BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1969

By: Collier

Corrections

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that reliable transportation plays a vital role in securing and maintaining employment. However, when a person is unable to renew their driver's license and is unable to legally drive, maintaining employment can be difficult. Currently, Texas has a two-year window for renewing an expired driver's license, which poses an issue for those exiting Texas prisons; the average time served by a releasee from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in fiscal year 2024 was more than four years, according to TDCJ's Statistical Report for that year. Under current law, TDCJ must determine whether an inmate has a driver's license, commercial driver's license, or personal identification certificate prior to their release or discharge but is only required to submit to the Department of Public Safety a request for a personal identification certificate on behalf of the inmate. The bill author has further informed the committee that while having a personal identification certificate can prove to be helpful to an inmate's reentry into society, a valid driver's license would allow a person to legally drive in Texas and may improve their ability to secure and maintain employment. C.S.H.B. 1969 seeks to address this issue by providing for TDCJ to submit a request for the issuance of a renewal driver's license on behalf of an eligible inmate under the same procedures for a request for a personal identification certificate.

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Department of Public Safety, and the vital statistics unit of the Department of State Health Services in SECTION 2 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1969 amends the Government Code to revise the requirement for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), before discharging an inmate who does not have a valid driver's license or releasing the inmate on parole, mandatory supervision, or conditional pardon, to submit to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) on behalf of the inmate a request for the issuance of a personal identification certificate by providing the option for TDCJ to submit instead a request for the issuance of a renewal driver's license if the inmate's license is expired but eligible for renewal and the inmate meets the license requirements. Accordingly, the bill makes the following provisions relating to the issuance of personal identification certificates for inmates also applicable with respect to issuance of such a license:

· requirements for TDCJ to provide the inmate with the license, if available, when the inmate is discharged or released and to submit the request to DPS as soon as is practicable to enable that provision; and

· the requirement for TDCJ, DPS, and the vital statistics unit of the Department of State Health Services to adopt by rule a memorandum of understanding that establishes each agency's responsibilities toward the issuance of the documents to inmates.

The bill requires TDCJ, DPS, and the vital statistics unit to update the memorandum and related rules as soon as practicable after the bill's effective date.

C.S.H.B. 1969 amends the Transportation Code to establish that the fee is $5 for a renewal driver's license issued to an inmate under the bill's provisions.

C.S.H.B. 1969 applies only to the discharge or release of an inmate on parole, mandatory supervision, or conditional pardon that occurs on or after December 1, 2025. A discharge or release that occurs before that date is governed by the law in effect immediately before the bill's effective date, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1969 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Whereas the introduced revised the requirement for TDCJ, before discharging an inmate who does not have a valid commercial driver's license or releasing the inmate on parole, mandatory supervision, or conditional pardon, to submit to DPS on behalf of the inmate a request for the issuance of a personal identification certificate by providing the option for TDCJ to submit instead a request for the issuance of a renewal commercial driver's license if the inmate's license is expired but eligible for renewal and the inmate meets the license requirements, the substitute does not. Accordingly, the substitute omits the following provisions that appeared in the introduced:

· the authorization for TDCJ to charge an inmate for the actual costs and fees related to the issuance of a renewal commercial driver's license; and

· the provision establishing that the fee for a renewal commercial driver's license issued to an inmate under the bill's provisions is $5.