The opinion
November 5, 19’t8
Eon. Beauford II. Jester Opinion No. V-710
Govomor of Texas
Capitol Station Rot Applicability df the
Austin, Texas Anatomical Board Act
to the unclaimed
bodies of prisoner0
who die within the
penitentiary-
Dear Governor Jester t
Pour request for an opinion reads, in part:
“Are we correct in the assumption
that Article 4584 Chapter 194, Revised
Civil Statutes (1825) creating the Anatom-
ical Board, gives authority to the Texas
Prison System to turn over to that Board
unclaimed bodies of prisoners who die
wit bin the penitent lary?
“The 44th Legislature passed House
Bill No, 996, an emergency appropriation,
appropriating funds for the Interment of
those bodies.
Wzwever, inasmuch as t&it was merely
an appropriation bill for that period and,
furthermore, in view of the fact that a gem-
era1 law can not be amended In an approprla-
tion bill, it occurs to us that the original
authority as granted by the Statute creating
the Anatomical Beard will apply.”
The provisions ‘of the Anatomical Board Act of
19C7s as amended in 1929 and 1931, are now Articles 4583
through 459C Vernon’s Civil ‘Statutes and Articles 530
and 531 of tile Penal Code. Article 4483 creates the Ana-
tomical Board of the State of Texas “for the distrlbutiom
and delivery of dead human bodies, hereinafter described,
to and among such institutions as, under the revisions
of this law, are entitled thereto,” Article c 584 reads:
Hon. Beauford H. Jester - Page 2 (V-710 )
“All public officers, agents, and ser-
vants, and all officers, agents and servants
of any county, city,to>dn, district or other
municipality, and of any and every almshouse,
prison, morgue, hospital, or any other pub-
lic institution, having charge or control of
dead human bodies required to be burled at
public expense are hereby required, after
not if ication in writing by said board or its
duly authorized officers, or persons desig-
nated by the authorities of said board, then
and thereafter to announce to said board, its
authorized officer or agent, whenever such
body or bodies come into his or their posses-
sion, charge or control, and shall without
fee or reward greater than the value of such
fee as was paid in any county, city, town, or
municipality on the third day of April 1907,
for the burial of pauper bodies, deliver such
body or bodies, and permit the said board and
its agents and the physicians and surgeons,
from time to time designated by them who may
comply with the provisions of this law, to
take and remove all such bodies as are not
desired for post mortem examination by the
medical staff of public hospitals or institu-
tions for the insane, to be used within this
State for the advancement of medical science,
but no notice need be given, nor any such
body be delivered, if any person claiming to
be and satisfying the authorities in charge
of such body that he or she is of a kindred
or is related by marriage to the deceased, or
is a bona fide friend or representative of an
organization of which the deceased was a mem-
ber, shall claim the said body for burial, but
It shall be surrendered without cost to such
claimant for interment, or shall upon such
claimant I s request, be interred in the manner
provided for the interment of bodies not com-
ing within thr operation of this law. lo
motice shall be given for the body to be de-
livered, if the deceased died of contagious
disease, save tuberculosis, or syphllls, nor
shall notice be given if such deceased person
were a traveler who died suddenly, in which
cases the body shall be buried. It is fur-
ther required that due effort be made by
Hon. Beauford H. J&star - Page 3 (V-710)
those In charge of such almshouse prison
morgue, hospital or other public lnstitutlen
having charge or control of such dead human
bodies, to find kindred or relatives of, such
deceased and notify him or her of the death;
and failure to claim such body by kindred or
relation within twenty-f.our hours after re-
ceipt of such notification shall be recog-
nized as bringing such body under the ro-
visions of this law and delivery shal E be
made as soon therea hter to said board, its
officers, or agents as may be possible. Such
person in charge of such public institution
shall file with the county judge an affidavit
that he has s&ads diligent Inquiry to find the
kindred or relatives of the deceased stating
such inquir as he has made. In case a body
is claimed t y relatives within ten days af-
ter it has been delivered to an institution
or Persons entitled to receive the same un-
der the provisions of this law, it shall be
dadivered to them for burial and without
Acts 1907 pe 117 sec. 24 Acts 1929,
41st ‘Leg,, p. 328, ch. 152, I 1,
Article 531 of the Penal Code provides:
“Any person having duties imposed upon
him by the provisions of the Anatomical Board
Act who shall refuse, neglect or omit to per-
form any of them as required by said law,
shall be fined not less than one hundred nor
more than five hundred dollars for each of-
f ense ol’
The remaining articles of the statutes are lf
no particular importance, so far as we ar~e here con-
cerned p In our Opinion No, V-358, a copy of which is
enclosed hrrewlth, it was held that the provision8 *t
Article 45% Were mandatory. The penitentiary Is a
“prison” and the unclaimed bodies of prlsmners whe die
while confined therein are buried at the expense rf the
State 0 Therefore, such unolaimed bodies come within the
purview of the statutes under consideration and are sub-
ject to be delivered to the Anatomical Board for the pur-
poses stated therein.
’ .
Hon. Beauford I-I. Jester - Page 4 (V-710)
You have directed our attention to House Bill
No. 996, Chapter 104, Acts of the 44th Legislature, the
Title of which reads as follows:
“An Act making an emergency appropria-
tion for the Texas State Prison System for
the purpose of returning to relatives, bod-
ies of convicts whose familfes are in fndi-
gent circumstances; providing the Fifty
Dollars ($50) allowance now made upon dls-
charge shall be a plied as part payment of
shipping said boa f es, and declaring an emer-
gency,”
Section 1 of this Bill reads:
“There Is hereby appropriated out of
any moneys in the General Fund not other-
wise a.ppropriated the sum of Seven Hundred
and Fifty Dollars t $750)( or so much thereof
as may be necessary for the Texas State Prison
System for the purpose of embalming and ship-
ping the bodies of deceased convPcts to their
families when said families are in indigent
circumstances and request the return of the
bodlss for burial; and such appropriation
shall be available as of the 2nd day of May
1935, and until the 31st day of August, 193b,
and all claims for the purposes stated herein
arlaing between said dates shall be paid from
said fundo”
The remainder of this Bill appears to be in
harmony with its title, Considered in its entirety, it
is nothing more than an appropriation bill, and as such
had no effect whatever upon the statutes under consid-
eration. An examination of both our civil and criminal
statutes fails to disclose any statute, other than those
mentioned in this opinion, providing for the disposition
of unclaimed bodies of prisoners who have died while COII-
fined In the penitentiary.
In view of the foregoing, we answer yottr ques-
tion In the affirmative.
Hon. Beauford H. Jester - Page 5 (V-710)
SUMMRRY
The unclaimed bodies of prisoners who
die within the penitentiary are subject to
be delivered to the Anatomical Board of the
State of Texas. Arts. 4583, et seq.
Yours very truly,
ATTORNEYGENERALOF TEXAS
- JQJ+ w
BY
BWB:wb Bruce W. Bryant
Encl. Assistant
APPROVED:
NEY GENWAL