HBA-TBM H.B. 2640 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2640 By: Dutton Business & Industry 4/6/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, funeral directors and embalmers are regulated by the Texas Funeral Service Commission (commission). A portion of the commission's duties is to prevent discrimination in pricing of funeral service costs, including services and merchandise. To accomplish this directive, the sale of caskets needs to be regulated. House Bill 2640 prohibits the sale of a casket by a person other than a funeral director who intends to perform funeral services for the deceased. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 2640 amends the Occupations Code to prohibit a person from selling a casket to another person unless the seller is a funeral director who intends to perform funeral directing for the human body for which the buyer is purchasing the casket. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.