Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1677 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R6899 LRM-D
2	2	By: Jetton, Reynolds, Collier, et al. H.B. No. 1677
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, unless the
31	31	individual satisfies the conditions described by Subdivision (1) at
32	32	the time of the individual's arrest.
33	33	(b) On request of a homeless individual, the state
34	34	registrar, a local registrar, or a county clerk shall issue,
35	35	without fee, a certified copy of the individual's birth record to
36	36	the individual.
37	37	(c) The department by rule shall:
38	38	(1) adopt a process to verify a person's status as a
39	39	homeless individual; and
40	40	(2) prescribe the documentation necessary for the
41	41	issuance of a certified copy of a birth record to a homeless
42	42	individual whose status is verified through the process adopted
43	43	under Subdivision (1).
44	44	(d) In adopting a verification process under Subsection
45	45	(c), the department shall allow a person requesting a birth record
46	46	to provide a letter certifying the person is a homeless individual
47	47	that is issued by the director of:
48	48	(1) an emergency shelter or transitional housing
49	49	program funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
50	50	Development;
51	51	(2) a shelter for homeless individuals;
52	52	(3) a transitional living program; or
53	53	(4) a law enforcement agency of a political
54	54	subdivision of this state that appoints or employs peace officers
55	55	as described by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure.
56	56	(e) Notwithstanding any other law of this state, the
57	57	department may not require a homeless individual to provide a
58	58	physical address of the individual's residence to satisfy any
59	59	requirement of this section.
60	60	SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
61	61	is amended by adding Section 521.184 to read as follows:
62	62	Sec. 521.184. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE TO
63	63	HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL. (a) In this section, "homeless individual"
64	64	has the meaning assigned by Section 191.00495, Health and Safety
65	65	Code.
66	66	(b) The department by rule shall:
67	67	(1) adopt a process to verify a person's status as a
68	68	homeless individual;
69	69	(2) prescribe the documentation necessary for the
70	70	issuance of a driver's license or personal identification
71	71	certificate to a homeless individual; and
72	72	(3) exempt a homeless individual from the payment of
73	73	fees under this chapter for the issuance of a driver's license or
74	74	personal identification certificate, subject to Section 521.4265.
75	75	(c) In adopting a verification process under Subsection
76	76	(b), the department shall allow a person applying for a driver's
77	77	license or personal identification certificate to provide a letter
78	78	certifying the person is a homeless individual that is issued by the
79	79	director of:
80	80	(1) an emergency shelter or transitional housing
81	81	program funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
82	82	Development;
83	83	(2) a shelter for homeless individuals;
84	84	(3) a transitional living program; or
85	85	(4) a law enforcement agency of a political
86	86	subdivision of this state that appoints or employs peace officers
87	87	as described by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure.
88	88	(d) Notwithstanding any other law of this state and to the
89	89	extent permitted under federal law, the department may not require
90	90	a homeless individual to provide a physical address of the
91	91	individual's residence to satisfy any requirement of this chapter.
92	92	(e) Rules adopted under this section regarding the issuance
93	93	of a personal identification certificate to a homeless child or
94	94	youth, as defined by Section 521.1015, must be consistent with the
95	95	provisions of that section.
96	96	SECTION 3. Sections 521.4265(b) and (c), Transportation
97	97	Code, are amended to read as follows:
98	98	(b) From the money in the identification fee exemption
99	99	account the department shall:
100	100	(1) request that the comptroller transfer to the Texas
101	101	Workforce Commission amounts sufficient to cover the cost of
102	102	implementing the program under Section 521.168, including amounts
103	103	sufficient for the payment by the Texas Workforce Commission of:
104	104	(A) fees to entities other than the department;
105	105	and
106	106	(B) the Texas Workforce Commission's
107	107	implementation costs; and
108	108	(2) for each exemption granted under Section 521.1015,
109	109	521.1016, [or] 521.1811, or 521.184, deposit to the credit of the
110	110	Texas mobility fund an amount that is equal to the amount of the
111	111	waived fee that would otherwise be deposited to the mobility fund.
112	112	(c) The department may not:
113	113	(1) request a transfer under Subsection (b)(1) if the
114	114	balance of the account for the fiscal year is less than three times
115	115	the amount expended in the previous fiscal year for the waivers
116	116	provided by Sections 521.1015(e), [and] 521.1811, and 521.184; or
117	117	(2) grant an exemption under Section 521.1015,
118	118	521.1016, [or] 521.1811, or 521.184, if money is not available in
119	119	the identification fee exemption account to meet the requirements
120	120	of Subsection (b)(2).
121	121	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
122	122	application for a birth record, driver's license, or personal
123	123	identification certificate submitted on or after the effective date
124	124	of this Act. An application for a birth record, driver's license, or
125	125	personal identification certificate submitted before the effective
126	126	date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
127	127	application was submitted, and the former law is continued in
128	128	effect for that purpose.
129	129	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.