BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3415

By: Goldman

County Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, Harris County is the only county in Texas in which the county clerk's office is authorized to require photo identification when a person is presenting a document in person to be filed in the county's real property records. Other counties, however, have raised concerns over persons filing fraudulent property documents in order to illegally obtain a piece of property. To equip these counties with measures to avoid such fraudulent filings, H.B. 3415 seeks to expand the authority of a county clerk to require photo identification when a person is making such a filing by lowering the minimum population threshold of a county that triggers the authorization from 3.3 million to 800,000.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

H.B. 3415 amends the Local Government Code to lower from 3.3 million to 800,000 the minimum population threshold of a county that triggers the authorization for the county clerk to require a person presenting a document in person for filing in the county's real property records to present a photo identification to the clerk.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.