Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1712 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R2367 LRM-D
2	2	By: Collier H.B. No. 1712
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the issuance of a certified birth record, driver's
10	10	license, or personal identification certificate to a homeless
11	11	individual.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 191, Health and Safety
14	14	Code, is amended by adding Section 191.00495 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 191.00495. BIRTH RECORD ISSUED TO HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL.
16	16	(a) In this section, "homeless individual":
17	17	(1) means an individual who:
18	18	(A) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
19	19	nighttime residence; or
20	20	(B) has a primary nighttime residence that is:
21	21	(i) a supervised publicly or privately
22	22	operated shelter designed to provide temporary living
23	23	accommodations, including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and
24	24	transitional housing for individuals with mental illness;
25	25	(ii) an institution that provides a
26	26	temporary residence for individuals intended to be
27	27	institutionalized; or
28	28	(iii) a public or private place not
29	29	designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping
30	30	accommodation for human beings; and
31	31	(2) does not include an individual who is imprisoned
32	32	or otherwise detained in a correctional facility, unless the
33	33	individual satisfies the conditions described by Subdivision (1) at
34	34	the time of the individual's arrest.
35	35	(b) On request of a homeless individual, the state
36	36	registrar, a local registrar, or a county clerk shall issue,
37	37	without fee, a certified copy of the individual's birth record to
38	38	the individual.
39	39	(c) The department by rule shall:
40	40	(1) adopt a process to verify an individual's status as
41	41	a homeless individual; and
42	42	(2) prescribe the documentation necessary for the
43	43	issuance of a certified copy of a birth record to a homeless
44	44	individual whose status is verified through the process adopted
45	45	under Subdivision (1).
46	46	(d) In adopting a verification process under Subsection
47	47	(c), the department shall allow an individual requesting a birth
48	48	record to provide a letter certifying the individual is a homeless
49	49	individual that is issued by the director of:
50	50	(1) an emergency shelter or transitional housing
51	51	program funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
52	52	Development;
53	53	(2) a shelter for homeless individuals;
54	54	(3) a transitional living program; or
55	55	(4) a law enforcement agency of a political
56	56	subdivision of this state that appoints or employs peace officers
57	57	as described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.
58	58	(e) Notwithstanding any other law of this state, the
59	59	department may not require a homeless individual to provide a
60	60	physical address of the individual's residence to satisfy any
61	61	requirement of this section.
62	62	SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
63	63	is amended by adding Section 521.184 to read as follows:
64	64	Sec. 521.184. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE TO
65	65	HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL. (a) In this section, "homeless individual"
66	66	has the meaning assigned by Section 191.00495, Health and Safety
67	67	Code.
68	68	(b) The department by rule shall:
69	69	(1) adopt a process to verify an individual's status as
70	70	a homeless individual;
71	71	(2) prescribe the documentation necessary for the
72	72	issuance of a driver's license or personal identification
73	73	certificate to a homeless individual; and
74	74	(3) exempt a homeless individual from the payment of
75	75	fees under this chapter for the issuance of a driver's license or
76	76	personal identification certificate, subject to Section 521.4265.
77	77	(c) In adopting a verification process under Subsection
78	78	(b), the department shall allow an individual applying for a
79	79	driver's license or personal identification certificate to provide
80	80	a letter certifying the individual is a homeless individual that is
81	81	issued by the director of:
82	82	(1) an emergency shelter or transitional housing
83	83	program funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
84	84	Development;
85	85	(2) a shelter for homeless individuals;
86	86	(3) a transitional living program; or
87	87	(4) a law enforcement agency of a political
88	88	subdivision of this state that appoints or employs peace officers
89	89	as described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.
90	90	(d) Notwithstanding any other law of this state and to the
91	91	extent permitted under federal law, the department may not require
92	92	a homeless individual to provide a physical address of the
93	93	individual's residence to satisfy any requirement of this chapter.
94	94	(e) A rule adopted under this section regarding the issuance
95	95	of a personal identification certificate to a homeless child or
96	96	youth, as defined by Section 521.1015, must be consistent with the
97	97	provisions of that section.
98	98	SECTION 3. Sections 521.4265(b) and (c), Transportation
99	99	Code, are amended to read as follows:
100	100	(b) From the money in the identification fee exemption
101	101	account the department shall:
102	102	(1) request that the comptroller transfer to the Texas
103	103	Workforce Commission amounts sufficient to cover the cost of
104	104	implementing the program under Section 521.168, including amounts
105	105	sufficient for the payment by the Texas Workforce Commission of:
106	106	(A) fees to entities other than the department;
107	107	and
108	108	(B) the Texas Workforce Commission's
109	109	implementation costs; and
110	110	(2) for each exemption granted under Section 521.1015,
111	111	521.1016, [or] 521.1811, or 521.184, deposit to the credit of the
112	112	Texas mobility fund an amount that is equal to the amount of the
113	113	waived fee that would otherwise be deposited to the mobility fund.
114	114	(c) The department may not:
115	115	(1) request a transfer under Subsection (b)(1) if the
116	116	balance of the account for the fiscal year is less than three times
117	117	the amount expended in the previous fiscal year for the waivers
118	118	provided by Sections 521.1015(e), [and] 521.1811, and 521.184; or
119	119	(2) grant an exemption under Section 521.1015,
120	120	521.1016, [or] 521.1811, or 521.184, if money is not available in
121	121	the identification fee exemption account to meet the requirements
122	122	of Subsection (b)(2).
123	123	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
124	124	application for a birth record, driver's license, or personal
125	125	identification certificate submitted on or after the effective date
126	126	of this Act. An application for a birth record, driver's license, or
127	127	personal identification certificate submitted before the effective
128	128	date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
129	129	application was submitted, and the former law is continued in
130	130	effect for that purpose.
131	131	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.