Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB141 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R975 DRH-D
2	2	By: Ellis S.B. No. 141
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the eligibility requirements for voting by persons
8	8	convicted of a felony.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 11.002, Election Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 11.002. QUALIFIED VOTER. In this code, "qualified
13	13	voter" means a person who:
14	14	(1) is 18 years of age or older;
15	15	(2) is a United States citizen;
16	16	(3) has not been determined by a final judgment of a
17	17	court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
18	18	(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
19	19	(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
20	20	right to vote;
21	21	(4) has not been finally convicted of a felony or, if
22	22	so convicted[, has]:
23	23	(A) is not confined in a facility operated by or
24	24	under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice [fully
25	25	discharged the person's sentence, including any term of
26	26	incarceration, parole, or supervision, or completed a period of
27	27	probation ordered by any court]; or
28	28	(B) has been pardoned or otherwise released from
29	29	the resulting disability to vote;
30	30	(5) is a resident of this state; and
31	31	(6) is a registered voter.
32	32	SECTION 2. Section 13.001(a), Election Code, is amended to
33	33	read as follows:
34	34	(a) To be eligible for registration as a voter in this
35	35	state, a person must:
36	36	(1) be 18 years of age or older;
37	37	(2) be a United States citizen;
38	38	(3) not have been determined by a final judgment of a
39	39	court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
40	40	(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
41	41	(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
42	42	right to vote;
43	43	(4) not have been finally convicted of a felony or, if
44	44	so convicted, must [have]:
45	45	(A) not be confined in a facility operated by or
46	46	under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice [fully
47	47	discharged the person's sentence, including any term of
48	48	incarceration, parole, or supervision, or completed a period of
49	49	probation ordered by any court]; or
50	50	(B) have been pardoned or otherwise released from
51	51	the resulting disability to vote; and
52	52	(5) be a resident of the county in which application
53	53	for registration is made.
54	54	SECTION 3. Section 16.003, Election Code, is amended to
55	55	read as follows:
56	56	Sec. 16.003. CONFINEMENT FOR FELONY CONVICTION. (a) Each
57	57	weekday the Department of Public Safety is regularly open for
58	58	business, the department shall:
59	59	(1) compile a list [prepare an abstract] of each final
60	60	judgment received by the department convicting a person 18 years of
61	61	age or older who is a resident of the state of a felony; and
62	62	(2) file the list [each abstract] with the secretary
63	63	of state and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
64	64	(b) Each week the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
65	65	shall:
66	66	(1) prepare an abstract containing the name of each
67	67	person named on a list filed under Subsection (a) who is currently
68	68	confined in a facility operated by or under contract with the Texas
69	69	Department of Criminal Justice; and
70	70	(2) file the abstract with the secretary of state.
71	71	(c) The secretary of state, the Department of Public Safety,
72	72	and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall adopt a
73	73	memorandum of understanding to implement this section.
74	74	SECTION 4. Section 16.031(a), Election Code, is amended to
75	75	read as follows:
76	76	(a) The registrar shall cancel a voter's registration
77	77	immediately on receipt of:
78	78	(1) notice under Section 13.072(b) or 15.021 or a
79	79	response under Section 15.053 that the voter's residence is
80	80	outside the county;
81	81	(2) an abstract of the voter's death certificate under
82	82	Section 16.001(a) or an abstract of an application indicating that
83	83	the voter is deceased under Section 16.001(b);
84	84	(3) an abstract of a final judgment of the voter's
85	85	total mental incapacity, partial mental incapacity without the
86	86	right to vote, confinement for conviction of a felony, or
87	87	disqualification under Section 16.002, 16.003, or 16.004;
88	88	(4) notice under Section 112.012 that the voter has
89	89	applied for a limited ballot in another county;
90	90	(5) notice from a voter registration official in
91	91	another state that the voter has registered to vote outside this
92	92	state; or
93	93	(6) notice from the secretary of state that the voter
94	94	has registered to vote in another county, as determined by the
95	95	voter's driver's license number or personal identification card
96	96	number issued by the Department of Public Safety or social security
97	97	number.
98	98	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.