Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3490 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	~~85R24345~~ JRJ-D
	1	+	85R13300 JRJ-D
2	2		By: Anderson of Dallas H.B. No. 3490
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3490:
4		-	By: Laubenberg C.S.H.B. No. 3490
5	3
6	4
7	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	6		AN ACT
9	7		relating to maintenance of the statewide voter registration list.
10	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	9		SECTION 1. Section 18.061(c), Election Code, is amended to
12	10		read as follows:
13	11		(c) Under procedures prescribed by the secretary of state,
14	12		each voter registrar shall provide to the secretary of state on an
15	13		expedited basis the information necessary to maintain the
16	14		registration list established under Subsection (a). The procedures
17	15		shall provide for the electronic submission of the information and
18	16		ensure that each voter registrar collects and reports the correct
19	17		month, day, and year of birth for each registered voter.
20	18		SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 18, Election Code, is
21	19		amended by adding Section 18.0681 to read as follows:
22	20		Sec. 18.0681. SECRETARY OF STATE AUTHORITY TO ELIMINATE
23	21		DUPLICATE REGISTRATION RECORDS. (a) The secretary of state shall
24	22		periodically compare the information regarding voters maintained
25	23		as part of the statewide computerized voter registration list to
26	24		determine whether any voters have more than one voter registration
27		-	record on file.
	25	+	record on file. If the secretary determines that a voter on the
	26	+	registration list has more than one registration record on file,
	27	+	the secretary may merge the registration records and shall send
	28	+	notice of the determination to the voter registrar of each county in
	29	+	which the voter is registered to vote.
28	30		(b) The secretary of state shall by rule determine what
29		-	information combinations identified as common to more than one
30		-	registration record constitute a weak match or a strong match in
31		-	order to:
32		-	(1) produce the least possible impact on Texas voters;
33		-	and
34		-	(2) fulfill its responsibility to manage the voter
35		-	rolls.
36		-	(c) The secretary of state may not determine that a voter
37		-	has more than one registration record based on a weak match. The
38		-	secretary of state may inform the county of the voter's residence
39		-	that a weak match exists.
40		-	(d) If the secretary of state determines that a voter on the
41		-	registration list has more than one registration record on file
42		-	based on a strong match, the secretary shall send notice of the
43		-	determination to the voter registrar of each county in which the
44		-	voter is registered to vote. If the voter records identified are:
45		-	(1) located in the same county, the voter registrar
46		-	may merge the records following a determination that each record
47		-	belongs to the same voter using the procedure for the correction of
48		-	registration records under Section 15.022; or
49		-	(2) located in more than one county, the registrar of
50		-	the county with the oldest record may deliver a written
51		-	confirmation notice in accordance with Section 15.051.
	31	+	information identifies a voter with more than one registration
	32	+	record in order to produce the least possible impact on voters in
	33	+	this state and fulfill the secretary of state's responsibility to
	34	+	manage the voter rolls. The rules must require that, at a minimum,
	35	+	the first name, the last name, any available middle name, and the
	36	+	date of birth of a voter in each record be identical.
	37	+	(c) The secretary of state shall adopt rules and prescribe
	38	+	procedures for the implementation of this section.
52	39		SECTION 3. Section 62.0132(g), Government Code, is amended
53	40		to read as follows:
54	41		(g) The information contained in a completed questionnaire
55	42		may be disclosed to:
56	43		(1) a judge assigned to hear a cause of action in which
57	44		the respondent to the questionnaire is a potential juror;
58	45		(2) court personnel; [and]
59	46		(3) a litigant and a litigant's attorney in a cause of
60	47		action in which the respondent to the questionnaire is a potential
61	48		juror; and
62		-	(4) other than information provided that is related to
63		-	Section 62.102(8) or (9), the voter registrar of a county in
64		-	connection with any matter of voter registration or the
65		-	administration of elections.
	49	+	(4) the secretary of state in connection with any
	50	+	matter of voter registration or the administration of elections.
66	51		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
67	52		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
68	53		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
69	54		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
70	55		Act takes effect September 1, 2017.