87R1755 JAM-D
By: Zaffirini, Menéndez S.B. No. 1107
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the issuance of a birth record, driver's license, or
personal identification certificate to a homeless individual.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 191.0049, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 191.0049. BIRTH RECORD ISSUED TO FOSTER CHILD OR YOUTH
OR HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL [CHILD OR YOUTH]. (a) On request of an
individual [a child or youth] described by this section, the state
registrar, a local registrar, or a county clerk shall issue,
without fee or parental consent, a certified copy of the
individual's [child's or youth's] birth record to:
(1) a homeless child or youth as defined by 42 U.S.C.
Section 11434a;
(2) a child in the managing conservatorship of the
Department of Family and Protective Services; [and]
(3) a young adult who:
(A) is at least 18 years of age, but younger than
21 years of age; and
(B) resides in a foster care placement, the cost
of which is paid by the Department of Family and Protective
Services; and
(4) a homeless individual as defined by Section
521.184, Transportation Code.
(b) The department by rule shall:
(1) adopt a process to verify a person's status as a
homeless individual described by Subsection (a)(4); and
(2) prescribe the documentation necessary for the
issuance of a certified copy of a birth record to a homeless
individual whose status is verified through the process adopted
under Subdivision (1).
(c) Notwithstanding any other law of this state, the
department may not require a homeless individual described by
Subsection (a)(4) to provide a physical address of the individual's
residence to satisfy any requirement of this section.
SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 521.184 to read as follows:
Sec. 521.184. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE TO
HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL. (a) In this section, "homeless individual":
(1) means an individual who:
(A) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
nighttime residence; or
(B) has a primary nighttime residence that is:
(i) a supervised publicly or privately
operated shelter designed to provide temporary living
accommodations, including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and
transitional housing for the mentally ill;
(ii) an institution that provides a
temporary residence for individuals intended to be
institutionalized; or
(iii) a public or private place not
designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping
accommodation for human beings; and
(2) does not include an individual who is imprisoned
or otherwise detained in a correctional facility.
(b) The department by rule shall:
(1) adopt a process to verify a person's status as a
homeless individual;
(2) prescribe the documentation necessary for the
issuance of a driver's license or personal identification
certificate to a homeless individual; and
(3) exempt a homeless individual from the payment of
fees under this chapter for the issuance of a driver's license or
personal identification certificate, subject to Section 521.4265.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law of this state and to the
extent permitted under federal law, the department may not require
a homeless individual to provide a physical address of the
individual's residence to satisfy any requirement of this chapter.
(d) Rules adopted under this section regarding the issuance
of a personal identification certificate to a homeless child or
youth, as defined by Section 521.1015, must be consistent with the
provisions of that section.
SECTION 3. Sections 521.4265(b) and (c), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) For each exemption granted under Section 521.1015, [or]
521.1811, or 521.184, the department shall deposit to the credit of
the Texas mobility fund an amount from the identification fee
exemption account under Subsection (a) that is equal to the amount
of the waived fee that would otherwise be deposited to the mobility
fund.
(c) The department may not grant an exemption under Section
521.1015, [or] 521.1811, or 521.184 if money is not available in the
identification fee exemption account to meet the requirements of
Subsection (b).
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
application for a birth record, driver's license, or personal
identification certificate submitted on or after the effective date
of this Act. An application for a birth record, 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.