| 1 | 1 | | 84R13988 JRJ-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Schofield H.B. No. 3180 |
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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 canvass of election returns for the offices of |
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| 8 | 8 | | governor and lieutenant governor. |
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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. Section 67.008(c), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (c) The secretary of state shall [retain the returns in |
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| 13 | 13 | | their sealed condition until the first day of the next regular |
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| 14 | 14 | | legislative session, when the secretary shall] deliver the returns |
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| 15 | 15 | | to the attorney general [speaker of the house of representatives]. |
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| 16 | 16 | | SECTION 2. Section 67.011, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 17 | 17 | | read as follows: |
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| 18 | 18 | | Sec. 67.011. COUNTY RETURNS CANVASSED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL |
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| 19 | 19 | | [LEGISLATURE]. (a) The county election returns for an election for |
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| 20 | 20 | | the office of governor or lieutenant governor shall be canvassed by |
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| 21 | 21 | | the attorney general [legislature and the official result declared |
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| 22 | 22 | | by the speaker of the house of representatives in accordance with |
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| 23 | 23 | | Article IV, Section 3, of the Texas Constitution]. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (b) If a county's election returns are incomplete or |
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| 25 | 25 | | missing, the attorney general [legislature] may substitute the |
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| 26 | 26 | | secretary of state's tabulation for that county or may obtain the |
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| 27 | 27 | | necessary information from the county. On request of the attorney |
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| 28 | 28 | | general [legislature], the secretary of state or the county shall |
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| 29 | 29 | | promptly transmit the information to the attorney general |
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| 30 | 30 | | [legislature] by the most expeditious means available. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c) On completion of the canvass, the attorney general |
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| 32 | 32 | | [speaker of the house of representatives] shall deliver the county |
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| 33 | 33 | | returns to the secretary of state, who shall retain them for the |
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| 34 | 34 | | period for preserving the precinct election records. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 3. Section 67.014, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 36 | 36 | | read as follows: |
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| 37 | 37 | | Sec. 67.014. DETERMINING OFFICIAL RESULT OF ELECTION |
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| 38 | 38 | | CANVASSED AT STATE LEVEL. The official result of an election |
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| 39 | 39 | | canvassed by the governor or by the attorney general [legislature] |
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| 40 | 40 | | is determined from the canvass of the county returns conducted by |
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| 41 | 41 | | that authority. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 4. Section 67.015(e), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 43 | 43 | | read as follows: |
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| 44 | 44 | | (e) If a discrepancy exists between the attorney general's |
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| 45 | 45 | | [legislature's] canvass of the election for governor or lieutenant |
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| 46 | 46 | | governor and the register entries pertaining to either of those |
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| 47 | 47 | | offices that are made from the secretary of state's tabulation, the |
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| 48 | 48 | | secretary shall make the entries in the register necessary to make |
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| 49 | 49 | | it correspond to the attorney general's [legislature's] canvass. |
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| 50 | 50 | | SECTION 5. Section 145.003(e), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 51 | 51 | | read as follows: |
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| 52 | 52 | | (e) In the case of a candidate for governor or lieutenant |
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| 53 | 53 | | governor, a declaration of ineligibility by the attorney general |
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| 54 | 54 | | [final canvassing authority's presiding officer] may not be made |
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| 55 | 55 | | after the final canvass for that office is completed. |
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| 56 | 56 | | SECTION 6. Section 213.059(c), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 57 | 57 | | read as follows: |
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| 58 | 58 | | (c) The recount supervisor shall deliver two copies of the |
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| 59 | 59 | | report prepared under Section 213.055 to the secretary of state. |
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| 60 | 60 | | The secretary shall use one copy for the tabulation of the votes |
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| 61 | 61 | | after the recount is completed. The secretary shall deliver the |
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| 62 | 62 | | other copy to the attorney general [speaker of the house of |
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| 63 | 63 | | representatives]. |
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| 64 | 64 | | SECTION 7. Section 242.003(d), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 65 | 65 | | read as follows: |
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| 66 | 66 | | (d) The committee to which the contest is referred may treat |
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| 67 | 67 | | the tabulation as correct until the attorney general [speaker of |
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| 68 | 68 | | the house of representatives] opens and publishes the official |
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| 69 | 69 | | election returns. If a discrepancy exists between the tabulation |
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| 70 | 70 | | and the attorney general's [speaker's] official count that might be |
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| 71 | 71 | | material to a determination of the contest, the committee shall |
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| 72 | 72 | | investigate the discrepancy to ascertain, if possible, the correct |
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| 73 | 73 | | vote count. |
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| 74 | 74 | | SECTION 8. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018, but only |
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| 75 | 75 | | if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 84th Legislature, |
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| 76 | 76 | | Regular Session, 2015, providing for the governor's and lieutenant |
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| 77 | 77 | | governor's terms of office to begin on January 1 following the |
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| 78 | 78 | | general election for state and county officers is approved by the |
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| 79 | 79 | | voters. If that proposed constitutional amendment is not approved |
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| 80 | 80 | | by the voters, this Act has no effect. |
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