86R12361 BEE-D
By: Ramos H.B. No. 3010
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a fee exemption for trafficking victims for certain
personal identification documents.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 191, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 191.0049 to read as follows:
Sec. 191.0049. BIRTH RECORD ISSUED TO TRAFFICKING VICTIM.
(a) In this section, "trafficking victim" has the meaning assigned
by Section 521.4265, Transportation Code.
(b) On request of a person who is a trafficking victim, the
state registrar, a local registrar, or a county clerk shall issue
without fee a certified copy of the person's birth record.
(c) The state registrar, a local registrar, or a county
clerk may require a person to provide only the documentation
prescribed by a rule adopted by the Department of Public Safety
under Section 521.4265(c), Transportation Code, to confirm a
person's status as a trafficking victim.
SECTION 2. Subchapter R, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 521.4265 to read as follows:
Sec. 521.4265. EXEMPTION FOR TRAFFICKING VICTIMS. (a) In
this section, "trafficking victim" means a victim of trafficking of
persons under Chapter 20A, Penal Code.
(b) A person who is a trafficking victim is exempt from the
payment of fees under this chapter for the issuance of a driver's
license or personal identification certificate.
(c) The department shall adopt rules to implement this
section, including rules prescribing any documentation necessary
to confirm a person's status as a trafficking victim.
(d) For each exemption granted under this section, the
department shall deposit to the credit of the Texas mobility fund an
amount from the identification fee exemption account under
Subsection (e) that is equal to the amount of the waived fee that
would otherwise be deposited to the mobility fund.
(e) The identification fee exemption account is created as
an account in the general revenue fund of the state treasury. The
fund consists of grants and donations made to the department for the
purposes of this section. The department shall administer the
account. Money in the account may be appropriated for the purposes
of Subsection (d).
(f) The department may not grant an exemption under this
section if money is not available in the identification fee
exemption account to meet the requirements of Subsection (d).
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
application for a birth certificate, driver's license, or personal
identification certificate submitted on or after the effective date
of this Act. An application for a birth certificate, driver's
license, or personal identification certificate submitted before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
the date the application was submitted, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.