88R4811 JAM-D
By: Neave Criado H.B. No. 5228
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the issuance of a driver's license or personal
identification certificate to certain individuals and the use of
the identification fee exemption account to fund the fee waivers
for those individuals.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. 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) Except as provided by Subsection (f) and subject to
Section 521.4265, a homeless individual is entitled to an exemption
from the payment of fees under this chapter for the issuance of a
driver's license or personal identification certificate.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a person's status as a
homeless individual must be confirmed by a notarized affidavit
from:
(1) an employee of a homeless shelter or transitional
housing facility;
(2) an employee of an organization that provides to
homeless individuals or assists homeless individuals in obtaining
services such as health services, mental or behavioral health
services, substance abuse services, public assistance services, or
employment services;
(3) an attorney licensed to practice law in this
state;
(4) a peace officer who is an official homeless
liaison;
(5) an employee of a faith-based organization that
provides benefits or services to homeless individuals; or
(6) a counselor or administrator at a school attended
by the homeless individual.
(d) A person may not charge a fee for the affidavit
described by Subsection (c).
(e) An affidavit described by Subsection (c) may not be used
for a driver's license or personal identification certificate
application if the affidavit was signed more than 60 days before the
date the application is submitted.
(f) Subsection (b) does not apply to a person subject to the
registration requirements of Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
Procedure.
(g) 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 2. Sections 521.4265(b) and (c), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) From the money in the identification fee exemption
account the department shall:
(1) request that the comptroller transfer to the Texas
Workforce Commission amounts sufficient to cover the cost of
implementing the program under Section 521.168, including amounts
sufficient for the payment by the Texas Workforce Commission of:
(A) fees to entities other than the department;
and
(B) the Texas Workforce Commission's
implementation costs; and
(2) for each exemption granted under Section 521.1015,
521.1016, [or] 521.1811, or 521.184, deposit to the credit of the
Texas mobility fund an amount that is equal to the amount of the
waived fee that would otherwise be deposited to the mobility fund.
(c) The department may not:
(1) request a transfer under Subsection (b)(1) if the
balance of the account for the fiscal year is less than three times
the amount expended in the previous fiscal year for the waivers
provided by Sections 521.1015(e), 521.1016, [and] 521.1811, and
521.184; or
(2) grant an exemption under Section 521.1015,
521.1016, [or] 521.1811, or 521.184 if money is not available in the
identification fee exemption account to meet the requirements of
Subsection (b)(2).
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
application for a driver's license or personal identification
certificate submitted on or after the effective date of this Act.
An application for a 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.