By: Capriglione, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Hancock) H.B. No. 484
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 4, 2015;
May 5, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 18, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
May 18, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 484 By: Ellis
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of a person to be a candidate for or
holder of certain public elective offices.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 141.001, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or
appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:
(1) be a United States citizen;
(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the
term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as
applicable;
(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a
court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
right to vote;
(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony from
which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from
the resulting disabilities;
(5) have resided continuously in the state for 12
months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six
months immediately preceding the following date:
(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a
general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing
deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;
(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the
regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place
on the ballot;
(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the
election at which the candidate's name is written in;
(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any
method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is
made; and
(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the
appointment is made; [and]
(6) on the date described by Subdivision (5), be
registered to vote in the territory from which the office is
elected; and
(7) satisfy any other eligibility requirements
prescribed by law for the office.
(d) Subsection (a)(6) does not apply to a member of the
governing body of a district created under Section 52(b)(1) or (2),
Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
SECTION 2. Chapter 601, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 601.009 to read as follows:
Sec. 601.009. ELECTED OFFICER MUST BE REGISTERED VOTER.
(a) A person may not qualify for a public elective office unless
the person is a registered voter.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to an office for which the
federal or state constitution prescribes exclusive qualification
requirements.
(c) Subsection (a) does not apply to a member of the
governing body of a district created under Section 52(b)(1) or (2),
Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
the eligibility and qualification requirements for a candidate or
officer whose term of office will begin on or after the effective
date of this Act. The eligibility and qualification requirements
for a candidate or officer whose term of office will begin before
the effective date of this Act are 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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