Sec. 712.00395. SURRENDER OF CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY; FEE. (a) A certificate holder may apply to the commissioner for permission to surrender the certificate of authority if the holder:

(1) is a cemetery that qualified for an exemption under Section 711.021(g), but voluntarily elected to become a perpetual care cemetery;

(2) has performed not more than 10 burials per year during each of the last five years;

(3) is not larger than 10 acres; and

(4) has a perpetual care fund that is less than $30,000.

(b) The application for permission to surrender a certificate of authority must be sworn to and be on a form prescribed by the department.

(c) The certificate holder shall publish a notice of intention to surrender a certificate of authority to operate a perpetual care cemetery one time in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the cemetery is located. The notice must:

(1) be in the form and include the information required by the banking commissioner;

(2) state that:

(A) the certificate holder is applying to surrender the holder's certificate of authority to operate a perpetual care cemetery;

(B) a cemetery plot owner or cemetery plot owner's heir may request a hearing to contest the surrender; and

(C) a request for a hearing must be filed with the department not later than the 14th day after the date the notice is published.

(d) The certificate holder shall submit, not later than the seventh day after the date the notice is published, a publisher's affidavit evidencing publication of the notice.

(e) If a request for hearing is timely filed by a plot owner or plot owner's heir, the commissioner shall hold a hearing in accordance with Chapter 2001, Government Code.

(f) If a request for a hearing is not timely filed by a plot owner or plot owner's heir, the commissioner may approve or deny the application.

(g) If an application is denied, and if a hearing is not held before the denial, the applicant may request a hearing to appeal the denial of the application. The applicant's request for a hearing must be filed with the commissioner not later than the 30th day after the date the notice of denial is mailed. The hearing is a contested case under Chapter 2001, Government Code.

(h) An order approving the surrender of a certificate of authority must impose four conditions that are not subject to objection. Failure to satisfy any of these conditions constitutes a violation of the commissioner's order, and the certificate holder is subject to an enforcement action under this chapter. The order approving the surrender must:

(1) require the perpetual care fund to remain in an irrevocable trust, with the permissible distributions to be used for perpetual care of the cemetery in general and for those plots that were purchased before the certificate was surrendered;

(2) require that the cemetery remove any signage or other announcement stating that the cemetery is a perpetual care cemetery;

(3) require each contract and other evidence of ownership entered into after the date of the order to clearly state that the cemetery is not regulated by the Texas Department of Banking and may not use the term "perpetual care cemetery"; and

(4) state the location of cemetery records and require the cemetery to:

(A) retain existing records regarding the perpetual care fund for five years after the date of the order; and

(B) continue to comply with all recordkeeping requirements of Chapter 711.

(i) Not later than the 10th day after the date an order approving the surrender of a certificate of authority is signed, the certificate holder shall deliver the original certificate of authority to the commissioner along with a written notice of surrender that includes the location of the certificate holder's records and the name, address, telephone number, and other contact information for an individual who is authorized to provide access to the records.

(j) The surrender of a certificate of authority does not reduce or eliminate a certificate holder's administrative, civil, or criminal liability arising from any acts or omissions that occur before the surrender of the certificate.

Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 532 (H.B. 2495), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2011.

Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1336 (S.B. 1167), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2011.

Amended by:

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1051 (H.B. 1948), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017.