81R10739 JRH-D
By: Gonzalez Toureilles H.B. No. 2574
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to eligibility to be a candidate for, or elected or
appointed to, a public elective office in this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 141.001(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or
appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:
(1) be a United States citizen;
(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the
term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as
applicable;
(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a
court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
right to vote;
(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony or a
misdemeanor under Chapter 21 or 22, Penal Code, from which the
person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the
resulting disabilities;
(5) have resided continuously in the state for 12
months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six
months immediately preceding the following date:
(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a
general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing
deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;
(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the
regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place
on the ballot;
(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the
election at which the candidate's name is written in;
(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any
method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is
made; and
(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the
appointment is made; [and]
(6) have not been placed on deferred adjudication
community supervision for:
(A) a misdemeanor under Chapter 21 or 22, Penal
Code; or
(B) a felony; and
(7) satisfy any other eligibility requirements
prescribed by law for the office.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
the eligibility requirements for a candidate whose term of office
will begin on or after the effective date of this Act. The
eligibility requirements for a candidate whose term of office will
begin before the effective date of this Act are governed by the law
in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.