HBA-SEB H.B. 1579 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1579 By: Danburg Juvenile Justice and Family Issues 3/18/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In some instances, birth records, drivers' licenses, and other official documents are erroneously marked with incorrect gender identification information. Since law enforcement officers use those documents to locate people, they need a correct description of the person. H.B. 1579 requires a court to order a change of name of a person whose gender appears incorrectly on the person's driver's license, birth certificate, or other official document. It also requires the Department of Public Safety, upon request, to place the correct gender identification on a person's driver's license and other identification documents and requires the Texas Department of Health to amend the person's birth certificate to reflect the person's gender. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 45, Family Code, by adding Section 45.107, as follows: Sec. 45.107. CHANGE OF NAME AND VITAL STATISTICS INFORMATION. (a) Requires a court to order a change of name for a petitioner under this subchapter (Change of Name of Adult) if the petition is accompanied by a sworn affidavit of a licensed physician that the petitioner is a gender other than the gender indicated on the petitioner's driver's license, birth certificate, or other official document. (b) Requires a court that orders a change of name for a petitioner under this section to simultaneously order that the Department of Public Safety change the petitioner's gender on the petitioner's driver's license and other identification documents under that department's control as soon as practicable. Requires the Texas Department of Health to amend the petitioner's birth certificate as provided by Section 192.011, Health and Safety Code (Amending Birth Certificate), to reflect the petitioner's change in sexual identity on receipt of a physician's sworn affidavit that the petitioner is in fact a person of a different gender than the gender indicated on the petitioner's birth certificate. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.