81R2007 DRH-D
By: Patrick, Dan S.B. No. 391
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain election practices and procedures.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 13.031(d), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) To be eligible for appointment as a volunteer deputy
registrar, a person must be eligible to register to vote in the
county served by the registrar [18 years of age or older].
SECTION 2. Section 13.032, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 13.032. PROHIBITION ON REFUSING TO APPOINT. A
registrar may not refuse to appoint as a volunteer deputy
registrar:
(1) a person eligible to register to vote in [resident
of] the county served by the registrar; or
(2) any person on the basis of sex, race, creed, color,
or national origin or ancestry.
SECTION 3. Section 16.0332, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 16.0332. CANCELLATION BECAUSE OF CITIZENSHIP STATUS.
(a) After the secretary of state receives a list under Section
62.113, Government Code, of persons excused or disqualified from
jury service because of citizenship status, the secretary of state
shall cancel the voter registration of each registered voter whose
name appears on the list.
(b) After the registrar receives a list under Section
62.113, Government Code, of persons excused or disqualified from
jury service because of citizenship status, the registrar shall
deliver to each registered voter whose name appears on the list [a]
written notice that the person's voter registration has been
canceled [requiring the voter to submit to the registrar proof of
United States citizenship in the form of a certified copy of the
voter's birth certificate, United States passport, or certificate
of naturalization or any other form prescribed by the secretary of
state. The notice shall be delivered by forwardable mail to the
mailing address on the voter's registration application and to any
new address of the voter known to the registrar].
[(b) If a voter fails to submit to the registrar proof of
citizenship on or before the 30th day after the date the notice is
mailed, the registrar shall cancel the voter's registration.
[(c) The registrar shall retain a copy of the notice mailed
to a voter under this section on file with the voter's registration
application. The registrar shall also retain any proof of
citizenship received under this section on file with the
application.]
SECTION 4. Section 16.036(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The notice must include:
(1) the date of cancellation;
(2) the reason for cancellation; and
(3) a brief explanation of the voter's right to
challenge the cancellation and to appeal the [registrar's] decision
of the registrar or secretary of state, as applicable.
SECTION 5. Section 85.001(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) For an election held on the uniform election date in May
and any resulting runoff election, the period for early voting by
personal appearance begins on the 12th day before election day and
continues through the fourth day before election day.
SECTION 6. Section 123.032(d), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The maximum amount that a county in which a political
subdivision is wholly or partly situated may charge the political
subdivision for leasing county-owned equipment is 10 percent of the
purchase price of the equipment [for each day the equipment is
leased].
SECTION 7. Section 62.0142, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 62.0142. NOTICE ON WRITTEN SUMMONS. If a written
summons for jury duty allows a person to claim a disqualification or
exemption by signing a statement and returning it to the clerk of
the court, the form must notify the person that by claiming a
disqualification or exemption based on the lack of citizenship or
lack of residence in the county the person shall [might] no longer
be eligible to vote in the county.
SECTION 8. Section 62.113(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) On the third business day of each month, the clerk shall
send a copy of the list of persons excused or disqualified because
of citizenship in the previous month to the voter registrar of the
county and the secretary of state.
SECTION 9. The appointment of a person serving as a
volunteer deputy registrar who does not meet the eligibility
requirements of Section 13.031(d), Election Code, as amended by
this Act, expires on the effective date of this Act. The secretary
of state shall prescribe procedures necessary to implement this
section.
SECTION 10. The changes in law made by Section 7 of this Act
apply only to a person summoned for jury duty on or after the
effective date of this Act. A person summoned for jury duty before
the effective date of this Act is 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 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.