| 1 | 1 | | 81R10739 JRH-D |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Gonzalez Toureilles H.B. No. 2574 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | relating to eligibility to be a candidate for, or elected or |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | appointed to, a public elective office in this state. |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 141.001(a), Election Code, is amended to |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | (a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must: |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | (1) be a United States citizen; |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | (2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | applicable; |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | (3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | court exercising probate jurisdiction to be: |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | (A) totally mentally incapacitated; or |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | (B) partially mentally incapacitated without the |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | right to vote; |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | (4) have not been finally convicted of a felony or a |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | misdemeanor under Chapter 21 or 22, Penal Code, from which the |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | resulting disabilities; |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | (5) have resided continuously in the state for 12 |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | months immediately preceding the following date: |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | (A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot; |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | (B) for an independent candidate, the date of the |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | on the ballot; |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | (C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | election at which the candidate's name is written in; |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | (D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | made; and |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | (E) for an appointee to an office, the date the |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | appointment is made; [and] |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | (6) have not been placed on deferred adjudication |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | community supervision for: |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | (A) a misdemeanor under Chapter 21 or 22, Penal |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | Code; or |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | (B) a felony; and |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | (7) satisfy any other eligibility requirements |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | prescribed by law for the office. |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | the eligibility requirements for a candidate whose term of office |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | will begin on or after the effective date of this Act. The |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | eligibility requirements for a candidate whose term of office will |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | begin before the effective date of this Act are governed by the law |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
|---|