1. (a) Inspection Procedures

   1. (1) All licensed funeral establishments shall be inspected at least once every two years.
   2. (2) All inspections shall be unannounced.
   3. (3) The inspector shall review prior inspection reports before inspecting a funeral establishment. If prior reports reveal problems, the inspector shall determine whether the establishment has corrected the previously identified problems or whether a pattern of violations or new violations exist.
   4. (4) Inspectors shall use reasonable efforts to conduct most of their inspections between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., but funeral establishments are required to be open at all times to inspections for violations of Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 651, and Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapters 193 and 361.

2. (b) Criteria for Risk-Based Inspections

   1. (1) History of Prior Violation. Funeral establishments shall be inspected annually until they are free of violations, if the commission previously found violations of Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 651, and Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapters 193 and 361 following biennial inspections.
   2. (2) Sanctions. Funeral establishments that have received a reprimand or letter of warning, that have been assessed administrative penalties, that have had licenses suspended, or that have been restrained or enjoined for violations of Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 651 or commission rules are subject to inspection at anytime within three (3) years following the date that the commission's action became final.
   3. (3) Pendency of Investigation. If the commission is in the process of conducting an investigation of a funeral establishment based on a consumer complaint, staff may determine that an inspection is warranted for the limited purpose of proving or disproving the validity of the complaint. The scope of inspections under this subsection shall be limited to matters relating to the subject of the complaint. For example, if the consumer complaint relates to a variance between price charged for an item on the funeral purchase agreement and the published price for the item on the retail price list, the inspector may inspect a representative number of documents to determine or disprove the existence of a pattern of similar variances.

Source Note:The provisions of this §201.2 adopted to be effective March 5, 2003, 28 TexReg 1885.