TITLE 31. NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION

PART 2. TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT

CHAPTER 55. LAW ENFORCEMENT

SUBCHAPTER A. PROOF OF RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department proposes an amendment to 31 TAC §55.1, concerning Proof of Residency Requirements. The proposed amendment would prescribe identification requirements for the acquisition of certain licenses and permits issued by the department and retitle the section accordingly.

The proposed amendment would require persons who seek to obtain certain licenses and permits issued by the department to present, at the time of application or purchase, a driver's license or personal identification certificate issued by a state or territory of the United States of which the person is a resident that complies with the federal REAL ID Act of 2005, unless otherwise provided; or a driver's license or personal identification certificate issued by the government of the country of which the person is a resident, accompanied by a valid foreign passport. Additional documentation options are provided for residents of a state or territory of the United States including a United States passport or passport card, United States military identification card, immigration-related documents issued by the United States Government, or a certified birth certificate; and for residents of Texas also a concealed handgun license. The proposed amendment also makes conforming alterations as necessary.

The proposed amendment is necessary to provide an administrative process to verify that persons engaged in certain activities permitted or licensed by the department are capable of compliance with statutory personal identification requirements as a condition of permit or license issuance and use and that such personal identification documents are valid.

Robert Macdonald, Regulations Coordinator, has determined for each of the first five years that the rule as proposed is in effect, there will be significant fiscal impacts to the department as a result of administering and enforcing the amendment, primarily in the form of programming and support costs associated with the department's point-of-sale and online vending systems, which will require modification to implement document processing functionality. The department estimates that such costs could be significant; however, those costs cannot be explicitly quantified at this time.

There will be no fiscal impacts to other units of government as a result of enforcing or administering the rule as proposed.

Mr. Macdonald also has determined that for each of the first five years the rule as proposed is in effect, the public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing or administering the rule as proposed will be the increased assurance that department license products will not be acquired, possessed or used by persons who are not entitled by law to obtain, possess, or use them.

There will be no direct adverse economic impacts to most persons required to comply with the rule as proposed, as the requirements of the proposed rule involve documentation that is highly likely to be already possessed as a consequence of being required by law for other purposes, such as motor vehicle operation and registration, under statutory and regulatory provisions that do not involve or require the involvement of the department. For a person who does not possess a driver's license or personal identification certificate meeting the requirements of the rule, the cost of compliance is estimated to be at or around $33, which is the cost of REAL ID documentation issued by the State of Texas.

Under provisions of Government Code, Chapter 2006, a state agency must prepare an economic impact statement and a regulatory flexibility analysis for a rule that may have an adverse economic effect on small businesses, micro-businesses, and rural communities. As required by Government Code, §2006.002(g), in April 2008, the Office of the Attorney General issued guidelines to assist state agencies in determining a proposed rule's potential adverse economic impact on small businesses, micro-businesses, and rural communities. Those guidelines state that an agency need only consider a proposed rule's "direct adverse economic impacts" to small businesses and micro-businesses to determine if any further analysis is required. For that purpose, the department considers "direct economic impact" to mean a requirement that would directly impose recordkeeping or reporting requirements; impose taxes or fees; result in lost sales or profits; adversely affect market competition; or require the purchase or modification of equipment or services. The department has determined that the proposed rules regulate various aspects of recreational license privileges that allow individual persons to pursue and harvest wildlife resources in this state and therefore do not directly affect small businesses or micro-businesses. Therefore, neither the economic impact statement nor the regulatory flexibility analysis described in Government Code, Chapter 2006, is required.

The department has determined that the proposed rule will not affect rural communities because the rule does not directly regulate any rural community.

The department has not drafted a local employment impact statement under the Government Code, §2001.022, as the agency has determined that the rule as proposed will not result in direct impacts to local economies.

The department has determined that Government Code, §2001.0225 (Regulatory Analysis of Major Environmental Rules), does not apply to the proposed rule.

The department has determined that there will not be a taking of private real property, as defined by Government Code, Chapter 2007, as a result of the proposed rule.

In compliance with the requirements of Government Code, §2001.0221, the department has prepared the following Government Growth Impact Statement (GGIS). The rule as proposed, if adopted, will neither create nor eliminate a government program; not result in an increase or decrease in the number of full-time equivalent employee needs; not result in a need for additional General Revenue funding per se; not affect the amount of any fee; not create a new regulation or repeal an existing regulation, but will modify existing rules to provide for administrative verification of compliance with current statutory requirements for personal identification; not increase the number of individuals subject to regulation; and not positively or adversely affect the state's economy in any significant way.

Comments on the proposed rule may be submitted to James Murphy, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, Texas 78744; (512) 389-8877, e-mail: CommissionPublicComment@tpwd.texas.gov; or via the department's website at www.tpwd.texas.gov.

The amendment is proposed under Parks and Wildlife Code, §11.004, which gives the commission the authority to prescribe by rule the proof required to demonstrate residency in this state for the purpose of obtaining a license or permit issued by the department.

The proposed amendment affects Parks and Wildlife Code, §11.004.

§55.1. Proof of Residency and Identification Requirements.

(a) The requirements of this section are in addition to any requirements of Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapters 42 and 46.

(1) A person who seeks to purchase or obtain a permit or license listed in subsection (d) of this section (applicant) must present:

(C) if the applicant is a resident of another country:

(i) a valid, unexpired driver's license or personal identification certificate issued by the government of the person's country of residence; and

(ii) an unexpired passport issued by the government of another country accompanied by, if required for entry into the United States from the person's country of residency, a current permanent resident card or unexpired immigrant visa issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security. [Except as provided by Parks and Wildlife Code, §12.114, no person is required to possess the documentation required by paragraphs (2) or (3) of this subsection on their person while:]

(2) Proof that a person has resided continuously in Texas for more than six months immediately before applying for a resident license or permit issued by the department shall consist of the documentation required by paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection and any two [three] of the following:

(A) a current property tax statement indicating that the person is the owner of homestead property in Texas;

(B) [(C)] the most recent six months of utility bills showing the person's name and a physical address in Texas;

(C) [(D)] the most recent six months of paycheck receipts showing the person's name and a physical address in Texas;

(D) [(E)] a current Texas voter registration certificate showing the person's name and a physical address in Texas, issued not less than six months prior to an application to the department for a license or permit;

(E) [(F)] the person's most recent tax return statement from the Internal Revenue Service showing the person's name and a physical address in Texas;

(F) [(G)] a current vehicle registration showing the person's name and a physical address in Texas, issued not less than six months prior to an application to the department for a license or permit; or

(G) [(H)] a statement from the person's parole board or probation officer attesting to the fact that the person has continuously resided in Texas for the six months immediately preceding the application for a license or permit.

(3) - (8) (No change.)

(b) - (c) (No change.)

The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the proposal and found it to be within the state agency's legal authority to adopt.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on January 12, 2026.

TRD-202600082

James Murphy

General Counsel

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Earliest possible date of adoption: February 22, 2026

For further information, please call: (512) 389-4775