee of an individual, firm, association, corporation, or municipality, commits an offense if the person:

(1)

engages in a business for cemetery purposes in this state other than through a corporation organized for that purpose, if a corporation is required by law;

(2)

fails or refuses to keep records of interment as required by Sections 711.003 (Records of Interment) and 711.004 (Removal of Remains);

(3)

sells, offers to sell, or advertises for sale a plot or the exclusive right of sepulture in a plot for purposes of speculation or investment;

(4)

represents through advertising or printed material that a retail department will be established for the resale of the plots of plot purchasers, that specific improvements will be made in the cemetery, or that specific merchandise or services will be furnished to a plot owner, unless adequate funds or reserves are created by the cemetery organization for the represented purpose;

(5)

makes more than one interment in a plot in a cemetery operated by a cemetery organization other than as provided by Section 711.0395 (Multiple Interments in Same Plot);

(6)

removes remains from a plot in a cemetery operated by a cemetery organization without complying with Section 711.004 (Removal of Remains);

(7)

offers or receives monetary inducement to solicit business for a cemetery broker; or

(8)

fails or refuses to keep records of sales or resales or to collect and remit fees as required by Section 711.0381 (Sale or Resale of Plots by Certain Persons).

(b)

A cemetery organization or an officer, agent, or employee of the cemetery organization commits an offense if the cemetery organization, officer, agent, or employee offers any inducement, pecuniary or otherwise, to any person or entity for the purpose of securing or attempting to secure business for that cemetery organization. This subsection does not prohibit the offering or payment by a cemetery organization of any such inducement, pecuniary or otherwise, to an officer, employee, agent, subcontractor, or representative of the cemetery organization.

(c)

A cemetery organization or an officer, agent, or employee of the cemetery organization commits an offense if the cemetery organization, officer, agent, or employee of a cemetery organization offers a free plot in a drawing, in a lottery, or in another manner, unless the offer is for the immediate burial of an indigent person.

(d)

Except as provided by this subsection, an offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. An offense under Subsection (a)(5) or (6) is a felony of the second degree.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 217, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 634, Sec. 23, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
Amended by:
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 123 (S.B. 661), Sec. 6, eff. September 1, 2013.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 220 (H.B. 52), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2013.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1236 (S.B. 1296), Sec. 10.001, eff. September 1, 2015.
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 20 (S.B. 614), Sec. 41, eff. September 1, 2019.

Source: Section 711.052 — Criminal Penalties, https://statutes.­capitol.­texas.­gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.­711.­htm#711.­052 (accessed Apr. 13, 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:
Apr. 13, 2024

§ 711.052’s source at texas​.gov