Advisory Committee recommends fee schedule, tag policy and draft rules to Texas Funeral Service Commission

The State Anatomical Advisory Committee voted June 3 to recommend a package of fee and rule changes to the Texas Funeral Service Commission, advancing proposals that would establish tiered registration and renewal charges, a recommended inspection cadence, donor‑tag pricing and a new transfer‑fee structure for willed‑body programs.

The committee, chaired during the meeting by Dr. Ali, instructed Commission staff to verify the committee’s ‘‘moderate’’ fee scenarios against actual administrative costs before the Commission adopts any final amounts. The group recommended adopting 22 TAC 210.27C to establish tiered initial registration fees, biennial renewal and inspection fees with a two‑year registration term and a triennial inspection term, or per‑event inspection as applicable.

Why it matters: The recommendations set the framework for how the state will recover costs for regulating anatomical donation and recipient facilities, and they include revenue proposals staff said are needed to fund inspections, a new TFSC database and related administration.

What the committee recommended

- Registration and inspection timing: The committee recommended a two‑year registration term with inspections generally on a three‑year cycle (triennial), and allowed for per‑event inspections where appropriate. The motion asked Commission staff to confirm amounts against administrative costs prior to Commission adoption.

- Tagging and identifiers: The committee endorsed TFSC issuing unique donor tags to willed‑body programs and building an online system to track transfers and notifications. Registered non‑transplant anatomical organizations (NATO) may continue using their own tag systems provided they meet TFSC minimum unique‑identifier requirements and upload required transfer data.

- Tag fee: The committee recommended a donor‑tag fee for willed‑body programs not to exceed $16 per tag; NATO organizations are not required to obtain TFSC‑issued tags but must meet minimum identifier standards.

- Transfer fees: For outbound transfers by willed‑body programs the committee recommended a $175 fee per whole body/torso (or larger) and a $25 fee per disarticulated anatomical specimen (defined as anything smaller than a torso, including organs or soft tissue). The committee explicitly retained statutory exemptions for NATO distributions and asked staff to verify per‑specimen recording costs before Commission adoption.

- Late renewal/search charges: Members recommended a moderate late renewal/search charge with a 90‑day reinstatement window and non‑refundable payments, with a refund only if fees were paid in error.

Staff, statutory limits and next steps

Maria (executive‑staff) and other staff members told the committee that many of the dollar figures in the briefs were placeholders intended to give the Funeral Service Commission ranges to work with; staff repeatedly recommended verifying any amounts against the agency’s administrative cost data and said some items (notably certain inspection fees) could be tabled until the Commission provides final guidance.

On statutory authority, committee discussion repeatedly referenced Chapter 691 of the Texas Health and Safety code (TFSC rulemaking authority) and the recent Senate bill language that exempts certain NATO transfers from transfer fees. Committee members asked staff to place clarifying language in the proposed rules to reflect that exemption and to state whether recipients of NATO tissue should be excluded from transfer fees when statute requires it.

Chain of custody, records and database design

Committee members focused substantial discussion on chain‑of‑custody requirements under statute and on how TFSC should balance statutory record‑keeping with the confidentiality concerns of donors and NATO organizations. Staff proposed a TFSC online receipt/notification workflow: senders would enter transfer information into the TFSC system and recipients would acknowledge receipt there, creating a TFSC‑held record that fulfills the statute’s ‘‘immediately and safely transmit’’ requirement while limiting distribution of donor names outside agency records.

The committee asked staff to develop this workflow and tasked a work group with refining chain‑of‑custody and notification language for final rule text.

Rules forwarded to the Commission

Beyond fees, the committee reviewed draft rule text for scope and definitions, ‘‘authorized activities’’ (what uses of donated anatomical material are permitted), and an educational‑use rule that limits public display and sets approved settings for training and research. The committee made several edits (for example, removing language that suggested a donated body could be re‑donated) and voted to forward the scope/definitions and the educational‑use drafts to the Funeral Service Commission with a recommendation to adopt and with staff asked to assign rule section numbers.

What passed and what’s next

All the committee’s formal recommendations were transmitted to the Texas Funeral Service Commission as advisory recommendations, not final rules. The committee asked Commission staff to verify fee amounts against administrative cost data before the Commission acts. The Commission meeting was scheduled for June 19; the committee reported it would post a June 17 advisory meeting agenda if additional drafting or briefing time was needed.

Quotes that capture the session

"If y'all work out the concept, if we tweak it by $25 or something like that, would y'all be amenable to that?" — Dr. Ali, urging flexibility on fee ranges while staff verifies costs.

"We're going to make will‑body programs and NATO exempt [from inspection fees]; inspection fees will be charged to anatomical facilities so they carry their share of the cost." — committee member summarizing the tentative allocation of inspection costs.

"The funeral commission can be the holder of that information so it doesn't float around on a sheet of paper somewhere." — Maria (staff), describing an online notification and receipt approach to protect donor confidentiality while meeting statutory record requirements.

What the Commission will decide

The advisory committee’s votes were recommendations to the Funeral Service Commission. The Commission will consider the proposed rule text and the fee recommendations, and staff will return verified cost estimates before any fee‑setting rule is adopted. The committee also directed staff and small work groups to finalize drafting on chain‑of‑custody forms, tag logistics and the online notification workflow ahead of the Commission’s rule actions.