Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2199 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Parker, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Paxton) H.B. No. 2199
2		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 2021;
3		-	May 10, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on Business &
4		-	Commerce; May 20, 2021, reported favorably by the following vote:
5		-	Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 20, 2021, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
	1	+	By: Parker, Capriglione, Anchia, Stephenson, H.B. No. 2199
	2	+	Wilson, et al.
7	3
8	4
9	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	6		AN ACT
11	7		relating to the establishment of the digital identity work group.
12	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	9		SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
14	10		(1) "Digital identity" includes:
15	11		(A) credentials issued by federal, state, and
16	12		local governmental agencies to a person for identification,
17	13		licensure, registration, and other purposes;
18	14		(B) credentials conferred to a person to verify
19	15		the person's skills and qualifications;
20	16		(C) digital credentials issued for user
21	17		authentication and access management; and
22	18		(D) digitally-verifiable claims.
23	19		(2) "Work group" means the digital identity work group
24	20		established under this Act.
25	21		SECTION 2. INFORMATION FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSES. (a) Many
26	22		credentials issued by governmental agencies, including passports,
27	23		driver's licenses, business licenses, vehicle registrations, and
28	24		certificates, are physical or portable document format documents.
29	25		The use of physical credentials for validation can be slow,
30	26		inconvenient, costly, and prone to intentional or unintentional
31	27		human error. Physical credentials are susceptible to
32	28		counterfeiting or fraud.
33	29		(b) Credentials are used for validating identity, including
34	30		to:
35	31		(1) verify age for age restriction purposes;
36	32		(2) notarize signatures on documents;
37	33		(3) verify tax exemptions;
38	34		(4) prove registration or insurance coverage;
39	35		(5) prove a license or permit has been issued and is
40	36		current; and
41	37		(6) prove inspections have been performed and passed.
42	38		(c) The use of credentials for validation presents an
43	39		opportunity to:
44	40		(1) digitize and secure credentials using technology,
45	41		including blockchain and cryptography; and
46	42		(2) lower costs and improve privacy, security, and
47	43		convenience for governmental agencies, industry, and consumers.
48	44		SECTION 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION OF WORK GROUP.
49	45		(a) The digital identity work group is composed of the following 15
50	46		members:
51	47		(1) one member of the house of representatives,
52	48		appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
53	49		(2) one member of the senate, appointed by the
54	50		lieutenant governor;
55	51		(3) one member representing institutions of higher
56	52		education in this state, appointed by the governor;
57	53		(4) one member representing a municipality in this
58	54		state who has overseen the implementation of digital identity
59	55		initiatives, appointed by the presiding officer of the work group;
60	56		(5) one member representing the Department of Public
61	57		Safety of the State of Texas, appointed by the public safety
62	58		director;
63	59		(6) one member representing the Department of
64	60		Information Resources, appointed by the executive director of the
65	61		department;
66	62		(7) one member representing the office of the
67	63		secretary of state, appointed by the secretary of state; and
68	64		(8) eight public members, four of whom are appointed
69	65		by the speaker of the house of representatives and four of whom are
70	66		appointed by the lieutenant governor, each of whom must:
71	67		(A) have knowledge and experience in digital
72	68		identity technology, including blockchain technology and
73	69		cryptography; or
74	70		(B) represent an industry that would benefit from
75	71		the use of digital identity technology.
76	72		(b) The governor shall designate a member of the work group
77	73		appointed under Subsection (a)(3) or (8) of this section to serve as
78	74		presiding officer of the work group. The members of the work group
79	75		appointed under Subsections (a)(1) and (2) of this section shall
80	76		both serve as assistant presiding officers of the work group.
81	77		(c) A member of the work group may not receive compensation
82	78		for serving on the work group or for performing official duties as a
83	79		member of the work group. A member of the work group may receive
84	80		reimbursement for legitimate expenses incurred by the member in the
85	81		performance of official duties as a member of the work group.
86	82		(d) The work group shall meet at the call of the presiding
87	83		officer.
88	84		SECTION 4. REPORT, POLICIES, AND PROCEDURES. (a) The work
89	85		group shall develop recommendations for the use of digital identity
90	86		in this state and identify optimal policies and state investments
91	87		related to digital identity technology. In performing its duties
92	88		under this section, the work group shall:
93	89		(1) assess existing digital identity practices in this
94	90		state;
95	91		(2) identify areas of concern in current digital
96	92		identity applications or the lack of applications;
97	93		(3) identify efficiencies and cost savings for
98	94		governmental agencies and economic growth and development
99	95		opportunities for this state presented by digitizing identity;
100	96		(4) review technology standards for digital identity;
101	97		(5) identify attribute validation services at federal
102	98		governmental agencies; and
103	99		(6) review the federal Improving Digital Identity Act
104	100		of 2020 (H.R. 8215).
105	101		(b) Based on the information gathered under Subsection (a)
106	102		of this section, the work group shall make legislative
107	103		recommendations as appropriate to:
108	104		(1) promote efficiencies in governmental agencies;
109	105		(2) protect the privacy of residents of this state;
110	106		(3) promote portability and interoperability of
111	107		digital identity credentials; and
112	108		(4) generate economic opportunities by prescribing
113	109		the use of digital identity.
114	110		(c) Not later than September 30, 2022, the work group shall
115	111		submit the report containing its findings under Subsection (b) of
116	112		this section to each standing committee of the senate and house of
117	113		representatives with primary jurisdiction over economic
118	114		development or technology.
119	115		(d) The work group may adopt procedures and policies as
120	116		necessary to administer this section and implement the
121	117		responsibilities of the work group.
122	118		(e) The Department of Information Resources shall provide
123	119		to the work group the administrative support necessary for the work
124	120		group to implement this section and its responsibilities under this
125	121		Act.
126	122		SECTION 5. EXPIRATION OF ACT AND ABOLISHMENT OF WORK GROUP.
127	123		This Act expires and the work group is abolished October 1, 2022.
128	124		SECTION 6. TRANSITION LANGUAGE. (a) As soon as practicable
129	125		after the effective date of this Act, but not later than September
130	126		15, 2021, the appropriate appointing authorities shall appoint the
131	127		members of the work group as required by Section 3 of this Act.
132	128		(b) Not later than January 1, 2022, the work group shall
133	129		hold its initial meeting.
134	130		SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September
135	131		1, 2021.
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