Honorable John Carona, Chair, Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1252 by Averitt (Relating to an electronic fingerprint verification system used by a seller to confirm the age of a purchaser of certain products; providing a criminal penalty.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Business and Commerce Code, Alcoholic Beverage Code, Health and Safety Code, and Transportation Code as they relate to electronic fingerprint verification systems used to confirm a purchaser's age. Under the provisions of the bill, sellers required to verify the age of a purchaser before making a sale would be allowed to use an electronic fingerprint verification system to scan a purchaser’s fingerprint for age confirmation prior to making a sale. The bill would also allow multiple sellers to share a single electronic fingerprint verification system. Purchasers would be required to provide a government-issued identification document which includes an electronic image of their fingerprint to enroll in the system. A person would commit an offense, punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, if the person with criminal negligence entered an incorrect age for a purchaser into an electronic fingerprint verification system in the course of enrolling the individual in the system.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission anticipate no significant fiscal impact on the department from the implementation of this bill.
This bill would take effect September 1, 2007.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.