HB2142 HJUD AM 1-14

Casto 3264

            The Committee on the Judiciary moved to amend the Bill on page one, immediately following the enacting section, by striking out the remainder of the bill and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2.  Issuance of License, Expiration and Renewal.

§17B-2-16. Identification documents for homeless citizens.

(a) Findings.--

The Legislature finds that:

(1) Individuals who are homeless are often the victims of crimes in which their personal identification documents are stolen or lost; and

(2) Personal identification documents are necessary for obtaining employment or certain public benefits, but the fees for acquiring documents may be prohibitive to a homeless individual; and

(3) Removing barriers that prevent homeless individuals from obtaining identification documents may enable those individuals to achieve greater financial stability and a permanent home.

(b) Definitions.-- 

For the purposes of this section:

(1) “Homeless citizen” means an individual who meets the following criteria:

(A) The individual is a resident of this state, as defined by §17A-3-1a of this code, and

(B) The individual has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

(2) “Homeless shelter or homeless service provider” means a homeless service agency or entity which regularly provides temporary residence for homeless individuals and families.

(c) A homeless citizen is eligible to receive certain identification documents at no cost to the citizen, as provided in subsection (d) of this section, if all of the following criteria apply:

(1) The homeless citizen currently resides at a homeless shelter in this state;

(2) The homeless citizen uses the address of the homeless shelter as his or her address of residence on the application for the identifying document; and

(3) An employee or representative from the homeless shelter signs an affidavit stating that the homeless citizen is truly a resident of the homeless shelter and has no other known address.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the division shall issue the following documents to a homeless citizen, meeting the eligibility criteria provided in subsection (c) of this section, at no cost to the citizen: Provided, That the division may not issue more than one identifying document, pursuant to this section, to any particular individual within one 30 day period.

(1) A photo identification card, or

(2) A replacement driver’s license.

 (e) The commissioner shall develop forms necessary to carry out the requirements of this section.