84R13988 JRJ-D
By: Schofield H.B. No. 3180
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the canvass of election returns for the offices of
governor and lieutenant governor.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 67.008(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The secretary of state shall [retain the returns in
their sealed condition until the first day of the next regular
legislative session, when the secretary shall] deliver the returns
to the attorney general [speaker of the house of representatives].
SECTION 2. Section 67.011, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 67.011. COUNTY RETURNS CANVASSED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL
[LEGISLATURE]. (a) The county election returns for an election for
the office of governor or lieutenant governor shall be canvassed by
the attorney general [legislature and the official result declared
by the speaker of the house of representatives in accordance with
Article IV, Section 3, of the Texas Constitution].
(b) If a county's election returns are incomplete or
missing, the attorney general [legislature] may substitute the
secretary of state's tabulation for that county or may obtain the
necessary information from the county. On request of the attorney
general [legislature], the secretary of state or the county shall
promptly transmit the information to the attorney general
[legislature] by the most expeditious means available.
(c) On completion of the canvass, the attorney general
[speaker of the house of representatives] shall deliver the county
returns to the secretary of state, who shall retain them for the
period for preserving the precinct election records.
SECTION 3. Section 67.014, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 67.014. DETERMINING OFFICIAL RESULT OF ELECTION
CANVASSED AT STATE LEVEL. The official result of an election
canvassed by the governor or by the attorney general [legislature]
is determined from the canvass of the county returns conducted by
that authority.
SECTION 4. Section 67.015(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) If a discrepancy exists between the attorney general's
[legislature's] canvass of the election for governor or lieutenant
governor and the register entries pertaining to either of those
offices that are made from the secretary of state's tabulation, the
secretary shall make the entries in the register necessary to make
it correspond to the attorney general's [legislature's] canvass.
SECTION 5. Section 145.003(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) In the case of a candidate for governor or lieutenant
governor, a declaration of ineligibility by the attorney general
[final canvassing authority's presiding officer] may not be made
after the final canvass for that office is completed.
SECTION 6. Section 213.059(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The recount supervisor shall deliver two copies of the
report prepared under Section 213.055 to the secretary of state.
The secretary shall use one copy for the tabulation of the votes
after the recount is completed. The secretary shall deliver the
other copy to the attorney general [speaker of the house of
representatives].
SECTION 7. Section 242.003(d), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) The committee to which the contest is referred may treat
the tabulation as correct until the attorney general [speaker of
the house of representatives] opens and publishes the official
election returns. If a discrepancy exists between the tabulation
and the attorney general's [speaker's] official count that might be
material to a determination of the contest, the committee shall
investigate the discrepancy to ascertain, if possible, the correct
vote count.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018, but only
if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 84th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2015, providing for the governor's and lieutenant
governor's terms of office to begin on January 1 following the
general election for state and county officers is approved by the
voters. If that proposed constitutional amendment is not approved
by the voters, this Act has no effect.