BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2814

By: Plesa

Intergovernmental Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that children committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) and prisoners serving in county jails often have difficulty reintegrating into society due to their lack of basic identification documents. The bill author has additionally informed the committee that due to this lack of documentation, many individuals are unable to obtain employment, housing, or a means of transportation. H.B. 2814 seeks to facilitate the resocialization of committed children and incarcerated individuals by requiring TJJD or a county sheriff, as applicable, to provide newly released children or inmates with certain identification documents.

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. 2814 amends the Local Government Code to require a county sheriff, before discharging a prisoner serving a sentence in a county jail, to do the following:

· determine whether the prisoner has a valid driver's license or personal identification certificate and a certified copy of a birth certificate and copy of a social security card; and

· if the prisoner does not have such a valid license, certificate, or document, submit to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) or other appropriate entity a request for the issuance of a certificate or applicable document on the prisoner's behalf on intake to enable the sheriff to provide the prisoner with the certificate or applicable document on discharge.

H.B. 2814 requires the Commission on Jail Standards, DPS, and the vital statistics unit of the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to adopt a memorandum of understanding that establishes the respective responsibilities of each entity and agency with respect to the issuance of a personal identification certificate to a county jail prisoner, including responsibilities related to verification of the prisoner's identity. The memorandum must require DSHS to electronically verify the birth record of a prisoner whose name and any other personal information is provided by the sheriff and to electronically report the recorded filing information to DPS to validate the prisoner's identity. The bill requires the sheriff or county commissioners court to reimburse DPS or DSHS for the actual costs incurred by the agencies in performing those responsibilities and authorizes the sheriff to charge the prisoner for those costs or the fees required for the issuance of the certificate. The bill's provisions do not apply to a prisoner who is not legally present in the United States or was not a Texas resident before being placed in the sheriff's custody. The bill's provisions apply only to the discharge of a prisoner that occurs on or after December 1, 2025. A discharge 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.

H.B. 2814 amends the Transportation Code to establish that the fee for a personal identification certificate issued under the bill's provisions or for a driver's license under the inmate identification verification pilot program is $5.

H.B. 2814 amends the Human Resources Code to change the time at which the Texas Juvenile Justice Department is required to make a request for the issuance of a personal identification certificate, certified copy of a birth certificate, or copy of a social security card of a child, for purposes of providing the document to the child on discharge or release, from as soon as is practicable to on intake of the child.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.