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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the issuance of a certified birth record to a homeless |
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individual. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 191, Health and Safety |
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Code, is amended by adding Section 191.00495 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 191.00495. BIRTH RECORD ISSUED TO HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL. |
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(a) In this section, "homeless individual": |
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(1) means an individual who: |
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(A) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate |
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nighttime residence; or |
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(B) has a primary nighttime residence that is: |
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(i) a supervised publicly or privately |
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operated shelter designed to provide temporary living |
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accommodations, including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and |
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transitional housing for the mentally ill; |
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(ii) an institution that provides a |
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temporary residence for individuals intended to be |
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institutionalized; or |
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(iii) a public or private place not |
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designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping |
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accommodation for human beings; and |
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(2) does not include an individual who is imprisoned |
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or otherwise detained in a correctional facility. |
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(b) On request of a homeless individual, the state |
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registrar, a local registrar, or a county clerk shall issue, |
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without fee, a certified copy of the individual's birth record to |
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the individual. |
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(c) The executive commissioner by rule shall: |
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(1) adopt a process to verify a person's status as a |
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homeless individual; and |
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(2) prescribe the documentation necessary for |
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issuance of a certified copy of a birth record to a homeless |
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individual whose status is verified through the process adopted |
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under Subdivision (1). |
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(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of state law, the |
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department may not require a homeless individual to provide a |
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physical address of the individual's residence to satisfy any |
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requirement of this section. |
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SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date |
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of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human |
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Services Commission shall adopt the rules required by Section |
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191.00495, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. |
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SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an |
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application for a birth record submitted on or after the effective |
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date of this Act. An application for a birth record submitted before |
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the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on |
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the date the application was submitted, and the former law is |
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continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |