---
type: "Bill"
title: "Relating to the right of a parent of a deceased person to view the person's body before an autopsy is performed."
description: "Relating to the right of a parent of a deceased person to view the person's body before an autopsy is performed."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tx"
legislature: "Texas Legislature"
session: "86"
identifier: "HB 881"
citation: "Texas HB 881 (86)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Criminal Procedure--General (I0208)", "Family--Parent & Child (I0355)", "AUTOPSIES (S8855)", "PARENTAL RIGHTS (S0095)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Bell, Cecil", "Campbell", "Larson"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 42
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2019-01-17"
last_action: "2019-06-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d7afcdad-4d6c-40c1-83d6-fcb63f281531"
source_url: "ftp://ftp.legis.state.tx.us/bills/86R/billhistory/house_bills/HB00800_HB00899/HB 881.xml"
source_hash: "0fa0d384b8881029e6d48ca80c5f692034811f31c443ce6609a606d848f6b2aa"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-tx"]
---

# Texas HB 881 (86) — Relating to the right of a parent of a deceased person to view the person's body before an autopsy is performed.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/86R/billtext/html/HB00881I.HTM)

## Sponsors

- Bell, Cecil — primary (person)
- Campbell — primary (person)
- Larson — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2019-01-17** Filed `filing`
- **2019-02-25** Read first time `introduction, reading-1`
- **2019-02-25** Referred to Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence `referral-committee`
- **2019-03-18** Considered in public hearing
- **2019-03-18** Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
- **2019-03-18** Recommended to be sent to Local & Consent `referral-committee`
- **2019-03-18** Reported favorably w/o amendment(s) `committee-passage`
- **2019-03-27** Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
- **2019-03-27** Committee report distributed
- **2019-03-27** Comm. report sent to Local & Consent Calendar
- **2019-04-08** Considered in Local & Consent Calendars
- **2019-04-12** Placed on Local, Consent, and Res. Calendar
- **2019-04-12** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2019-04-12** Passed to engrossment
- **2019-04-12** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2019-04-12** Passed `passage`
- **2019-04-12** Record vote
- **2019-04-12** Reported engrossed
- **2019-04-15** Received from the House `introduction`
- **2019-04-16** Read first time `introduction, reading-1`
- **2019-04-16** Referred to Criminal Justice `referral-committee`
- **2019-05-15** Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
- **2019-05-15** Considered in public hearing
- **2019-05-15** Reported favorably w/o amendments `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2019-05-15** Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
- **2019-05-15** Committee report printed and distributed
- **2019-05-20** Placed on local & uncontested calendar
- **2019-05-20** Laid before the Senate
- **2019-05-20** Read 2nd time & passed to 3rd reading
- **2019-05-20** Vote recorded in Journal
- **2019-05-20** Three day rule suspended
- **2019-05-20** Record vote
- **2019-05-20** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2019-05-20** Passed `passage`
- **2019-05-20** Record vote
- **2019-05-21** Senate passage reported
- **2019-05-21** Reported enrolled
- **2019-05-22** Signed in the House
- **2019-05-24** Signed in the Senate
- **2019-05-24** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2019-06-10** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`
- **2019-06-10** Effective on 9/1/19 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d7afcdad-4d6c-40c1-83d6-fcb63f281531`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Texas legislature records).