| 3 | 5 | | |
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| 4 | 6 | | |
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| 5 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 9 | | relating to the issuance of a certified birth record to a homeless |
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| 8 | 10 | | individual. |
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| 9 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 191, Health and Safety |
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| 11 | 13 | | Code, is amended by adding Section 191.00495 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 14 | | Sec. 191.00495. BIRTH RECORD ISSUED TO HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL. |
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| 13 | 15 | | (a) In this section, "homeless individual": |
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| 14 | 16 | | (1) means an individual who: |
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| 15 | 17 | | (A) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate |
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| 16 | 18 | | nighttime residence; or |
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| 17 | 19 | | (B) has a primary nighttime residence that is: |
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| 18 | 20 | | (i) a supervised publicly or privately |
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| 19 | 21 | | operated shelter designed to provide temporary living |
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| 20 | 22 | | accommodations, including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and |
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| 21 | 23 | | transitional housing for the mentally ill; |
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| 22 | 24 | | (ii) an institution that provides a |
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| 23 | 25 | | temporary residence for individuals intended to be |
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| 24 | 26 | | institutionalized; or |
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| 25 | 27 | | (iii) a public or private place not |
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| 26 | 28 | | designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping |
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| 27 | 29 | | accommodation for human beings; and |
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| 28 | 30 | | (2) does not include an individual who is imprisoned |
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| 29 | 31 | | or otherwise detained in a correctional facility. |
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| 30 | 32 | | (b) On request of a homeless individual, the state |
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| 31 | 33 | | registrar, a local registrar, or a county clerk shall issue, |
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| 32 | 34 | | without fee, a certified copy of the individual's birth record to |
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| 33 | 35 | | the individual. |
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| 34 | 36 | | (c) The executive commissioner by rule shall: |
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| 35 | 37 | | (1) adopt a process to verify a person's status as a |
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| 36 | 38 | | homeless individual; and |
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| 37 | 39 | | (2) prescribe the documentation necessary for |
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| 38 | 40 | | issuance of a certified copy of a birth record to a homeless |
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| 39 | 41 | | individual whose status is verified through the process adopted |
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| 40 | 42 | | under Subdivision (1). |
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| 41 | 43 | | (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of state law, the |
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| 42 | 44 | | department may not require a homeless individual to provide a |
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| 43 | 45 | | physical address of the individual's residence to satisfy any |
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| 44 | 46 | | requirement of this section. |
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| 45 | 47 | | SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date |
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| 46 | 48 | | of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human |
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| 47 | 49 | | Services Commission shall adopt the rules required by Section |
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| 48 | 50 | | 191.00495, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. |
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| 49 | 51 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an |
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| 50 | 52 | | application for a birth record submitted on or after the effective |
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| 51 | 53 | | date of this Act. An application for a birth record submitted before |
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| 52 | 54 | | the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on |
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| 53 | 55 | | the date the application was submitted, and the former law is |
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| 54 | 56 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 55 | 57 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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