Texas Administrative Code › Title 22 - EXAMINING BOARDS › Part 10 - TEXAS FUNERAL SERVICE COMMISSION › Chapter 201 - LICENSING AND ENFORCEMENT-PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE › Section 201.4 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in Tex. Admin. Code,
				  Title 22, Part 10, shall have the following meanings:
(1) Advertising--The act of making publicly
				and generally known: the act of announcing publicly especially by a printed
				notice, electronic medium or a broadcast.
(2) Alternative container--An unfinished wood
				box or other non-metal receptacle or enclosure, without ornamentation or a
				fixed interior lining, which is designed for the encasement of human remains
				and which is made of fiberboard, pressed-wood, composition materials (with or
				without an outside covering) or like materials.
(3) At-need--The time of need of funeral
				services or merchandise when a human being has become deceased.
(4) Cash Advance item--Any item of service or
				merchandise described to a purchaser as a "cash advance", "accommodation",
				"cash disbursement" or similar term. A cash advance item is also any item
				obtained from a third party and paid for by the funeral provider on the
				purchaser's behalf. Cash advance items may include, but are not limited to:
				cemetery or crematory services; pallbearers; public transportation; clergy
				honoraria; flowers; musicians or singers; nurses; obituary notices; gratuities
				and death certificates.
(5)
				Casket--A rigid container which is designed for the encasement of human remains
				and which is usually constructed of wood, metal, fiberglass, plastic, or like
				material, and ornamented and lined with fabric.
(6) Commission--The Texas Funeral Service
				Commission.
(7) Cremation--A
				heating process which incinerates human remains.
(8) Cremation Society--A resource for sharing
				a common interest of learning about cremation and providing consumers the
				assistance to locate cremation providers in their local area or outside their
				local area.
(9) Direct
				Cremation--Disposition of human remains by cremation, without formal viewing,
				visitation, or ceremony with the body present.
(10) Funeral ceremony--A service
				commemorating the deceased with the body present.
(11) Funeral goods--Goods which are sold or
				offered for sale directly to the public for use in connection with funeral
				services. Also referred to as funeral merchandise.
(12) Funeral provider--Any person,
				partnership or corporation that sells or offers to sell funeral merchandise and
				funeral services to the public at need.
(13) Graveside service--A funeral ceremony
				with the body present held at the burial site.
(14) Holding the body hostage--Refusing for
				any reason to transfer or allow the transfer of a dead human body to the person
				responsible for making arrangements for final disposition.
(15) Immediate burial--Disposition of human
				remains by burial, without formal viewing, visitation, or ceremony with the
				body present, except for a graveside service.
(16) Memorial service--A ceremony
				commemorating the deceased without the body present.
(17) Morgue--A place where bodies of
				unidentified persons or those who have died of violence or unknown causes are
				kept until release for burial or other lawful disposition.
(18) Person--Any individual, partnership,
				corporation, association, government or governmental subdivision or agency or
				other entity.
(19)
				Pre-need--Prearranged or prepaid funeral or cemetery services or funeral
				merchandise, including an alternative container, casket, or outer burial
				container. The term does not include a grave, marker, monument, tombstone,
				crypt, niche, plot, or lawn crypt unless it is sold in contemplation of trade
				for funeral services or funeral merchandise as defined by Finance Code Chapter
				154.
(20) Refrigeration of
				body--Maintenance of an unembalmed dead human body at a temperature of 34-40
				degrees Fahrenheit.
(21) SOAH--The
				State Office of Administrative Hearings.
(22) Unreasonable Time--The retention of
				excess funds for a period that exceeds ten days from the time the funds were
				received by the funeral establishment or its agent.