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- calendar_today November 14, 2026
Sunset Advisory Commission Flags Oversight Failures
The Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC) faces sharp criticism from a recent limited scope review by the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission, which highlighted serious deficiencies in the agency’s oversight of the state’s body donation program. The review, made public November 13, 2026, suggests widespread regulatory shortcomings threaten the long-term stability and effective functioning of the TFSC.
Regulatory Shortcomings Threaten Agency Stability
According to the Sunset Advisory Commission report, the TFSC’s handling of the Human Anatomical Donation Program suffers from a lack of proper rulemaking and timely administration. The findings state, “During this review, Sunset staff identified several core regulatory shortcomings at TFSC that raise serious concerns about the long-term stability and effective operation of the agency.” The absence of clear regulations has left the agency vulnerable to potential legal liabilities and raises questions about its ability to continue managing the program.
Background: Body Donation Program Under Scrutiny
The Human Anatomical Donation Program, which transfers human remains to research centers and medical schools, was placed under TFSC control three years ago. Since then, the program has faced significant turmoil. Issues came to greater attention after an April 2025 NBC News report revealed that a research facility profited from donated bodies by selling body parts to other groups, facilitated by inadequate state supervision.
Prompted by these developments, the Texas Legislature ordered the recent Sunset Advisory Commission review, focusing specifically on the body donation program. A broader, more comprehensive review of the commission is scheduled for 2029.
Chronic Agency Problems Identified
The review found that the TFSC failed to communicate its own rules effectively, resulting in ongoing confusion throughout the agency’s operations. Basic administrative and technical tasks, such as transitioning office productivity suites from Google Workspace to Microsoft Office, were mishandled—prolonged by the agency’s decision to go outside approved state contracting processes. The Sunset team stated, “The agency has also struggled to perform other basic tasks a functional state agency should be able to accomplish.”
These operational challenges are compounded by persistent high employee turnover, which has led to backlogs in enforcement cases relating to funeral service activities.
Complaints and Delays in Resolution
Statistics from fiscal year 2025 illustrate the TFSC’s struggle with complaint resolution. Of the 197 funeral services-related complaints addressed that year, resolution times averaged over 370 days, with 603 complaints still pending at year’s end. Regarding the anatomical donation program, 12 new complaints were received in 2025, but only one was resolved. The Sunset report notes that such delays are not a new issue for the commission, but remain persistent and unresolved.
Legislative Review and Outlook
The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission process, which typically occurs once per decade for most agencies, provides lawmakers with recommendations for agency reforms ahead of the next legislative session. As a result of the review, the TFSC will likely face calls for significant statutory and organizational changes in order to remedy its shortcomings and improve agency oversight, particularly regarding the body donation program.
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Source: feeds.texastribune.org.
