To authorize the Secretary of State to designate additional persons eligible to serve as passport acceptance agents, and for other purposes.

Bill: 118-hr-8234
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Mast, Brian J. [R-FL-21]
Introduced: 2024-05-02
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Licensing and registrations

Public-private cooperation

Visas and passports
Latest action: action_date: 2024-11-21
text: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Summaries:
action_date: 2024-05-02
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This bill authorizes the Department of State to expand certain passport application processing services&nbsp;and directs related changes.</p><p>The bill requires the State Department to increase&nbsp;(1) the number of companies certified to provide expedited processing&nbsp;(formally known as <em>hand-carry courier services</em>) of passport applications, and (2)&nbsp;the daily maximum number of passport applications that passport offices may accept from certified passport expeditors.</p><p>The bill also authorizes the State Department to designate notaries public, among others, as passport acceptance agents.</p><p>Additionally, the bill provides that passports issued 180 days or more after the bill's enactment shall expire on the passport holder's birthday.</p>

tv_txt: IIB 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8234 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 21, 2024 Received; read twice and referred to the AN ACT To authorize the Secretary of State to designate additional persons eligible to serve as passport acceptance agents, and for other purposes.

1. Authority of Secretary of State to designate additional persons eligible to serve as passport acceptance agents Section 6109(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 ( 22 U.S.C. 213a(b) ) is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following: (6) A United States citizen who, as determined by the Secretary, is employed by and provides services through a reputable, established company or institution and is commissioned or appointed as a notary or notary public or otherwise authorized to perform a notarization under the laws of a State, district, or territorial government. . 2. Improvements relating to hand-carry courier services for passport applications and passports (a) In general The Secretary of State shall take such actions as may be necessary to— (1) facilitate an increase in the number of companies certified to provide hand-carry courier services; and (2) increase the daily maximum number of applications for United States regular passports, by service type, that such companies may submit to a passport agency of the Department of State (commonly referred to as meeting slots ) as part of the hand-carry courier services of such company. (b) Hand-carry courier service defined In this section, the term hand-carry courier service means— (1) the transport of applications for United States passports to a passport agency of the Department of State for processing; and (2) the retrieval of newly issued United States passports for delivery, directly or indirectly, to the passport holder. 3. Date of expiration of United States passports The Secretary of State shall take such actions as may be necessary to provide that each United States regular passport issued or renewed on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act expires on the same month and day of the month as the date of birth of the individual associated with such passport.

Passed the House of Representatives November 20, 2024. Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk.

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8234 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AN ACT To authorize the Secretary of State to designate additional persons eligible to serve as passport acceptance agents, and for other purposes.

1. Authority of Secretary of State to designate additional persons eligible to serve as passport acceptance agents Section 6109(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 ( 22 U.S.C. 213a(b) ) is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following: (6) A United States citizen who, as determined by the Secretary, is employed by and provides services through a reputable, established company or institution and is commissioned or appointed as a notary or notary public or otherwise authorized to perform a notarization under the laws of a State, district, or territorial government. . 2. Improvements relating to hand-carry courier services for passport applications and passports (a) In general The Secretary of State shall take such actions as may be necessary to— (1) facilitate an increase in the number of companies certified to provide hand-carry courier services; and (2) increase the daily maximum number of applications for United States regular passports, by service type, that such companies may submit to a passport agency of the Department of State (commonly referred to as meeting slots ) as part of the hand-carry courier services of such company. (b) Hand-carry courier service defined In this section, the term hand-carry courier service means— (1) the transport of applications for United States passports to a passport agency of the Department of State for processing; and (2) the retrieval of newly issued United States passports for delivery, directly or indirectly, to the passport holder. 3. Date of expiration of United States passports The Secretary of State shall take such actions as may be necessary to provide that each United States regular passport issued or renewed on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act expires on the same month and day of the month as the date of birth of the individual associated with such passport.

Passed the House of Representatives November 20, 2024. Kevin F. McCumber, Clerk.

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8234 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 2, 2024 Mr. Mast (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina , and Ms. Salazar ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To authorize the Secretary of State to designate additional persons eligible to serve as passport acceptance agents, and for other purposes.

1. Authority of Secretary of State to designate additional persons eligible to serve as passport acceptance agents (a) Authority To designate The Secretary of State may designate any person described in subsection (b) that meets such other requirements as the Secretary may prescribe under regulations to serve as a passport acceptance agent, unless the Secretary withdraws such authorization on a case-by-case basis with respect to a given person. (b) Authorized persons A person described in this subsection is any of the following: (1) An employee of the clerk of any Federal court. (2) An employee of the clerk of any State court of record. (3) A postal employee at a United States post office that has been selected to accept passport applications. (4) An employee of the Department of Defense at a military installation that has been authorized to accept passport applications. (5) An employee of a Federal department or agency that has been selected to accept passport applications. (6) Any person commissioned or appointed as a notary or notary public or otherwise authorized to perform a notarization under the laws of a State or territorial government. (7) Any other person specifically designated by the Secretary. (c) Regulations The Secretary of State shall prescribe or revise such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 2. Improvements relating to hand-carry courier services for passport applications and passports (a) In general The Secretary of State shall take such steps as may be necessary to— (1) facilitate an increase in the number of companies certified to provide hand-carry courier services; and (2) increase the daily maximum number of applications for United States passports, by type, that such companies may submit to a passport agency of the Department of State (commonly referred to as meeting slots ) as part of the hand-carry courier services of such company. (b) Hand-Carry courier service defined In this section, the term hand-carry courier service includes— (1) the transport of applications for United States passports to a passport agency of the Department of State for processing; and (2) the retrieval of newly issued United States passports for delivery, directly or indirectly, to the passport holder. 3. Revision to date of expiration of United States passports The Secretary of State shall take such actions as may be necessary to provide for the date of expiration of each United States passport issued or renewed on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act to be the same date as the date of birth of the applicant or holder of the passport.