### November5, 19’t8

Eon. Beauford II. Jester Opinion No. V-710 Govomor of Texas Capitol Station Austin, Texas Rot Applicability df the Anatomical Board Act to the unclaimed bodies of prisoner0 whodie within thepenitentiaryDear Governor Jester t

Pour request for an opinion reads, in part:

“Are wecorrect in the assumption that Article 4584 Chapter 194, Revised Civil Statutes (1825) creating the Anatomical Board, gives authority to 

### the Texas Prison System to turn over to that Board unclaimed bodies of prisoners whodie witbin 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 gemera1 law can not be amendedIn anapproprlation bill, it occurs to us that the original authority as granted by

### the Statute creating the Anatomical Beardwill apply.”

The provisions ‘of the Anatomical Board Act of 19C7s as amendedin 1929and 

### 1931, are nowArticles 4583 through 459C Vernon’s Civil ‘Statutes andArticles 530 and 531 of tile Penal Code. Article 

### 4483 creates the Anatomical Board of the State of Texas “for the distrlbutiom and delivery of dead humanbodies, hereinafter described, to and among

### such institutions as, under 

### the revisions of 

### this law, are entitled thereto,” Article c584reads:Hon. Beauford H. Jester - Page 2 (V-710 )

“All public officers, agents, and servants, andall officers, agents and servants of any county, city,to>dn, district or other municipality, andof anyand every almshouse, prison, morgue, hospital, or any other public institution, having charge or control of dead humanbodies required to be burled at public expense are hereby required, after notification in writing by said board or its duly authorized officers, or persons designated bythe authorities of said board, then andthereafter to announce to said board, its authorized officer or agent, whenever such body or bodies comeinto his or their possession, 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 onthe 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 bythemwhomay comply with the provisions of this law, to take and remove all such bodies as are not desired for post mortemexamination by the medical staff of public hospitals or institutions for the insane, to be used within this State for the advancement of medical science, but nonotice 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 member, shall claim the said body for burial, but It shall be surrendered without cost to such claimant for interment, or shall upon such claimant Is request, be interred in the manner provided for the interment of bodies not coming within thr operation of this law. lo motice shall be given for the body to be delivered, if the deceased died of contagious disease, save tuberculosis, or syphllls, nor shall notice be given if such deceased person were a traveler whodied suddenly, in which

cases the body shall be buried. It is further required that due effort be madebyHon. 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 andnotify himor her of the death; andfailure to claim such body by kindred 

### or relation within twenty-f.our 

### hours after receipt of such notification shall be recognized as bringing such body under the rovisions of this law

### hand

### delivery shalEbe madeas soon therea ter to said board, its officers, or agents as maybe possible. Such person in charge of such public institution shall file with the county judge anaffidavit that he has s&adsdiligent Inquiry to find the kindred or relatives of the deceased stating such inquir t as he has made. is claimed In case a body

y relatives within ten days after it has been delivered to an institution
or Persons entitled to receive the sameunder the provisions of this law, it shall be dadivered to 

### them for burial andwithout



### 41st ‘Leg,, p. Acts 

### 1907 pe 117 sec. 24Acts 

### 1929,

328, ch. 152, I 1,

Article 

### 531 of the Penal Codeprovides:

“Any person having duties imposed upon himby the provisions of the Anatomical Board Act whoshall refuse, neglect or omit to perform any of themas required by said law, shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars for each offenseol’

Theremaining articles of the statutes are 

### l f

no particular importance, so far as wear~ehere concernedp In our Opinion No, 

### V-358, a copy of which is enclosed hrrewlth, it was held that the provision8 Article 45% Weremandatory. The penitentiary Is a*t

“prison” andthe unclaimed bodies of prlsmners whedie while confined therein are buried at the expense rf 

### the State0 Therefore, such 

### unolaimed bodies comewithin the purview of the statutes 

### under consideration and are subject to be delivered to the Anatomical Board for the pur

### poses stated therein.’

.

Hon. Beauford I-I.Jester - Page 4 (V-710)

Youhave directed our attention to House Bill No. 

### 996, Chapter 104, Acts of the 44th Legislature, the Title of which reads as follows:

“AnAct makingan emergency appropriation for the Texas State Prison System for the purpose of returning to relatives, bodies of convicts whose familfes are in fndigent circumstances; providing the Fifty Dollars ($50) allowance nowmadeupon dlscharge shall be a plied as part payment of shipping said boafes, and declaring an emergency,”

Section 1 of this Bill reads:

“There Is hereby appropriated out of any

### moneys in the General Fundnot otherwise a.ppropriated the sumof Seven Hundred and Fifty Dollars t

### $750)( or so muchthereof

as maybe necessary for the Texas State Prison System for the purpose of embalmingand shipping the bodies of deceased convPcts to 

### their families whensaid families are in indigent circumstances and request the return of the bodlss for burial; and such appropriation shall be available as of the 2ndday of May 

### 1935, anduntil the 31st day of August, 

### 193b, andall 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 harmonywith its title, Considered in its entirety, it is nothing morethan anappropriation bill, and as such hadno effect whatever upon the statutes under consideration. Anexamination 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 whohave died while COIIfined In the penitentiary.

In view of the foregoing, weanswer yottr ques

### tion In the affirmative.Hon. Beauford H. Jester - Page 5 (V-710)

SUMMRRY

Theunclaimed 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,

ATTORNEY

GENERAL

OFTEXAS

BWB:wb Encl. - JQJ+w
BY Bruce W. Bryant Assistant

APPROVED:

NEYGENWAL