88R10367 MP-D
By: Martinez H.B. No. 5063
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the issuance of state parklands passports to and a
waiver of certain entrance or admission fees to state parks and
state historical sites for certain family members of a person who
died while serving in the United States armed forces.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 442, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 442.00515 to read as follows:
Sec. 442.00515. FEE WAIVER. (a) The executive director
shall waive the entrance fee for a historic site under the
commission's jurisdiction for an individual who is eligible to
receive a gold star lapel button pursuant to 10 U.S.C. Section 1126.
(b) The commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement
a fee waiver under this section.
SECTION 2. Sections 13.018(a) and (c), Parks and Wildlife
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The following people may apply to the department for a
state parklands passport:
(1) a resident of this state who is 65 years old or
over who has resided in the state for six consecutive months
preceding the date of application for a parklands passport, a
member of the United States armed forces on active duty who is 65
years old or over, or any other individual in a category that the
commission by rule designates as a resident of this state who is 65
years old or over;
(2) a veteran of the armed services of the United
States who, as a result of military service, has a
service-connected disability, as defined by the Veterans'
Administration, consisting of the loss of the use of a lower
extremity or of a 60 percent disability rating and who is receiving
compensation from the United States because of the disability;
[and]
(3) an individual who has a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life
activities of the individual; and
(4) an individual who is eligible to receive a gold
star lapel button pursuant to 10 U.S.C. Section 1126.
(c) The holder of a state parklands passport issued on or
before August 31, 1995, a person whose birth date is before
September 1, 1930, or a person [veteran] described by Subsection
(a)(2) or (a)(4) is entitled to enter any state park without payment
of an entrance or admission fee. When a fee is charged by the
department for entrance of a vehicle into a state park, the vehicle
of the holder of a state parklands passport is exempt from the fee
when the holder is present.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.