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Texas Funeral Service Commission asks state auditor to review funds after anatomical board transition
Summary
Executive Director Scott Bingaman told the commission the agency has requested a state auditor review after finding potential irregularities in funds transferred from the dissolved State Anatomical Board; staff identified third‑party payments via Stripe and reported several large checks but said full accounting awaits access to former bank records.
At its Dec. 17 meeting, the Texas Funeral Service Commission said it has asked the State Auditor's Office to investigate potential financial irregularities that surfaced after the commission absorbed the State Anatomical Board.
Executive Director Scott Bingaman told commissioners the commission identified "potential financial irregularities" during the transition and "have requested investigation by the state auditor's office into a situation that continues to remain fluid." He said staff enlisted a vendor who discovered the former board used an application called Stripe to collect fees, which is not approved by the comptroller and complicates tracking past receipts.
Bingaman said the commission received a set of handwritten checks after the transition — including a roughly $700,000 check, a roughly $94,000 check and a $900 check — but that staff cannot yet be 100% certain all funds have been recovered because the commission lacks access to the former board's bank records. "The only way to be a 100% certain is to ensure that we have access to that bank and their financial records to ensure that everything has been emptied out of that account," he said.
Commissioners pressed staff on accountability and record access. One commissioner noted the fiscal‑note numbers submitted to the Legislature came from university systems that used anatomical services and suggested the auditor review university records as part of its work. Bingaman said staff has reported the matter to the State Auditor's Office and is prepared to pursue additional appeals, including to the governor's office, if necessary.
The commission also disclosed that while the agency closed FY24 with a modest surplus of about $24,000, some funds lapsed to the comptroller; separate reporting shows approximately $98,005.04 in fees collected so far from the anatomical side. Bingaman said staff will continue to search for records and cooperate with the auditor to determine whether any improper conduct occurred and to fully account for pre‑transition funds.
Next steps: the State Auditor's Office is assessing the material and whether the facts meet the threshold for a criminal referral; the commission said it will continue pursuing records access and keep commissioners informed.
