Legislative Texas House Public Health Committee Hearing HB723 Testimony

On March 17, 2021, members of our group were asked to give testimony to the House Public Health Committee. State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, had asked them to testify in support of the bill, which he filed after The Dallas Morning News reported that Pangburn had learned not from law enforcement but through a Facebook friend that her mother was possibly a victim.

Patterson’s bill, HB 723, would require officials to notify next of kin if a death certificate is amended. Such a circumstance is rare. Patterson said Wednesday that the law would affect 3,000 death certificates each year across the state.