H.B. No. 1457
AN ACT
relating to procedures concerning verification of certain
information submitted in a voter registration application.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 13, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 13.0725 to read as follows:
Sec. 13.0725. PROCESS FOR VERIFICATION OF APPLICANT'S TEXAS
DRIVER'S LICENSE NUMBER, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUED
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER, OR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. (a) The
secretary of state shall adopt rules establishing standards used
for the verification of information on a voter registration
application submitted by a registrar under Section
13.072(a)(2)(A). The rules shall provide a process by which the
secretary of state verifies an applicant's Texas driver's license
number or Department of Public Safety issued personal
identification card number if, based on the available information,
a minor correction in the applicant's last name or date of birth as
submitted by the registrar would lead a reasonable person to
conclude that the number submitted is the correct number for that
applicant.
(b) If available, the secretary of state shall provide the
registrar with the name and date of birth maintained by the
Department of Public Safety or other agency used in the
verification process for a submitted application that corresponds
to the Texas driver's license number, Department of Public Safety
issued personal identification card number, or social security
number submitted by the registrar for verification if:
(1) the secretary of state cannot verify the accuracy
of an applicant's Texas driver's license number, Department of
Public Safety issued personal identification card number, or social
security number as submitted by the registrar; or
(2) the secretary of state verifies the accuracy of
the number provided, but it is not a perfect match with the personal
information provided by the registrar.
(c) A registrar shall review the information provided by the
secretary of state under Subsection (b). If the registrar
determines that a governmental clerical error was made in
processing or submitting the application, the registrar shall
correct the registration record and submit a corrected record to
the secretary of state as notice of the correction, and for
verification under Section 13.072(a)(2) if the application was not
verified.
SECTION 2. Section 13.073(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the registrar
shall deliver written notice of the reason for the rejection of an
application to the applicant not later than the second day after the
date of rejection. If an application is rejected because it was not
verified by the secretary of state under Section 13.072, the notice
shall indicate whether the last name, date of birth, Texas driver's
license number, Department of Public Safety issued personal
identification card number, or social security number was the
reason for the failure to verify, if that information is provided to
the registrar by the secretary of state under Section 13.0725.
SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2010, the secretary of
state shall adopt rules establishing the standards required by
Section 13.0725, Election Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1457 was passed by the House on May 7,
2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 1, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1457 was passed by the Senate on May
26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor