🔴Relating to the confidentiality and disclosure of certain financial information of perpetual care cemeteries and perpetual care trust funds.
HB 3803
🔴 HB 3803: Secrecy Over Cemetery Trust Fund Finances
What it says it does:
HB 3803 claims to protect sensitive financial data of perpetual care cemeteries by aligning the Health and Safety Code with existing Finance Code confidentiality rules. It presents itself as a technical clarification about record handling.
What it actually changes:
It makes all financial records of perpetual care cemeteries and their trust funds confidential once the Department of Banking has them. Only the Banking Commissioner can decide if information is released, and only when they believe it serves the public interest. This removes access once guaranteed under the Texas Public Information Act.
Who is pushing for it:
The only entity listed in witness records is the Texas Department of Banking, represented by its Deputy General Counsel. No consumer groups, families, or local governments registered in favor.
Who benefits:
Cemetery corporations and trust fund managers gain freedom from public scrutiny. The Department of Banking gains total control over who can access information. Both the industry and regulator benefit from reduced outside accountability.
Who gets left out or exposed:
Families who prepaid for perpetual care can no longer confirm whether their money is secure. Local governments that may inherit abandoned cemeteries lose early warning signs of financial trouble. Journalists and watchdogs lose transparency rights under open records law.
Why this matters long term:
The bill sets a precedent for closing off financial transparency in other industries. Once confidentiality replaces public access, each new carveout weakens the state’s open records system and concentrates authority in unelected regulators.
What to watch next:
Watch for similar “alignment” bills in other sectors. Each one chips away at transparency and replaces public oversight with agency discretion. Texans could see more industries using confidentiality as a shield against accountability.
Bottom line:
HB 3803 looks like a harmless paperwork cleanup, but it hands power to a single state office while locking the public out of information they once had a right to see. When transparency disappears, public trust goes with it.
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