HB 510 – Free birth certificates at taxpayer expense

HB 510 requires Texas to issue free certified birth certificates to individuals identified as homeless, and bars the state from asking for a physical address as part of the application. It creates new administrative duties for the Health and Human Services Commission, which must develop a system to verify someone’s homelessness status. While well-intentioned, the bill creates an open-ended benefit that could be difficult to administer without fraud or misuse. It also shifts the cost burden to taxpayers without any guardrails or offsetting savings elsewhere in the budget. Granting government documents at no cost sets a concerning precedent of exempting certain groups from fees everyone else must pay, eroding fairness in state services. Furthermore, this approach expands bureaucracy instead of encouraging civil society or private nonprofits to help vulnerable populations.