By West H.B. No. 1031
77R2533 JAT-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to electronically readable information on a driver's
1-3 license or personal identification certificate; providing
1-4 penalties.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 521.126, Transportation Code, is amended
1-7 to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 521.126. ELECTRONICALLY READABLE INFORMATION. (a) The
1-9 department may not include any information on a driver's license,
1-10 commercial driver's license, or personal identification certificate
1-11 in an electronically readable form other than the information
1-12 printed on the license and a physical description of the licensee.
1-13 (b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:
1-14 (1) accesses or uses the electronically readable
1-15 information; or
1-16 (2) compiles or maintains a database of the
1-17 electronically readable information [The department shall take
1-18 necessary steps to ensure that the information is used only for law
1-19 enforcement or governmental purposes].
1-20 (c) An offense under Subsection (b)(1) [Unauthorized use of
1-21 the information] is a Class A misdemeanor.
1-22 (d) An offense under Subsection (b)(2) is a state jail
1-23 felony.
1-24 (e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
2-1 Subsection (b)(1) that the person accessing or using the
2-2 information is:
2-3 (1) an officer or employee of the department who
2-4 accesses or uses the information for official purposes;
2-5 (2) a merchant who accesses or uses the information
2-6 to:
2-7 (A) electronically transcribe the number
2-8 assigned to a purchaser's driver's license, commercial driver's
2-9 license, or personal identification certificate or the purchaser's
2-10 date of birth onto a check in the course of a commercial
2-11 transaction; or
2-12 (B) compute a purchaser's age in the course of
2-13 selling an age-restricted product; or
2-14 (3) a peace officer, as defined by Article 2.12, Code
2-15 of Criminal Procedure, acting in the officer's official capacity.
2-16 (f) In this section, "merchant" means a person who:
2-17 (1) holds a sales tax permit or is a retailer
2-18 registered under Chapter 151, Tax Code;
2-19 (2) holds a retailer's permit under Chapter 154 or
2-20 155, Tax Code; or
2-21 (3) is a "permittee" as defined by Section 1.04,
2-22 Alcoholic Beverage Code.
2-23 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
2-24 applies only to the access, use, or compilation or maintenance of a
2-25 database of electronically readable information included on a
2-26 driver's license or personal identification certificate on or after
2-27 that date. Access, use, or compilation or maintenance of a database
3-1 of electronically readable information included on a driver's
3-2 license or identification certificate before that date is governed
3-3 by the law in effect at the time the access, use, or compilation or
3-4 maintenance occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
3-5 that purpose.