BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 926

By: Harper-Brown

Elections

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) has established a system of identifying unique addresses that are submitted in license or certificate applications that, in the department's determination, cast doubt on whether an address is the actual address where an applicant resides. The DPS may be required to investigate the validity of an address and may disclose the results of an investigation to a criminal justice agency for the purpose of enforcing laws.  In order to prevent an individual who fraudulently obtains a driver's license or state-issued identification card from also committing voter fraud, C.S.H.B. 926 authorizes DPS to disclose the results of such an investigation to the secretary of state and sets out provisions for the use of that information by the secretary of state.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 926 amends the Transportation Code to authorize the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to disclose to the secretary of state, for voter registration purposes, the results of an investigation into the validity of a unique address submitted in an application for a driver's license, commercial driver's license, or personal identification certificate determined by DPS to be fraudulent.

C.S.H.B. 926 amends the Election Code to require the secretary of state, if DPS discloses to the secretary of state the results of an investigation conducted by the department relating to such an address whereby the address is determined to be fraudulent, to inform the voter registrar of the county in which the address is located. The bill requires a voter registrar who receives such information from the secretary of state to investigate the registration of any voter registered to vote at that address and challenge the registration application of an applicant who submits the address as the voter's residence address on the application. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 926 differs from the original by authorizing the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to disclose to the secretary of state, for voter registration purposes, the results of an investigation into the validity of a unique address submitted in an application for a driver's license, commercial driver's license, or personal identification certificate determined by DPS to be fraudulent, whereas the original authorizes DPS to disclose a unique address that the department has identified as being submitted in such an application in a frequency or number that casts doubt on whether the address is the actual address where the applicant resides.