| 1 | 1 | | 84R9115 ADM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Schofield H.B. No. 1462 |
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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 the prosecution of certain offenses relating to an |
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| 8 | 8 | | application for a ballot to be voted by mail; increasing a criminal |
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| 9 | 9 | | penalty. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 84.003(b), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b) A person who acts as a witness for an applicant for an |
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| 14 | 14 | | early voting ballot application commits an offense if the person |
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| 15 | 15 | | knowingly fails to comply with Section 1.011. A person who [in the |
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| 16 | 16 | | presence of the applicant] otherwise assists an applicant in |
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| 17 | 17 | | completing an early voting ballot application commits an offense if |
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| 18 | 18 | | the person knowingly fails to comply with Section 1.011(d) in the |
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| 19 | 19 | | same manner as a witness. |
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| 20 | 20 | | SECTION 2. Section 84.0041(b), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 21 | 21 | | read as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony |
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| 23 | 23 | | [unless the person is the applicant, is related to the applicant |
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| 24 | 24 | | within the second degree by affinity or the third degree by |
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| 25 | 25 | | consanguinity, as determined under Subchapter B, Chapter 573, |
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| 26 | 26 | | Government Code, or is registered to vote at the same address as the |
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| 27 | 27 | | applicant, in which event the offense is a Class A misdemeanor]. |
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| 28 | 28 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 29 | 29 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 30 | 30 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 31 | 31 | | governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and |
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| 32 | 32 | | the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 33 | 33 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 34 | 34 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 35 | 35 | | before that date. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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