By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 983
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to restrictions on the assessment of the fee charged for
issuance of certain birth records.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 191.0046, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:
(e) It is the intent of the legislature to not impose a cost
for obtaining certified records for the purpose of obtaining an
election identification certificate issued pursuant to Chapter
521A, Transportation Code. Notwithstanding any other law, the
state registrar, a local registrar, or a county clerk shall not
charge a fee to an applicant that is associated with searching for
or providing a record, including a certified copy of a birth record,
if the applicant states that the applicant is requesting the record
for the purpose of obtaining an election identification certificate
under Section 521A.001, Transportation Code.
(f) Notwithstanding Subsection (e), a local registrar or a
county clerk who issues a birth record that is required for the
purpose of obtaining an election identification certificate issued
pursuant to Chapter 521A, Transportation Code, and is otherwise
entitled by law to retain all or a portion of a fee for that birth
record, is entitled to payment of the amount from the department.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to an
application for a certified copy of a birth record filed on or after
the effective date of this Act. An application for a certified copy
of a birth record filed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on that date, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.