|
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
relating to the issuance of state parklands passports to and a |
|
waiver of certain state park fees for certain veterans, active duty |
|
armed forces members, and 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. Section 13.018, Parks and Wildlife Code, is |
|
amended by amending Subsections (a), (c), and (e) and adding |
|
Subsection (f) 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) an honorably discharged [a] veteran of the United |
|
States 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) a member of the United States armed services on |
|
active duty; |
|
(4) a surviving spouse, parent, child, or sibling of a |
|
person who died while serving in the United States armed forces; and |
|
(5) an individual who has a physical or mental |
|
impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life |
|
activities of the individual. |
|
(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), (3), or (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. |
|
(e) A state parklands passport issued to a person described |
|
by Subsection (a)(3) is valid for one year from the date of issuance |
|
and may be renewed in the manner prescribed by commission rule. |
|
(f) The commission by rule shall establish eligibility |
|
requirements and privileges available to the holder of a state |
|
parklands passport described by Subsection (a)(5) [(a)(3)]. |
|
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
|
|
|
______________________________ |
______________________________ |
|
President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
|
|
|
I certify that H.B. No. 1740 was passed by the House on May 6, |
|
2023, by the following vote: Yeas 134, Nays 2, 1 present, not |
|
voting. |
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
|
|
|
I certify that H.B. No. 1740 was passed by the Senate on May |
|
15, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
Secretary of the Senate |
|
APPROVED: _____________________ |
|
Date |
|
|
|
_____________________ |
|
Governor |