Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB362 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Fraser, Estes, NelsonNichols S.B. No. 362
2	2	Nichols
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to requiring a voter to present proof of identification.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 15, Election Code, is
10	10	amended by adding Section 15.005 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 15.005. NOTICE OF IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.
12	12	(a) The voter registrar of each county shall provide notice of the
13	13	identification requirements for voting prescribed by Chapter 63 and
14	14	a detailed description of those requirements with each voter
15	15	registration certificate issued under Section 13.142 or renewal
16	16	registration certificate issued under Section 14.001.
17	17	(b) The secretary of state shall prescribe the wording of
18	18	the notice to be included on the certificate under this section.
19	19	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 31, Election Code, is
20	20	amended by adding Section 31.012 to read as follows:
21	21	Sec. 31.012. VOTER IDENTIFICATION EDUCATION. (a) The
22	22	secretary of state and the voter registrar of each county that
23	23	maintains a website shall provide notice of the identification
24	24	requirements for voting prescribed by Chapter 63 on each entity's
25	25	respective website. The secretary of state shall prescribe the
26	26	wording of the notice to be included on the websites.
27	27	(b) The secretary of state, in cooperation with appropriate
28	28	nonprofit organizations as determined by the secretary of state and
29	29	with each party whose nominee for governor in the most recent
30	30	gubernatorial general election received 20 percent or more of the
31	31	total number of votes received by all candidates for governor in the
32	32	election, shall establish a statewide effort to educate voters
33	33	regarding the identification requirements for voting prescribed by
34	34	Chapter 63. The secretary of state may use any available funds,
35	35	including federal funds, for the purposes of this section.
36	36	SECTION 3. Section 32.111, Election Code, is amended by
37	37	adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
38	38	(c) The training standards adopted under Subsection (a)
39	39	must include provisions on the acceptance and handling of the
40	40	identification presented by a voter to an election officer under
41	41	Section 63.001.
42	42	SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 32.114, Election Code,
43	43	is amended to read as follows:
44	44	(a) The county clerk shall provide one or more sessions of
45	45	training using the standardized training program and materials
46	46	developed and provided by the secretary of state under Section
47	47	32.111 for the election judges and clerks appointed to serve in
48	48	elections ordered by the governor or a county authority. Each
49	49	election judge shall complete the training program. Each election
50	50	clerk shall complete the part of the training program relating to
51	51	the acceptance and handling of the identification presented by a
52	52	voter to an election officer under Section 63.001.
53	53	SECTION 5. Chapter 62, Election Code, is amended by adding
54	54	Section 62.016 to read as follows:
55	55	Sec. 62.016. NOTICE OF ACCEPTABLE IDENTIFICATION OUTSIDE
56	56	POLLING PLACES. The presiding judge shall post in a prominent place
57	57	on the outside of each polling location a list of the acceptable
58	58	forms of photographic and nonphotographic identification. The
59	59	notice and list must be printed using a font that is at least
60	60	24-point.
61	61	SECTION 6. Section 63.001, Election Code, is amended by
62	62	amending Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (f) and adding Subsection
63	63	(g) to read as follows:
64	64	(b) On offering to vote, a voter must present to an election
65	65	officer at the polling place either:
66	66	(1) one form of identification listed in Section
67	67	63.0101(a); or
68	68	(2) two different forms of identification listed in
69	69	Section 63.0101(b) [the voter's voter registration certificate to
70	70	an election officer at the polling place].
71	71	(c) On presentation of the documentation required by
72	72	Subsection (b) [a registration certificate], an election officer
73	73	shall determine whether the voter's name on the registration
74	74	certificate is on the list of registered voters for the precinct.
75	75	(d) If the voter's name is on the precinct list of
76	76	registered voters and the voter's identity can be verified from the
77	77	documentation presented under Subsection (b), the voter shall be
78	78	accepted for voting.
79	79	(f) After determining whether to accept a voter, an election
80	80	officer shall return the voter's documentation [registration
81	81	certificate] to the voter.
82	82	(g) If the requirements for identification prescribed by
83	83	Subsection (b) are not met, the voter may be accepted for
84	84	provisional voting only under Section 63.011. An election officer
85	85	shall inform a voter who is not accepted for voting under this
86	86	section of the voter's right to cast a provisional ballot under
87	87	Section 63.011.
88	88	SECTION 7. Effective January 1, 2010, Subsection (a),
89	89	Section 63.0011, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
90	90	(a) Before a voter may be accepted for voting, an election
91	91	officer shall ask the voter if the voter's residence address on the
92	92	precinct list of registered voters is current and whether the voter
93	93	has changed residence within the county. If the voter's address is
94	94	omitted from the precinct list under Section 18.005(c), the officer
95	95	shall ask the voter if the voter's residence as listed on
96	96	identification presented by the voter under Section 63.001(b) [the
97	97	voter's voter registration certificate] is current and whether the
98	98	voter has changed residence within the county.
99	99	SECTION 8. Subsection (a), Section 63.006, Election Code,
100	100	is amended to read as follows:
101	101	(a) A voter who, when offering to vote, presents a voter
102	102	registration certificate indicating that the voter is currently
103	103	registered in the precinct in which the voter is offering to vote,
104	104	but whose name is not on the precinct list of registered voters,
105	105	shall be accepted for voting if the voter's identity can be verified
106	106	from the documentation presented under Section 63.001(b).
107	107	SECTION 9. Subsection (a), Section 63.007, Election Code,
108	108	is amended to read as follows:
109	109	(a) A voter who, when offering to vote, presents
110	110	documentation required under Section 63.001(b) that indicates [a
111	111	voter registration certificate indicating that] the voter is
112	112	currently registered in a different precinct from the one in which
113	113	the voter is offering to vote, and whose name is not on the precinct
114	114	list of registered voters, shall be accepted for voting if the
115	115	voter's identity can be verified from the documentation and the
116	116	voter executes an affidavit stating that the voter:
117	117	(1) is a resident of the precinct in which the voter is
118	118	offering to vote or is otherwise entitled by law to vote in that
119	119	precinct;
120	120	(2) was a resident of the precinct in which the voter
121	121	is offering to vote at the time that information on the voter's
122	122	residence address was last provided to the voter registrar;
123	123	(3) did not deliberately provide false information to
124	124	secure registration in a precinct in which the voter does not
125	125	reside; and
126	126	(4) is voting only once in the election.
127	127	SECTION 10. Section 63.0101, Election Code, is amended to
128	128	read as follows:
129	129	Sec. 63.0101. DOCUMENTATION OF PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION.
130	130	(a) The following documentation is an acceptable form [as proof]
131	131	of photo identification under this chapter:
132	132	(1) a driver's license or personal identification card
133	133	issued to the person by the Department of Public Safety that has not
134	134	expired or that expired no earlier than two years before the date of
135	135	presentation [or a similar document issued to the person by an
136	136	agency of another state, regardless of whether the license or card
137	137	has expired];
138	138	(2) a United States military identification card that
139	139	contains the person's photograph [form of identification
140	140	containing the person's photograph that establishes the person's
141	141	identity];
142	142	(3) a [birth certificate or other document confirming
143	143	birth that is admissible in a court of law and establishes the
144	144	person's identity;
145	145	[(4)] United States citizenship certificate [papers]
146	146	issued to the person that contains the person's photograph;
147	147	(4) [(5)] a United States passport issued to the
148	148	person;
149	149	(5) a license to carry a concealed handgun issued to
150	150	the person by the Department of Public Safety; or
151	151	(6) [official mail addressed to the person by name
152	152	from a governmental entity;
153	153	[(7)] a valid identification card that contains the
154	154	person's photograph and is issued by:
155	155	(A) an agency or institution of the federal
156	156	government; or
157	157	(B) an agency, institution, or political
158	158	subdivision of this state.
159	159	(b) The following documentation is acceptable as proof of
160	160	identification under this chapter:
161	161	(1) the voter's voter registration certificate or a
162	162	copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check,
163	163	paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and
164	164	address of the voter;
165	165	(2) official mail addressed to the person by name from
166	166	a governmental entity;
167	167	(3) a certified copy of a birth certificate or other
168	168	document confirming birth that is admissible in a court of law and
169	169	establishes the person's identity;
170	170	(4) United States citizenship papers issued to the
171	171	person;
172	172	(5) an original or certified copy of the person's
173	173	marriage license or divorce decree;
174	174	(6) court records of the person's adoption, name
175	175	change, or sex change;
176	176	(7) an identification card issued to the person by a
177	177	governmental entity of this state or the United States for the
178	178	purpose of obtaining public benefits, including veteran's
179	179	benefits, Medicaid, or Medicare;
180	180	(8) a temporary driving permit issued to the person by
181	181	the Department of Public Safety;
182	182	(9) a pilot's license issued to the person by the
183	183	Federal Aviation Administration or another authorized agency of the
184	184	United States;
185	185	(10) a library card that contains the person's name
186	186	issued to the person by a public library located in this state; or
187	187	(11) a hunting or fishing license issued to a person by
188	188	the Parks and Wildlife Department [or
189	189	[(8) any other form of identification prescribed by
190	190	the secretary of state].
191	191	SECTION 11. Subsection (a), Section 63.011, Election Code,
192	192	is amended to read as follows:
193	193	(a) A person to whom Section 63.001(g) [63.008(b) or
194	194	63.009(a)] applies may cast a provisional ballot if the person
195	195	executes an affidavit stating that the person:
196	196	(1) is a registered voter in the precinct in which the
197	197	person seeks to vote; and
198	198	(2) is eligible to vote in the election.
199	199	SECTION 12. Section 521.422, Transportation Code, is
200	200	amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to
201	201	read as follows:
202	202	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the [The] fee for
203	203	a personal identification certificate is:
204	204	(1) $15 for a person under 60 years of age;
205	205	(2) $5 for a person 60 years of age or older; and
206	206	(3) $20 for a person subject to the registration
207	207	requirements under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure.
208	208	(d) The department may not collect a fee for a personal
209	209	identification certificate issued to a person who states that the
210	210	person is obtaining the personal identification certificate for the
211	211	sole purpose of satisfying Section 63.001(b)(1), Election Code,
212	212	and:
213	213	(1) who is a registered voter in this state and
214	214	presents a valid voter registration certificate; or
215	215	(2) who is eligible for registration under Section
216	216	13.001, Election Code, and submits a registration application to
217	217	the department.
218	218	SECTION 13. Effective January 1, 2010, Sections 63.008 and
219	219	63.009, Election Code, are repealed.
220	220	SECTION 14. As soon as practicable after the effective date
221	221	of this Act:
222	222	(1) the secretary of state shall adopt the training
223	223	standards and develop the training materials required to implement
224	224	the change in law made by this Act to Section 32.111, Election Code;
225	225	and
226	226	(2) the county clerk of each county shall provide a
227	227	session of training under Section 32.114, Election Code, using the
228	228	standards adopted and materials developed to implement the change
229	229	in law made by this Act to Section 32.111, Election Code.
230	230	SECTION 15. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
231	231	this section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2010.
232	232	(b) The changes in law made by Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 14 of
233	233	this Act take effect September 1, 2009.