MILITARY DISCHARGE RECORDS

(a) The county clerk shall record the official discharge of persons who after 1915 have served as members of the United States armed forces, the United States armed forces reserve, or an armed forces auxiliary. (b) The county clerk may not charge a fee for the recording and keeping of a military discharge record. (c)(1) This subsection applies only in relation to a military discharge record that is recorded with a county clerk under this section before September 1, 2003. (2) The veteran who is the subject of the record or the legal guardian of the veteran may direct, in writing, that the county clerk destroy all copies of the record that the county clerk makes readily available to the public for purposes of Section 191.006, such as paper copies of the record in the county courthouse or a courthouse annex, microfilm or microfiche copies of the record in the county courthouse or a courthouse annex, and electronic copies of the record that are available to the public. The county clerk shall comply with the direction within 15 business days after the date the direction is received. The county clerk's compliance does not violate any law of this state relating to the preservation, destruction, or alienation of public records. The direction to destroy the copies of the record, the county clerk's compliance, and any delay between the time the direction is made and the time the county clerk destroys the copies may not be used to limit or restrict the public's access to the real property records of the county. (3) A county clerk who receives a request under Chapter 552, Government Code, for inspection or duplication of a military discharge record recorded before September 1, 2003, is only required to search for the record in places where or media in which the county clerk makes records readily available to the public for purposes of Section 191.006, such as paper records stored in the county courthouse or a courthouse annex, microfilmed or microfiched records stored in the county courthouse or a courthouse annex, and electronically stored records made available to the public. This subdivision does not apply to a request made by the veteran who is the subject of the military discharge record or the legal guardian of the veteran.