TITLE: Relating to the issuance of state parklands passports to and a waiver of certain state park fees for veterans and certain family members of a person who died while serving in the United States armed forces.

SUMMARY: Relating to the issuance of state parklands passports to and a waiver of certain state park fees for veterans and certain family members of a person who died while serving in the United States armed forces.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the issuance of state parklands passports to and a waiver of certain state park fees for veterans and certain family members of a person who died while serving in the United States armed forces. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Sections 13.018(a) and (c), Parks and Wildlife Code, are amended to read as follows: (a) The following people may apply to the department for a state parklands passport: (1) a resident of this state who is 65 years old or over who has resided in the state for six consecutive months preceding the date of application for a parklands passport, a member of the United States armed forces on active duty who is 65 years old or over, or any other individual in a category that the commission by rule designates as a resident of this state who is 65 years old or over; (2) a veteran of the armed services of the United States [who, as a result of military service, has a service-connected disability, as defined by the Veterans' Administration, consisting of the loss of the use of a lower extremity or of a 60 percent disability rating and who is receiving compensation from the United States because of the disability];[and] (3) an individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of the individual;and (4) a surviving spouse, parent, child, or sibling of a person who died while serving in the United States armed forces.(c) The holder of a state parklands passport issued on or before August 31, 1995, a person whose birth date is before September 1, 1930, or a person [veteran] described by Subsection (a)(2) or (a)(4) is entitled to enter any state park without payment of an entrance or admission fee. When a fee is charged by the department for entrance of a vehicle into a state park, the vehicle of the holder of a state parklands passport is exempt from the fee when the holder is present. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.