| 1 | 1 | | 84R9006 GRM-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Schofield H.B. No. 2916 |
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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 voter registration offenses; increasing criminal |
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| 8 | 8 | | penalties; creating an offense. |
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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. Sections 13.007(a) and (b), Election Code, are |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly |
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| 13 | 13 | | makes a materially false statement or requests, commands, or |
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| 14 | 14 | | attempts to induce another person to make a false statement on a |
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| 15 | 15 | | registration application. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (b) An offense under this section is a Class A [Class B] |
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| 17 | 17 | | misdemeanor. |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 2. Section 13.038, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 19 | 19 | | read as follows: |
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| 20 | 20 | | Sec. 13.038. POWERS GENERALLY; OFFENSE. (a) A volunteer |
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| 21 | 21 | | deputy registrar may distribute voter registration application |
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| 22 | 22 | | forms throughout the county and receive registration applications |
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| 23 | 23 | | submitted to the deputy in person. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (b) A volunteer deputy registrar commits an offense if the |
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| 25 | 25 | | volunteer deputy distributes a voter registration application form |
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| 26 | 26 | | to a person the volunteer deputy knows is ineligible to register to |
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| 27 | 27 | | vote under Section 13.001. An offense under this subsection is a |
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| 28 | 28 | | Class A misdemeanor. |
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| 29 | 29 | | SECTION 3. Section 13.044, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 30 | 30 | | read as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | Sec. 13.044. PURPORTEDLY ACTING AS VOLUNTEER DEPUTY |
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| 32 | 32 | | REGISTRAR. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly |
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| 33 | 33 | | purports to act as a volunteer deputy registrar when the person does |
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| 34 | 34 | | not have an effective appointment as a volunteer deputy registrar. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (b) An offense under this section is a Class A [Class C] |
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| 36 | 36 | | misdemeanor. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections |
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| 38 | 38 | | 13.007 and 13.044, Election Code, apply only to an offense |
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| 39 | 39 | | committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense |
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| 40 | 40 | | committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the |
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| 41 | 41 | | law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is |
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| 42 | 42 | | continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, |
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| 43 | 43 | | an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if |
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| 44 | 44 | | any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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