The department must administer the identification fee exemption account and use it to fund required transfers and deposits, while following limits on transfers and exemptions when the account balance is too low.
Sec. 521.4265. IDENTIFICATION FEE EXEMPTION ACCOUNT. (a) The identification fee exemption account is created as an account in the general revenue fund of the state treasury. The fund consists of grants and donations made to the department for the purposes of this section, including donations received under Sections 521.008 and 522.0295. The department shall administer the account. Money in the account may be appropriated for the purposes of Subsection (b). (b) From the money in the identification fee exemption account the department shall: (1) request that the comptroller transfer to the Texas Workforce Commission amounts sufficient to cover the cost of implementing the program under Section 521.168, including amounts sufficient for the payment by the Texas Workforce Commission of: (A) fees to entities other than the department; and (B) the Texas Workforce Commission's implementation costs; and (2) for each exemption granted under Section 521.1015, 521.1016, or 521.1811, deposit to the credit of the Texas mobility fund an amount that is equal to the amount of the waived fee that would otherwise be deposited to the mobility fund. (c) The department may not: (1) request a transfer under Subsection (b)(1) if the balance of the account for the fiscal year is less than three times the amount expended in the previous fiscal year for the waivers provided by Sections 521.1015(e) and 521.1811; or (2) grant an exemption under Section 521.1015, 521.1016, or 521.1811 if money is not available in the identification fee exemption account to meet the requirements of Subsection (b)(2). (d) The department, in consultation with the Texas Workforce Commission, by rule shall establish a process by which transfers are made under Subsection (b). Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1024 (H.B. 123), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2019. Amended by: Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 374 (S.B. 798), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2021. Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1051 (S.B. 2054), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2021. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 614 (H.B. 3798), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2023.