| 1 | 1 | | 85R4424 GRM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Gutierrez H.B. No. 558 |
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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 participation of certain large counties in the |
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| 8 | 8 | | countywide polling place program. |
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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 43.007, Election Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsections (b) and (i) and adding Subsection (d-1) to |
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| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b) The commissioners court of a county that desires to |
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| 14 | 14 | | participate in the program authorized by this section or a county |
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| 15 | 15 | | with a population of more than 1.5 million in which more than 75 |
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| 16 | 16 | | percent of the population lives in a single municipality shall hold |
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| 17 | 17 | | a public hearing on the county's participation in the program. The |
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| 18 | 18 | | commissioners court shall submit a transcript or electronic |
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| 19 | 19 | | recording of the public comments made at the hearing to the |
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| 20 | 20 | | secretary of state. A county that has previously participated in a |
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| 21 | 21 | | similar program and held a public hearing on the county's |
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| 22 | 22 | | participation in that program is not required to hold a hearing |
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| 23 | 23 | | under this subsection. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (d-1) The secretary of state shall select to participate in |
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| 25 | 25 | | the program each county that has a population of more than 1.5 |
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| 26 | 26 | | million in which more than 75 percent of the population lives in a |
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| 27 | 27 | | single municipality. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (i) The secretary of state may only select to participate in |
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| 29 | 29 | | the program six counties with a population of 100,000 or more, not |
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| 30 | 30 | | including a county selected under Subsection (d-1), and four |
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| 31 | 31 | | counties with a population of less than 100,000. |
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| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 33 | 33 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 34 | 34 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 35 | 35 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 36 | 36 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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