| 1 | 1 | | 86R10669 ADM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Allen H.B. No. 2508 |
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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 eligibility for public elective office of persons |
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| 8 | 8 | | finally convicted of a felony. |
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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 141.001(a), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or |
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| 13 | 13 | | appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) be a United States citizen; |
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| 15 | 15 | | (2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the |
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| 16 | 16 | | term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as |
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| 17 | 17 | | applicable; |
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| 18 | 18 | | (3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a |
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| 19 | 19 | | court exercising probate jurisdiction to be: |
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| 20 | 20 | | (A) totally mentally incapacitated; or |
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| 21 | 21 | | (B) partially mentally incapacitated without the |
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| 22 | 22 | | right to vote; |
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| 23 | 23 | | (4) have not been finally convicted of a felony or, if |
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| 24 | 24 | | so convicted, have: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (A) fully discharged the person's sentence, |
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| 26 | 26 | | including any term of incarceration, parole, or supervision, or |
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| 27 | 27 | | completed a period of probation ordered by any court; or |
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| 28 | 28 | | (B) [from which the person has not] been pardoned |
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| 29 | 29 | | or otherwise released from the resulting disability to vote |
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| 30 | 30 | | [disabilities]; |
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| 31 | 31 | | (5) have resided continuously in the state for 12 |
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| 32 | 32 | | months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six |
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| 33 | 33 | | months immediately preceding the following date: |
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| 34 | 34 | | (A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a |
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| 35 | 35 | | general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing |
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| 36 | 36 | | deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (B) for an independent candidate, the date of the |
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| 38 | 38 | | regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place |
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| 39 | 39 | | on the ballot; |
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| 40 | 40 | | (C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the |
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| 41 | 41 | | election at which the candidate's name is written in; |
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| 42 | 42 | | (D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any |
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| 43 | 43 | | method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is |
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| 44 | 44 | | made; and |
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| 45 | 45 | | (E) for an appointee to an office, the date the |
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| 46 | 46 | | appointment is made; |
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| 47 | 47 | | (6) on the date described by Subdivision (5), be |
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| 48 | 48 | | registered to vote in the territory from which the office is |
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| 49 | 49 | | elected; and |
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| 50 | 50 | | (7) satisfy any other eligibility requirements |
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| 51 | 51 | | prescribed by law for the office. |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 53 | 53 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 54 | 54 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 55 | 55 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 56 | 56 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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