Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO93-028 Page: 1 of 3
3 p.View a full description of this text.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Office of the ttornep generall
*tate of Oexas
DAN MORALES
ATTORNEY GENERAL April 13, 1993
Honorable Eddie G. Shell Letter Opinion No. 93-28
Burnet County Attorney
220 South Pierce Re: Authority to pronounce death and
Burnet, Texas 78611 the requisites of a death certificate
(ID# 17647)
Dear Mr. Shell:
You have requested our opinion regarding the authority to pronounce a person
dead and the requisites of a death certificate. You indicate that an individual confined in a
nursing home was pronounced dead by a registered nurse, and then transferred to a
crematorium. The crematorium requested a death certificate signed by a justice of the
peace.
Chapter 671 of the Health and Safety Code describes the standards used in
determining death. Subsection (d) of section 671.001, provides that
[a] registered nurse may determine and pronounce a person dead in
situations other than those described by Subsection (b) [relating to
persons on life support systems] if permitted by written policies of a
licensed health care facility, institution, or entity providing services
to that person. [Emphasis added.]
Thus, a registered nurse may pronounce a person dead, so long as the health care facility
wherein he or she is employed has written policies authorizing a registered nurse to do so.
Unless the county clerk and justice of the peace have, with the approval of the
county commissioners court, transferred local registrar duties to the county clerk, the
"justice of the peace is the local registrar of births and deaths in a justice of the peace
precinct." Health & Safety Code 191.022(a). Sections 193.002 and 193.003 of the
Health and Safety Code instruct "the person in charge of interment" to obtain the death
certificate and file it in the office of the local registrar within ten days of the date of death.
The person who is required to file the death certificate must obtain "the required personal
information from a competent person with knowledge of the facts" and "the required
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: LO93-028, text, April 13, 1993; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth276614/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.