79R1205 JTS-F

By:  Uresti                                                       H.B. No. 1124


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to fees charged for a vital statistics record. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Sections 191.0045(d), (g), and (h), Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows: (d) A local registrar or county clerk who issues a certified copy of a birth or death certificate shall charge the same fees as charged by the bureau of vital statistics, including the additional fee required under Subsection (e), except as provided by Subsections (g) and (h). (g) A local registrar or county clerk that on March 31, 1995, was charging a fee for the issuance of a certified copy of a birth certificate that exceeded the fee charged by the bureau of vital statistics for the same type of certificate may continue to do so but shall not raise this fee until the fee charged by the bureau exceeds the fee charged by the local registrar or county clerk. A local registrar or county clerk to which this subsection applies shall charge the additional fee as required under Subsection (e). (h) In addition to other fees collected under this section, a local registrar or county clerk may collect a fee not to exceed $1 for the preservation of vital statistics records maintained by the registrar or county clerk, including birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, and annulment records. A fee under this section shall be collected by the registrar or county clerk on the issuance of a vital statistics record, including a record issued through a Remote Birth Access site. SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a fee for a vital statistic record issued on or after September 1, 2005. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.