Sec. 713.026. USE OF PUBLIC FUNDS AND PROPERTY PROHIBITED; EXCEPTIONS. (a) Except as provided by Sections 713.027, 713.0271, and 713.028, a trustee of a fund established under this subchapter or a member of the commissioners court or any other elected county officer may not pay or use public funds or county employees, equipment, or property to maintain a neglected or unkept public or private cemetery.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a county if:
(1) the county owned the cemetery from September 1, 1976, through January 1, 1979; or
(2) the county used county funds, employees, equipment, or property to maintain a county-owned cemetery during 1976.
(c) A county described by Subsection (b)(1) or (2) may continue to own the cemetery or to provide maintenance for the cemetery that qualified the county for the exception if the county files with the secretary of state a certified copy of a commissioners court order certifying that the county qualifies to own or maintain a cemetery under this section. The order must be kept in a register entitled "County-Owned and -Operated Cemeteries."
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
Amended by:
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 492 (H.B. 4179), Sec. 3, eff. June 7, 2019.
Structure Texas Statutes
Title 8 - Death and Disposition of the Body
Subtitle C - Cemeteries and Crematories
Chapter 713 - Local Regulation of Cemeteries
Subchapter B. County Regulation of Cemeteries
Section 713.021. County Trust for Cemetery
Section 713.022. Gifts for Maintenance of Cemetery
Section 713.024. Appointment of Successor Trustee
Section 713.025. Private Care of Graves
Section 713.026. Use of Public Funds and Property Prohibited; Exceptions
Section 713.027. Cemetery Owned by County of 8,200 or Less
Section 713.0271. Cemetery Owned by Certain Counties
Section 713.028. County Care of Cemetery Older Than 50 Years
Section 713.029. County Authority to Purchase Burial Grounds for Veterans