Texas Funeral Service Commission

Did the top Texas funeral regulator illegally lobby the Legislature? The law is murky, experts say

Toluwani Osibamowo

Staff fired from the Texas Funeral Service Commission claim the head commissioner's advocacy for bills in the Texas Legislature presented an allegedly illegal conflict of interest. Legal and political experts say lobbying laws for regulatory agencies aren't so straightforward.

Small American flags placed by volunteers sit in front of gravestones at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery on the grounds of Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home and Cemetery on Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Seattle.

Government

Judge says Texas veteran deserves funeral director license. So did fired funeral agency staff

Toluwani Osibamowo

A Houston-area Army veteran's ongoing fight to obtain his funeral director license is yet another dispute that ex-Texas Funeral Service Commission staff point to as evidence of the agency's mismanagement.

An agenda sits on a table in a room used for the Texas Funeral Service Commission meeting at the George H.W. Bush Building on Aug. 28, 2025.

Government

Texas Funeral Service Commission fires more staff amid allegations of dysfunction and mismanagement

Toluwani Osibamowo

The state's only funeral licensing specialist and an investigator are the latest employees to be fired from the state's embattled funeral licensing and regulatory agency.

Government

Muslim civil rights group wants probe into Texas funeral agency chair after anti-Islam texts surface

Toluwani Osibamowo

It comes days after reporting by KERA News revealed TFSC Presiding Officer Kristin Tips texted an anti-Muslim graphic and links in May to the commission’s then-executive director Scott Bingaman.

Texas Funeral Service Commission Presiding Officer Kristin Tips and then-Executive Director Scott Bingaman testify together at a Senate Health and Human Services Committee meeting April 16, 2025. In his lawsuit against the commission, Bingaman alleges Tips misled him and used state resources to lobby for a bill that would have benefited her funeral service business.

Government

Head of Texas funeral commission shared anti-Islam media, pictures of Muslim state rep in texts

Toluwani Osibamowo

Text messages obtained by KERA News show the presiding officer of the state's funeral regulation agency sharing an anti-Islam infographic and videos with the agency’s former executive director during the commission’s ongoing investigation into a North Texas mosque.

The new Capitol Mall, a green pedestrian space running down Congress Avenue from the Blanton Museum to the Texas State Capitol Building, is pictured on May 3, 2023, in downtown Austin.

Government

Without explanation, Texas funeral regulator drops suit against ex-staffers after less than a week

Toluwani Osibamowo

The Texas Funeral Service Commission on Wednesday nonsuited its lawsuit accusing two ex-staff attorneys of violating attorney-client privilege in the midst of an ongoing feud between fired staff and commission heads.

The State Capitol is seen in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, June 1, 2021.

Government

Texas funeral commission sues ex-staffers over public accusations, allegedly recording conversations

Toluwani Osibamowo

After interviews with KERA News about their firings from the Texas Funeral Service Commission, the regulatory agency is suing two ex-staff attorneys for allegedly violating their continuing obligation to keep details about the commission confidential.