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.