HBA-DMD C.S.H.B. 1296 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1296 By: Hupp Public Safety 4/26/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a New Hampshire company is buying drivers' license photographs from various states' departments of public safety and creating a database containing the photographs and other personal information, to be accessed by their clients. Officials from some states that have already sold pictures to the company are currently trying to cancel the contracts. C.S.H.B. 1296 prohibits the Department of Public Safety from selling photographs from a driver's license, a commercial driver's license, or a personal identification certificate without the consent of the person who is depicted in the photograph. This bill authorizes personal information obtained by an agency in connection with a motor vehicle record to be disclosed to any requestor by an agency only if the requestor pays a fee of $5 for personal information that is contained in an individual record and requested for certain purposes. It also repeals certain sections of the Transportation Code, regarding disclosure, redisclosure and resale of personal information. 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 C, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, by adding Sections 521.0415 and 521.0505, as follows: Sec. 521.0415. APPLICATION OF PUBLIC INFORMATION LAW. Sets forth that Chapter 552 (Public Information), Government Code, does not apply to information contained in the Department of Public Safety's (department) driver's license, commercial driver's license, and personal identification certificate files. Provides that public access to that information is governed by this chapter and Chapter 730, (Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act), Transportation Code. Provides that this section prevails in the extent of a conflict between this section and Chapter 552, Government Code. Sec. 521.0505. SALE OF PHOTOGRAPHS; COPYING UNDER PUBLIC INFORMATION LAW. Prohibits the department from selling a photograph or a duplicate of a photograph that is taken by the department when issuing a driver's license or a personal identification certificate unless the person depicted in the photograph consents to the sale. SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 522, Transportation Code, by adding Section 522.033, as follows: Sec. 522.033. SALE OF PHOTOGRAPHS. Prohibits the department from selling a photograph or a duplicate of a photograph that is taken by the department when issuing a commercial driver's license unless the person depicted in the photograph consents to the sale. SECTION 3. Amends Section 730.004, Transportation Code, to make conforming changes. SECTION 4. Amends Section 730.007(a), Transportation Code, to authorize personal information obtained by an agency in connection with a motor vehicle record to be disclosed to any requestor by an agency only if the requestor pays a fee of $5 for personal information that is contained in an individual record and requested for certain purposes. SECTION 5. Repealer: Sections 730.008 (Disclosure of Individual Record), 730.009 (Requests to Prohibit Disclosure), and 730.013 (Resale or Redisclosure), Transportation Code. SECTION 6.Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE This substitute adds Section 521.0415, Transportation Code, in SECTION 1, which specifies that Chapter 552 (Public Information), Government Code, does not apply to information in a driver's license and a personal identification certificate and sets forth that public access to that information is governed by Chapter 730 (Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act), Transportation Code. This substitute provides that this section prevails in the extent of a conflict between this section and Chapter 552, Government Code. This substitute redesignates the effective date and emergency clause from SECTION 3 in the original to SECTION 6 in the substitute. This substitute amends Section 730.004, Transportation Code, in new SECTION 3, to conform to SECTION 5 of the substitute. This section was not addressed in the original. This substitute amends Section 730.007(a), Transportation Code, in new SECTION 4, to authorize personal information obtained by an agency in connection with a motor vehicle record to be disclosed to any requestor by an agency only if the requester pays a fee of $5 for personal information that is contained in an individual record and requested for certain purposes. This section was not addressed in the original. This substitute repeals Sections 730.008 (Disclosure of Individual Record), 730.009 (Requests to Prohibit Disclosure), and 730.013 (Resale or Redisclosure), Transportation Code, in new SECTION 5. These sections were not addressed in the original.