H.B. No. 4544

AN ACT

relating to providing children committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department with certain documents on discharge or release; authorizing a fee.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 245.0535(e), Human Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:

(e) The department may contract and coordinate with private vendors, units of local government, or other entities to implement the comprehensive reentry and reintegration plan developed under this section, including contracting to:

(1) coordinate the supervision and services provided to children during the time children are in the custody of the department with any supervision or services provided children who have been released under supervision or finally discharged from the department;

(2) provide children awaiting release under supervision or final discharge with documents that are necessary after release or discharge, including identification papers that include, if available, personal identification certificates obtained under Section 245.0536, medical prescriptions, job training certificates, and referrals to services; and

(3) provide housing and structured programs, including programs for recovering substance abusers, through which children are provided services immediately following release under supervision or final discharge.

SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 245, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Sections 245.0536 and 245.0537 to read as follows:

Sec. 245.0536. PROVIDING RELEASED OR DISCHARGED CHILD WITH STATE-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION. (a) Before releasing a child under supervision or finally discharging a child, the department shall:

(1) determine whether the child has:

(A) a valid license issued under Chapter 521, Transportation Code; or

(B) a valid personal identification certificate issued under Chapter 521, Transportation Code; and

(2) if the child does not have a valid license or certificate described by Subdivision (1), submit to the Department of Public Safety on behalf of the child a request for the issuance of a personal identification certificate under Chapter 521, Transportation Code.

(b) The department shall submit a request under Subsection (a)(2) as soon as is practicable to enable the department to receive the personal identification certificate before the department releases or discharges the child and to provide the child with the personal identification certificate when the department releases or discharges the child.

(c) The department, the Department of Public Safety, and the vital statistics unit of the Department of State Health Services shall adopt a memorandum of understanding that establishes their respective responsibilities with respect to the issuance of a personal identification certificate to a child, including responsibilities related to verification of the child's identity. The memorandum of understanding must require the Department of State Health Services to electronically verify the birth record of a child whose name and any other personal information is provided by the department and to electronically report the recorded filing information to the Department of Public Safety to validate the identity of a child under this section.

(d) The department shall reimburse the Department of Public Safety or the Department of State Health Services for the actual costs incurred by those agencies in performing responsibilities established under this section. The department may charge the child's parent or guardian for the actual costs incurred under this section or the fees required by Section 521.421, Transportation Code.

(e) This section does not apply to a child who:

(1) is not legally present in the United States; or

(2) was not a resident of this state before the child was placed in the custody of the department.

Sec. 245.0537. PROVIDING RELEASED OR DISCHARGED CHILD WITH BIRTH CERTIFICATE AND SOCIAL SECURITY CARD. (a) In addition to complying with the requirements of Section 245.0536, before releasing a child under supervision or finally discharging a child, the department must:

(1) determine whether the child has a:

(A) certified copy of the child's birth certificate; and

(B) copy of the child's social security card; and

(2) if the child does not have a document described by Subdivision (1), submit to the appropriate entity on behalf of the child a request for the issuance of the applicable document.

(b) The department shall submit a request under Subsection (a)(2) as soon as is practicable to enable the department to receive the applicable document before the department releases or discharges the child and to provide the child with the applicable document when the department releases or discharges the child.

(c) This section does not apply to a child who:

(1) is not legally present in the United States; or

(2) was not a resident of this state before the child was placed in the custody of the department.

SECTION 3. Section 521.421(a-1), Transportation Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a-1) The fee for a personal identification certificate issued under Section 501.0165, Government Code, [or] Section 841.153, Health and Safety Code, or Section 245.0536, Human Resources Code, is $5.

SECTION 4. Sections 245.0536 and 245.0537, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act, apply only to the release under supervision or final discharge of a child that occurs on or after December 1, 2021. A release under supervision or final discharge that occurs before that date is governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 4544 was passed by the House on April 30, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, 2 present, not voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. No. 4544 on May 28, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 4544 was passed by the Senate, with amendments, on May 24, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: __________________

Date

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Governor