| 1 | 1 | | 81R4407 DRH-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Miller of Erath H.B. No. 835 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to requiring a candidate for public office to provide |
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| 8 | 8 | | proof of citizenship. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 141.031(a), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) A candidate's application for a place on the ballot that |
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| 13 | 13 | | is required by this code must: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) be in writing; |
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| 15 | 15 | | (2) be signed and sworn to by the candidate and |
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| 16 | 16 | | indicate the date that the candidate swears to the application; |
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| 17 | 17 | | (3) be timely filed with the appropriate authority; |
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| 18 | 18 | | and |
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| 19 | 19 | | (4) include: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (A) the candidate's name; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (B) the candidate's occupation; |
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| 22 | 22 | | (C) the office sought, including any place number |
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| 23 | 23 | | or other distinguishing number; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (D) an indication of whether the office sought is |
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| 25 | 25 | | to be filled for a full or unexpired term if the office sought and |
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| 26 | 26 | | another office to be voted on have the same title but do not have |
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| 27 | 27 | | place numbers or other distinguishing numbers; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (E) a statement that the candidate is a United |
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| 29 | 29 | | States citizen; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (F) a statement that the candidate has not been |
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| 31 | 31 | | determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate |
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| 32 | 32 | | jurisdiction to be: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (i) totally mentally incapacitated; or |
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| 34 | 34 | | (ii) partially mentally incapacitated |
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| 35 | 35 | | without the right to vote; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (G) a statement that the candidate has not been |
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| 37 | 37 | | finally convicted of a felony from which the candidate has not been |
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| 38 | 38 | | pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities; |
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| 39 | 39 | | (H) the candidate's date of birth; |
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| 40 | 40 | | (I) the candidate's residence address or, if the |
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| 41 | 41 | | residence has no address, the address at which the candidate |
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| 42 | 42 | | receives mail and a concise description of the location of the |
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| 43 | 43 | | candidate's residence; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (J) the candidate's length of continuous |
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| 45 | 45 | | residence in the state and in the territory from which the office |
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| 46 | 46 | | sought is elected as of the date the candidate swears to the |
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| 47 | 47 | | application; |
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| 48 | 48 | | (K) the statement: "I, __________, of |
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| 49 | 49 | | __________ County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of |
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| 50 | 50 | | __________, swear that I will support and defend the constitution |
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| 51 | 51 | | and laws of the United States and of the State of Texas"; [and] |
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| 52 | 52 | | (L) a statement that the candidate is aware of |
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| 53 | 53 | | the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code; and |
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| 54 | 54 | | (M) proof of the candidate's United States |
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| 55 | 55 | | citizenship through a certified copy of a birth certificate or |
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| 56 | 56 | | other document that establishes citizenship in a form prescribed by |
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| 57 | 57 | | the secretary of state. |
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| 58 | 58 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 59 | 59 | | to a candidate's application for a place on the ballot that is filed |
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| 60 | 60 | | on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 61 | 61 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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