BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3607

By: Cole

County Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

A Travis County district clerk has expressed a concern over not being able to issue money orders to process passport applications in a timely manner. Presently, Texas allows a district clerk to be an agent for the issuance of passports and to recover the costs for taking a passport photograph by charging a reasonable fee. Payment to the U.S. Department of State must be in the form of personal check or money order, and many people come to obtain passports without either financial tender and must leave to obtain a money order to have their passport processed. H.B. 3607 seeks to address this issue by allowing the district clerk to sell money orders which would allow for passport applications to be submitted faster and more conveniently.

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. 3607 amends the Government Code to specify that the duties a district court clerk may perform to process a U.S. passport application include the selling of money orders to applicants for payment purposes. The bill authorizes a clerk to collect a reasonable fee to recover the costs of selling money orders in the same manner that the clerk may collect a reasonable fee to recover the costs of taking passport photographs.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.