By Wise                                                H.B. No. 359
         77R2610 JD-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the identification information required of an applicant
 1-3     for a driver's license.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Section 521.142(a), Transportation Code, is
 1-6     amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (a)  An application for an original license must state the
 1-8     applicant's full name and place and date of birth.  This
 1-9     information must be verified by presentation of proof of identity
1-10     [satisfactory] to the department.  Proof of identity is sufficient
1-11     if the proof presented is:
1-12                 (1)  a driver's license or personal identification
1-13     certificate issued to the applicant by the department, regardless
1-14     of whether the license or certificate has expired;
1-15                 (2)  a valid driver's license or valid identification
1-16     document bearing a photograph of the applicant and issued to the
1-17     applicant by another state;
1-18                 (3)  a passport or identity card bearing a photograph
1-19     of the applicant and issued to the applicant by another country or
1-20     a governmental agency of another country, regardless of whether the
1-21     passport or identity card has expired;
1-22                 (4)  a duplicate original birth certificate or a
1-23     certified copy of a birth certificate issued by this or another
1-24     state or by another country, if accompanied by supporting
 2-1     documentation required by department rule and, if the birth
 2-2     certificate is in a language other than English, by a translation
 2-3     of the birth certificate that is notarized by a notary public of
 2-4     this or another state; or
 2-5                 (5)  any other proof of identity satisfactory to the
 2-6     department.
 2-7           SECTION 2. (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
 2-8           (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
 2-9     application for a driver's license made on or after September 1,
2-10     2001.
2-11           (c)  An application for a driver's license made before
2-12     September 1, 2001, is covered by the law in effect on the date of
2-13     application, and the former law is continued in effect for that
2-14     purpose.