HBA-LJP H.B. 1587 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1587
By: Danburg
Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
3/25/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

In some instances, birth records, drivers' licenses, and other official
documents are erroneously marked with incorrect gender identification
information or contain a name that could indicate a female or male. Since
law enforcement officers use these documents to locate people, they need a
correct description of the person, including whether the person appears to
be a female or male.  House Bill 1587 requires a court to order the change
of a name or the gender on certain documents of a person if that person
submits a petition with an affidavit from a licensed physician that
indicates that the gender on these documents is incorrect. 

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1587 amends the Family Code to require the court to order a
change of name for a petitioner if the petition is accompanied by a sworn
affidavit of a licensed physician that the petitioner identifies as a
gender other than the gender indicated on the petitioner's driver's
license, birth certificate, or other official document.  The bill requires
the court that orders the change of name for the petitioner to
simultaneously order the Department of Public Safety and the Texas
Department of Health to amend the documents of the petitioner under each
department's control to reflect the petitioner's true gender. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.