Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1196 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		87R5485 MCF-D
2		-	By: Hinojosa~~, Bernal, Lambert~~ H.B. No. 1196
	2	+	By: Hinojosa H.B. No. 1196
3	3
4	4
5	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6		AN ACT
7	7		relating to the issuance of a certified birth record, driver's
8	8		license, or personal identification certificate to a homeless
9	9		individual.
10	10		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11		SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 191, Health and Safety
12	12		Code, is amended by adding Section 191.00495 to read as follows:
13	13		Sec. 191.00495. BIRTH RECORD ISSUED TO HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL.
14	14		(a) In this section, "homeless individual":
15	15		(1) means an individual who:
16	16		(A) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
17	17		nighttime residence; or
18	18		(B) has a primary nighttime residence that is:
19	19		(i) a supervised publicly or privately
20	20		operated shelter designed to provide temporary living
21	21		accommodations, including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and
22	22		transitional housing for persons with mental illness;
23	23		(ii) an institution that provides a
24	24		temporary residence for individuals intended to be
25	25		institutionalized; or
26	26		(iii) a public or private place not
27	27		designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping
28	28		accommodation for human beings; and
29	29		(2) does not include an individual who is imprisoned
30	30		or otherwise detained in a correctional facility.
31	31		(b) On request of a homeless individual, the state
32	32		registrar, a local registrar, or a county clerk shall issue,
33	33		without fee, a certified copy of the individual's birth record to
34	34		the individual.
35	35		(c) The department by rule shall:
36	36		(1) adopt a process to verify a person's status as a
37	37		homeless individual; and
38	38		(2) prescribe the documentation necessary for the
39	39		issuance of a certified copy of a birth record to a homeless
40	40		individual whose status is verified through the process adopted
41	41		under Subdivision (1).
42	42		(d) In adopting a verification process under Subsection
43	43		(c), the department shall allow a person requesting a birth record
44	44		to provide a letter certifying the person is a homeless individual
45	45		that is issued by:
46	46		(1) the director of an emergency shelter or
47	47		transitional housing program funded by the United States Department
48	48		of Housing and Urban Development; or
49	49		(2) the director of:
50	50		(A) a shelter for homeless individuals; or
51	51		(B) a transitional living program.
52	52		(e) Notwithstanding any other law of this state, the
53	53		department may not require a homeless individual to provide a
54	54		physical address of the individual's residence to satisfy any
55	55		requirement of this section.
56	56		SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
57	57		is amended by adding Section 521.184 to read as follows:
58	58		Sec. 521.184. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE TO
59	59		HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL. (a) In this section, "homeless individual"
60	60		has the meaning assigned by Section 191.00495, Health and Safety
61	61		Code.
62	62		(b) The department by rule shall:
63	63		(1) adopt a process to verify a person's status as a
64	64		homeless individual;
65	65		(2) prescribe the documentation necessary for the
66	66		issuance of a driver's license or personal identification
67	67		certificate to a homeless individual; and
68	68		(3) exempt a homeless individual from the payment of
69	69		fees under this chapter for the issuance of a driver's license or
70	70		personal identification certificate, subject to Section 521.4265.
71	71		(c) In adopting a verification process under Subsection
72	72		(b), the department shall allow a person applying for a driver's
73	73		license or personal identification certificate to provide a letter
74	74		certifying the person is a homeless individual that is issued by:
75	75		(1) the director of an emergency shelter or
76	76		transitional housing program funded by the United States Department
77	77		of Housing and Urban Development; or
78	78		(2) the director of:
79	79		(A) a shelter for homeless individuals; or
80	80		(B) a transitional living program.
81	81		(d) Notwithstanding any other law of this state and to the
82	82		extent permitted under federal law, the department may not require
83	83		a homeless individual to provide a physical address of the
84	84		individual's residence to satisfy any requirement of this chapter.
85	85		(e) Rules adopted under this section regarding the issuance
86	86		of a personal identification certificate to a homeless child or
87	87		youth, as defined by Section 521.1015, must be consistent with the
88	88		provisions of that section.
89	89		SECTION 3. Sections 521.4265(b) and (c), Transportation
90	90		Code, are amended to read as follows:
91	91		(b) For each exemption granted under Section 521.1015, [or]
92	92		521.1811, or 521.184, the department shall deposit to the credit of
93	93		the Texas mobility fund an amount from the identification fee
94	94		exemption account under Subsection (a) that is equal to the amount
95	95		of the waived fee that would otherwise be deposited to the mobility
96	96		fund.
97	97		(c) The department may not grant an exemption under Section
98	98		521.1015, [or] 521.1811, or 521.184 if money is not available in the
99	99		identification fee exemption account to meet the requirements of
100	100		Subsection (b).
101	101		SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
102	102		application for a birth record, driver's license, or personal
103	103		identification certificate submitted on or after the effective date
104	104		of this Act. An application for a birth record, driver's license, or
105	105		personal identification certificate submitted before the effective
106	106		date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
107	107		application was submitted, and the former law is continued in
108	108		effect for that purpose.
109	109		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.