88R4811 JAM-D
 
  By: Neave Criado H.B. No. 5228
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the issuance of a driver's license or personal
  identification certificate to certain individuals and the use of
  the identification fee exemption account to fund the fee waivers
  for those individuals.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter I, Chapter 521, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 521.184 to read as follows:
         Sec. 521.184.  ISSUANCE OF LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE TO
  HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL. (a)  In this section, "homeless individual":
               (1)  means an individual who:
                     (A)  lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate
  nighttime residence; or
                     (B)  has a primary nighttime residence that is:
                           (i)  a supervised publicly or privately
  operated shelter designed to provide temporary living
  accommodations, including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and
  transitional housing for the mentally ill;
                           (ii)  an institution that provides a
  temporary residence for individuals intended to be
  institutionalized; or
                           (iii)  a public or private place not
  designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping
  accommodation for human beings; and
               (2)  does not include an individual who is imprisoned
  or otherwise detained in a correctional facility.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (f) and subject to
  Section 521.4265, a homeless individual is entitled to an exemption
  from the payment of fees under this chapter for the issuance of a
  driver's license or personal identification certificate.
         (c)  For the purposes of this section, a person's status as a
  homeless individual must be confirmed by a notarized affidavit
  from:
               (1)  an employee of a homeless shelter or transitional
  housing facility;
               (2)  an employee of an organization that provides to
  homeless individuals or assists homeless individuals in obtaining
  services such as health services, mental or behavioral health
  services, substance abuse services, public assistance services, or
  employment services;
               (3)  an attorney licensed to practice law in this
  state;
               (4)  a peace officer who is an official homeless
  liaison;
               (5)  an employee of a faith-based organization that
  provides benefits or services to homeless individuals; or
               (6)  a counselor or administrator at a school attended
  by the homeless individual.
         (d)  A person may not charge a fee for the affidavit
  described by Subsection (c).
         (e)  An affidavit described by Subsection (c) may not be used
  for a driver's license or personal identification certificate
  application if the affidavit was signed more than 60 days before the
  date the application is submitted.
         (f)  Subsection (b) does not apply to a person subject to the
  registration requirements of Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
  Procedure.
         (g)  Rules adopted under this section regarding the issuance
  of a personal identification certificate to a homeless child or
  youth, as defined by Section 521.1015, must be consistent with the
  provisions of that section.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 521.4265(b) and (c), Transportation
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  From the money in the identification fee exemption
  account the department shall:
               (1)  request that the comptroller transfer to the Texas
  Workforce Commission amounts sufficient to cover the cost of
  implementing the program under Section 521.168, including amounts
  sufficient for the payment by the Texas Workforce Commission of:
                     (A)  fees to entities other than the department;
  and
                     (B)  the Texas Workforce Commission's
  implementation costs; and
               (2)  for each exemption granted under Section 521.1015,
  521.1016, [or] 521.1811, or 521.184, deposit to the credit of the
  Texas mobility fund an amount that is equal to the amount of the
  waived fee that would otherwise be deposited to the mobility fund.
         (c)  The department may not:
               (1)  request a transfer under Subsection (b)(1) if the
  balance of the account for the fiscal year is less than three times
  the amount expended in the previous fiscal year for the waivers
  provided by Sections 521.1015(e), 521.1016, [and] 521.1811, and
  521.184; or
               (2)  grant an exemption under Section 521.1015,
  521.1016, [or] 521.1811, or 521.184 if money is not available in the
  identification fee exemption account to meet the requirements of
  Subsection (b)(2).
         SECTION 3.  The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
  application for a driver's license or personal identification
  certificate submitted on or after the effective date of this Act.
  An application for a driver's license or personal identification
  certificate submitted before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the application was
  submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.