S.B. No. 1803
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the Glenda Dawson Donate Life-Texas Registry.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subsection (m), Section 49.002, Health and
  Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (m)  In consultation with the Texas Organ, Tissue, and Eye
  Donor Council, the department shall [may] implement a training
  program for all appropriate Department of Public Safety and Texas
  Department of Transportation employees on the benefits of organ,
  tissue, and eye donation and the procedures for individuals to be
  added to the statewide Internet-based registry of organ, tissue,
  and eye donors. Department of Public Safety and Texas Department of
  Transportation employees are not required to answer customer
  questions about donation or transplantation. The Department of
  Public Safety training under this section must include training on
  asking the appropriate question under Section 521.401(c)(1)(B).
  The department, with expert council input and support, shall
  implement the training program [before the date that the statewide
  Internet-based registry is operational] and [shall] conduct the
  training on an ongoing basis for new employees.
         SECTION 2.  Subsection (d), Section 692.003, Health and
  Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (d)  A gift made by a document other than a will is effective
  on the death of the donor. The document may be a card designed to be
  carried by the donor or another record signed by the donor or other
  person making the gift. A statement or symbol in an online donor
  registry and authorized by the donor indicating the donor has made
  an anatomical gift may also serve as a document making a gift. To be
  effective, the document must be signed by the donor in the presence
  of two witnesses except as otherwise provided by Subchapter Q,
  Chapter 521, Transportation Code, this subsection, or other law.
  If the donor cannot sign the document, a person may sign the
  document for the donor at the donor's direction and in the presence
  of the donor and two witnesses. The witnesses to the signing of a
  document under this subsection must sign the document in the
  presence of the donor. Delivery of the document during the donor's
  lifetime is not necessary to make the gift valid. An online
  donation registration does not require the consent of another
  person or require two witnesses. The online registration
  constitutes a legal document under this chapter and remains binding
  after the donor's death.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter D, Chapter 502, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Section 502.189 to read as follows:
         Sec. 502.189.  DONOR REGISTRY INFORMATION. (a)  The
  department, with expert input and support from the Texas Organ,
  Tissue, and Eye Donor Council, shall:
               (1)  add a link from the department's Internet website
  to the Donor Education, Awareness, and Registry Program of Texas
  established under Chapter 49, Health and Safety Code; and
               (2)  provide a method to distribute donor registry
  information to interested individuals in each office authorized to
  issue motor vehicle registrations.
         (b)  The department shall make available for distribution to
  each office authorized to issue motor vehicle registrations Donate
  Life brochures that provide basic donor information in English and
  Spanish and a contact phone number and e-mail address. The
  department shall ensure that the question provided in Section
  521.401(c)(1)(B) and information on the donor registry Internet
  website is included with registration renewal notices.
         SECTION 4.  Section 521.401, Transportation Code, is amended
  by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
  follows:
         (c)  Donor registry information [cards] shall be provided to
  the department and the Texas Department of Transportation by
  qualified organ or tissue procurement organizations or eye banks,
  as those terms are defined in Section 692.002, Health and Safety
  Code, or by the Donor Education, Awareness, and Registry Program of
  Texas established under Chapter 49, Health and Safety Code. The
  department, with expert input and support from the Texas Organ,
  Tissue, and Eye Donor Council, shall:
               (1)  provide to each applicant for the issuance of an
  original, renewal, corrected, or duplicate driver's license or
  personal identification certificate who applies in person, by mail,
  over the Internet, or by other electronic means:
                     (A)  the opportunity to indicate on the person's
  driver's license or personal identification certificate that the
  person is willing to make an anatomical gift, in the event of death,
  in accordance with Section 692.003, Health and Safety Code; and
                     (B)  an opportunity for the person to consent in
  writing to the department's provision of the person's name, date of
  birth, driver's license number, most recent address, and other
  information needed for identification purposes at the time of
  donation to the organization selected by the commissioner of state
  health services under Chapter 49, Health and Safety Code, for
  inclusion in the statewide Internet-based registry of organ,
  tissue, and eye donors and for release to qualified organ, tissue,
  and eye bank organizations by specifically asking each applicant
  only the question, "Would you like to register as an organ donor?";
  and
               (2)  provide a means to distribute donor registry
  information [cards] to interested individuals in each office
  authorized to issue driver's licenses or personal identification
  certificates.
         (e)  The department shall distribute at all field offices
  Donate Life brochures that provide basic donation information in
  English and Spanish and include a contact phone number and e-mail
  address. The department shall include the question required under
  Subsection (c)(1)(B) and information on the donor registry Internet
  website in renewal notices.
         SECTION 5.  Not later than January 1, 2010:
               (1)  the Department of State Health Services shall
  implement the training program required under Subsection (m),
  Section 49.002, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act;
               (2)  the Department of Public Safety of the State of
  Texas shall implement Section 521.401, Transportation Code, as
  amended by this Act; and
               (3)  the Texas Department of Transportation shall
  implement Section 502.189, Transportation Code, as added by this
  Act.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1803 passed the Senate on
  May 12, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1803 passed the House on
  May 27, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 148, Nays 0, one
  present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor