Texas Senate Bill SB 1076

Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

• Filed: 2/4/25

Caption

Relating to permitted forms of identification for the purpose of accepting a voter.

Summary

SB 1076 would revise Texas election law to expand the list of acceptable photo identification that a voter may present when voting. Under current law, certain Department of Public Safety IDs, military IDs, U.S. passports, citizenship certificates with a photo, and handgun licenses are accepted, but some expired IDs are only valid if they expired within a specified period. This bill would allow a Texas personal identification card issued by DPS to be accepted if it is unexpired or expired no earlier than one year before presentation, instead of the longer four-year window that applies to some other forms of ID. The bill also makes a technical clarification to the election code by updating the list of acceptable IDs and preserving the existing rules for other listed documents. Its changes would apply only to elections ordered on or after the effective date, and the bill would take effect immediately if it receives the constitutionally required two-thirds vote in each chamber; otherwise, it would take effect September 1, 2025.

Impact

SB 1076 would amend Section 63.0101 of the Texas Election Code, changing the acceptable expiration period for a Texas personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety from up to four years expired to up to one year expired. This would affect voters who rely on a state-issued photo ID to meet in-person voting identification requirements, and it would require election officials to accept the updated form of identification for elections held after the bill’s effective date.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and available legislative context, the measure appears to be a straightforward election-administration bill with no recorded committee debate or vote history in the provided materials. The absence of transcripts or votes suggests there is not enough documented evidence here to identify strong support or opposition, though the bill’s subject matter indicates it is part of the broader ongoing discussion over voter identification rules in Texas.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the scope of acceptable voter identification and whether Texas should make it easier for voters to use expired state-issued IDs. Supporters would likely view the bill as a practical access measure that reduces barriers for eligible voters who still possess a recently expired DPS ID. Opponents of broader ID acceptance may argue that loosening expiration rules could weaken election integrity safeguards, although no specific objections are recorded in the provided committee materials.