HBA-LJP H.B. 1587 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1587 By: Danburg Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 3/25/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In some instances, birth records, drivers' licenses, and other official documents are erroneously marked with incorrect gender identification information or contain a name that could indicate a female or male. Since law enforcement officers use these documents to locate people, they need a correct description of the person, including whether the person appears to be a female or male. House Bill 1587 requires a court to order the change of a name or the gender on certain documents of a person if that person submits a petition with an affidavit from a licensed physician that indicates that the gender on these documents is incorrect. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1587 amends the Family Code to require the court to order a change of name for a petitioner if the petition is accompanied by a sworn affidavit of a licensed physician that the petitioner identifies as a gender other than the gender indicated on the petitioner's driver's license, birth certificate, or other official document. The bill requires the court that orders the change of name for the petitioner to simultaneously order the Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Health to amend the documents of the petitioner under each department's control to reflect the petitioner's true gender. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.