| TO: | Honorable Jim McReynolds, Chair, House Committee on Corrections |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB2161 by Turner, Sylvester (Relating to the issuance of a personal identification certificate to present or former inmates of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend the Government and Transportation Codes relating to the application for the Texas Identification Certificate (ID card) for offenders being paroled who do not have a valid Texas Driver License or Identification Certificate. The bill would require TDCJ to provide the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) with a current photograph and a certified copy of the offender identification card. The bill would require TDCJ to pay the statutory fees for production of the ID Cards. The bill would require DPS to accept the TDCJ offender identification card or other proof provided by TDCJ, as proof of identity to issue an ID Card.
To maintain security to the driver license identity program, the DPS Driver License Division would create a process to accept identifying information from TDCJ and current offender photograph to produce a Texas Identification Card. Modifications to the existing driver license system to create a program to enter, scan, and produce the ID card will require programming estimated to be $56,400. Additionally, costs associated for an image collection application to be developed and manually scan the offender photograph and signature into the driver license system for the ID card is estimated to be $32,000. DPS has determined that costs associated with implementing the bill would not be significant and could be absorbed with current appropriations.
TDCJ has determined that costs associated for applying for the ID card would be dependent on the number of releases and the fee associated with obtaining the personal identification certificates. TDCJ assumes that if the bill requires them to obtain the primary documents necessary for the Department of Public Safety prior to issuing a personal identification certificate, there would be an additional fiscal impact; however, it is assumed that TDCJ could fulfill the requirements of the bill with existing resources.
| Source Agencies: | 405 Department of Public Safety, 696 Department of Criminal Justice
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, ESi, GG, SDO, LG
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