By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 44
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to petition requirements for an application for a place on
the general primary election ballot for certain judicial offices.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 172.021, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (e) and (g) to read as follows:
(e) A candidate for an office specified by Section
172.024(a)(8), (10), or (12), or for justice of the peace in a
county with a population of more than 1.5 million, who chooses to
pay the filing fee must also accompany the application with a
petition for a place on the primary ballot as a candidate for
judicial office that complies with the requirements prescribed for
the petition authorized by Subsection (b), except that the minimum
number of signatures that must appear on the petition required by
this subsection is 250. If the candidate chooses to file the
petition authorized by Subsection (b) in lieu of the filing fee, the
minimum number of signatures required for that petition is
increased by 250. Signatures on a petition filed under this
subsection or Subsection (b) by a candidate covered by this
subsection may not be obtained on the grounds of a county courthouse
or courthouse annex.
(g) A candidate for the office of chief justice or justice,
supreme court, or presiding judge or judge, court of criminal
appeals, who chooses to pay the filing fee must also accompany the
application with a petition that complies with the requirements
prescribed for a petition authorized by Subsection (b), except that
the minimum number of signatures that must appear on the petition
required by this subsection is 50 from each court of appeals
district.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2017.