Sec. 711.012. Rules (a) The Finance Commission of Texas may adopt rules to enforce and administer Sections 711.003, 711.004, 711.007, 711.008, 711.0105, 711.021-711.024, 711.032-711.036, 711.038, 711.0381, 711.040-711.042, 711.052, 711.061, 711.063, and 711.064 relating to perpetual care cemeteries. (b) The Texas Funeral Service Commission may adopt rules, establish procedures, and prescribe forms to enforce and administer Section 711.0105. Subchapter B. Cemetery Corporations Sec. 711.021. Formation of Corporation to Maintain and Operate Cemetery (a) An individual, corporation, partnership, firm, trust, or association may not engage in a business for cemetery purposes in this state unless the person is a corporation organized for those purposes. (b) A corporation conducting a business for cemetery purposes, including the sale of plots, may be formed only as provided by this section. The corporation must be a filing entity or foreign filing entity, as those terms are defined by Section 1.002, Business Organizations Code. (b-1) The formation and governance of a nonprofit corporation for cemetery purposes is subject to Sections 711.022 and 711.023. (c) The charter of a cemetery corporation formed after May 15, 1947, but before September 1, 1993, must state whether the corporation: (d) A corporation formed before September 3, 1945, under statutory authority other than Section 5, Chapter 340, Acts of the 49th Legislature, Regular Session, 1945 (Article 912a- 5, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes), to maintain and operate a cemetery is governed by this chapter only to the extent that this chapter does not conflict with the charter or articles of incorporation of the corporation. (e) This section does not apply to a corporation chartered by the state before September 3, 1945, that, under its charter, bylaws, or dedication, created a perpetual care trust fund and maintains that fund in accordance with the corporation’s trust agreement, Chapter 712, and this chapter. The corporation may operate a perpetual care cemetery without amending the corporation’s charter as if it had been incorporated under this section. (f) Any cemetery that begins its initial operations on or after September 1, 1993, shall be operated as a perpetual care cemetery in accordance with Chapter 712. (g) This section does not apply to: (1) A family, fraternal, or community cemetery that is not larger than 10 acres; (2) An unincorporated association of plot owners not operated for profit; (3) A church, a religious society or denomination, or an entity solely administering the temporalities of a church or religious society or denomination; or (4) A public cemetery belonging to this state or a county or municipality. (h) A cemetery corporation, including a corporation described by Subsection (d), that does not operate as a perpetual care (1) Is operated for profit or not for profit; and (2) Is operating a perpetual care cemetery or a nonperpetual care cemetery. Subchapter C. Cemetery Organizations Sec. 711.031. Rules; Civil Penalty (a) A cemetery organization may adopt and enforce rules: (1) Concerning the use, care, control, management, restriction, and protection of the cemetery operated by the cemetery organization; (2) To restrict the use of cemetery property; (3) To regulate the placement, uniformity, class, and kind of markers, monuments, effigies, and other structures in any part of the cemetery;
(c) The Texas Historical Commission may adopt rules to: (1) Enforce and administer Sections 711.010 and 711.011; and (2) Enforce and administer Sections 711.004, 711.007, 711.0105, 711.035, and 711.036 relating to cemeteries that are not perpetual care cemeteries.
cemetery in accordance with Chapter 712 may not use the words “perpetual care” or “endowment care,” or any other term that suggests “perpetual care” or “endowment care” standards, in: (1) The cemetery’s name; or (2) Any advertising relating to the cemetery. Sec. 711.022. Formation of Nonprofit Cemetery Corporation by Plot Owners (a) Plot owners may organize a nonprofit corporation to receive title to land previously dedicated to cemetery purposes. (b) The plot owners must: (1) Publish notice of the time and place of the organizational meeting in a newspaper in the county, if there is a newspaper, for 30 days before the date of the meeting; and (2) Post written notice at the cemetery of the time and place of the meeting for 30 days before the date of the meeting. (c) A majority of the plot owners present and voting at the meeting shall decide whether to incorporate and to convey the land to the corporation. (d) If the plot owners vote to incorporate, at the same meeting they shall select from the plot owners a board of directors to be named in the charter. Sec. 711.023. Rights of Plot Owners in Cemetery Operated by Nonprofit Cemetery Corporation (a) A person who purchases a plot from a nonprofit cemetery corporation is a shareholder of the corporation. The person may vote in the election of corporate officers and on other matters to the same extent as a stockholder in another corporation. (b) An owner of a plot in a cemetery operated by a nonprofit corporation is a shareholder in any corporation that owns the cemetery. The plot owner may exercise the rights and privileges of a shareholder, whether the owner acquired title to the plot from the corporation or before the corporation was organized. (c) This section does not apply to a nonprofit cemetery corporation formed before September 1, 1963, if: (1) The corporation was formed under Subdivision 87, Article 1302, Revised Statutes; and (2) The charter or the articles of incorporation of the corporation provide that the corporation has no capital stock. Sec. 711.024. Authority of Nonprofit Cemetery Corporation A nonprofit cemetery corporation organized by plot owners may divide cemetery property into lots and subdivisions for cemetery purposes and charge assessments on the property for the purposes of general improvement and maintenance. (4) To regulate the planting and care of plants in the cemetery; (5) To prevent the interment of remains not entitled to be interred in the cemetery; (6) To prevent the use of a plot for a purpose that violates the cemetery organization’s restrictions; (7) To regulate the conduct of persons on cemetery property and to prevent improper meetings at the cemetery; and
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