BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1275

By: Plesa

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

After a senior citizen stops driving, they still require a personal identification document for day‑to-day needs such as health care, housing, benefits enrollments, and voting. Some senior citizens have reported experiencing hardships with obtaining a state-issued photo ID upon the voluntary surrender of their driver's license. C.S.H.B. 1275 seeks to address this issue by requiring the Department of Public Safety to adopt procedures allowing seniors who voluntarily surrender their driver's license to apply for a personal identification certificate online or by phone.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1275 amends the Transportation Code to require the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to adopt procedures to allow a person who is 65 years of age or older and possesses a driver's license that is compliant with the federal REAL ID program to apply for a personal identification certificate online or by phone if the person surrenders their driver's license in a manner prescribed by DPS. The bill requires the procedures to comply with federal guidelines governing the issuance of identity documents and authorizes the procedures to require the person issued a personal identification certificate to update information previously provided to DPS on a driver's license application.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1275 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute limits the applicability of the procedures to a person whose driver's license is compliant with the federal REAL ID program, whereas the introduced did not include this limitation.