HB3803

Regular Session

Relating to the confidentiality and disclosure of certain financial information of perpetual care cemeteries and perpetual care trust funds.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-06-20

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Department of Banking

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (The bill took immediate effect upon signature).
Compliance Deadline: Immediate. You must apply these confidentiality protocols to any data currently being prepared for or held by the DOB.
Agency Rulemaking: The DOB is not explicitly required to promulgate new rules, but we anticipate the Department may issue an industry notice regarding the specific labeling of confidential submissions. Until then, rely on the statute text.

Immediate Action Plan

1. Update PIA Templates: Revise your standard response letters for public information requests to include a denial template based on Texas Health and Safety Code § 712.010.
2. Mark Pending Submissions: If you are currently undergoing an examination or have a pending submission, apply confidentiality stamps to those documents immediately.
3. Notify Trustees: Send a formal memorandum to your trust fund managers informing them of the change in law and their obligation to maintain confidentiality regarding DOB inquiries.
4. Audit Past Disclosures: Ensure that any historical examination reports currently in your files are moved to a secure, limited-access location to prevent accidental release.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Trust Agreements: Review agreements with financial institutions managing perpetual care funds. Insert a clause acknowledging that all data shared with the DOB is confidential under Texas Health and Safety Code § 712.010.
Vendor NDAs: Update Non-Disclosure Agreements with third-party accountants and compliance consultants. They must understand that examination data is now legally privileged and cannot be released under Public Information Act (PIA) requests.

Hiring/Training

PIA Officer Training: Your designated Public Information Officer must be retrained immediately. They must deny any public or media requests for DOB financial examination reports, citing the new statutory exemption.
Staff Protocols: Instruct finance staff to treat DOB correspondence as "Restricted/Confidential" rather than general business records.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Document Stamping: Immediately begin watermarking or stamping all financial documents submitted to the DOB with: "CONFIDENTIAL PER § 712.010." This creates an unambiguous record of your intent.
File Segregation: Physically or digitally separate "Published Annual Statements" (public) from "DOB Examination Data" (confidential). Commingling these files increases the risk of inadvertent disclosure during a records request.

Fees & Costs

No Impact: There are no new fees or levies associated with this legislation.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

The "Interagency" Loophole: Section 712.010(c) grants the Banking Commissioner discretion to share your confidential data with other state or federal agencies (e.g., IRS, FBI, Attorney General) without your consent if deemed in the "public interest." Do not assume confidentiality applies to inter-governmental investigations.
"Indirectly Obtained" Data: The statute protects data obtained "directly or indirectly." It is currently unclear if this protection extends to financial data you submit to a master trustee that is subsequently handed over to the DOB. Until clarified by the DOB, treat these data flows as confidential but recognize the legal gray area.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsCemeteries Protection of Personal Information Banking, Texas Department of

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3803

By: Lambert

Pensions, Investments & Financial Services

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current Health and Safety Code provisions governing the Texas Department of Banking regulation of perpetual care cemeteries do not contain a confidentiality provision specific to perpetual care cemetery financial information, but Finance Code provisions governing prepaid funeral services require the department to regulate prepaid funeral contracts and make certain financial information relating to such a contract seller confidential. The bill author has informed the committee that the department regulates entities that are both permitted prepaid funeral contract sellers and registered perpetual care cemeteries, which can cause some conflicting applications. C.S.H.B. 3803 seeks to remove a potential conflict by adding confidentiality provisions to the Health and Safety Code that mirror the Finance Code confidentiality provisions.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3803 amends the Health and Safety Code to establish that the following information is confidential:

·information relating to the financial condition of a perpetual care cemetery or fund that the Texas Department of Banking obtains directly or indirectly, through examination or otherwise, other than a published statement; and

·a department file or record relating to the financial condition of a perpetual care cemetery or fund.

However, the bill authorizes the banking commissioner of Texas to disclose such information to an agency, department, or instrumentality of this state, another state, or the United States if the commissioner determines disclosure is in the best interest of the public and necessary or proper to enforce the laws of this state, another state, or the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3803 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Both the substitute and the introduced establish that certain information relating to the financial condition of a perpetual care cemetery or fund is confidential. However, the introduced specified that information as records or other information retained by the Texas Department of Banking, whereas the substitute specifies that information as information, other than a published statement, that the department obtains directly or indirectly, through examination or otherwise, and a department file or record relating to such a financial condition. Additionally, the introduced established that the applicable information is not subject to disclosure under state public information law, whereas the substitute does not.

Whereas the introduced authorized the department to disclose information made confidential under the bill to the state, a political subdivision of the state, or a state agency if the department considers disclosure to be in the best interest of the public or necessary or proper to aid in the enforcement of a law or rule, the substitute authorizes the banking commissioner of Texas instead to disclose such information to an agency, department, or instrumentality of this state, another state or the United States if the commissioner determines disclosure is in the best interest of the public and necessary or proper to enforce the laws of this state, another state, or the United States.

The substitute changes the bill's effective date to provide for its possible immediate effect, contingent on receiving the requisite constitutional vote, whereas the introduced provided only for the bill to take effect September 1, 2025, with no possibility for immediate effect.

House Authors

Rep. Stan LambertRepublican · Primary Author

Senate Sponsor

Sen. Judith ZaffiriniDemocrat · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

H.B. No. 3803

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the confidentiality and disclosure of certain financial
	information of perpetual care cemeteries and perpetual care trust
	funds.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 712, Health and Safety
	Code, is amended by adding Section 712.010 to read as follows:
	Sec. 712.010. CONFIDENTIALITY AND DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN
	INFORMATION. (a) Information relating to the financial condition
	of a perpetual care cemetery or fund the department obtains
	directly or indirectly, through examination or otherwise, other
	than a published statement, is confidential.
	(b) A department file or record relating to the financial
	condition of a perpetual care cemetery or fund is confidential.
	(c) The commissioner may disclose information described by
	Subsection (a) or (b) to an agency, department, or instrumentality
	of this or another state or the United States if the commissioner
	determines disclosure is in the best interest of the public and
	necessary or proper to enforce the laws of this or another state or
	the United States.
	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


April 4, 2025

TO:	Honorable Stan Lambert, Chair, House Committee on Pensions, Investments & Financial Services

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	HB3803 by Lambert (Relating to the confidentiality of certain financial information related to perpetual care cemeteries.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The Department of Banking is a self-directed, semi-independent agency that is responsible for its costs of operations, prohibited from causing the General Revenue Fund to incur any cost, and not subject to the legislative budgeting process.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

451 Department of Banking

LBB Staff:

JMc, FV, GDZ, KSi

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HB3803

What does Texas HB3803 do?

HB3803 immediately classifies financial information submitted to the Texas Department of Banking (DOB) by perpetual care cemeteries as confidential, shielding it from standard public records requests. This legislation provides a statutory defense against competitor data mining and public scrutiny of regulatory examination findings, but it requires you to actively assert this privilege in your document management protocols. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (The bill took immediate effect upon signature).

Who authored HB3803?

HB3803 was authored by Texas Representative Stan Lambert during the Regular Session.

When was HB3803 signed into law?

HB3803 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce HB3803?

HB3803 is enforced by Texas Department of Banking.

How urgent is compliance with HB3803?

The compliance urgency for HB3803 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of HB3803?

The cost impact of HB3803 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does HB3803 address?

HB3803 addresses topics including cemeteries, protection of personal information and banking, texas department of.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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