TX
Texas House Bill HB281

Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB281 Compare Versions

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1-86R19443 ATP-F
2- By: Middleton H.B. No. 281
3- Substitute the following for H.B. No. 281:
4- By: Harless C.S.H.B. No. 281
1+86R3147 ADM-D
2+ By: Alvarado H.B. No. 281
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75 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
86 AN ACT
9- relating to the use by a political subdivision of public money for
10- lobbying activities.
7+ relating to electronic voter registration.
118 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12- SECTION 1. Section 89.002, Local Government Code, is
13- transferred to Chapter 556, Government Code, redesignated as
14- Section 556.0056, Government Code, and amended to read as follows:
15- Sec. 556.0056 [89.002]. LOBBYING ACTIVITIES; ASSOCIATIONS
16- AND ORGANIZATIONS [STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES]. (a) Except as
17- provided by Subsection (b), this section applies to the following
18- political subdivisions:
19- (1) a political subdivision that imposes a tax; or
20- (2) a regional mobility authority, toll road
21- authority, or transit authority.
22- (b) This section does not apply to a navigation district
23- created under Section 52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI,
24- Texas Constitution.
25- (c) The governing body of a political subdivision may not
26- spend public money to directly or indirectly influence or attempt
27- to influence the outcome of any legislation pending before the
28- legislature. This subsection does not prevent:
29- (1) an officer or employee of a political subdivision
30- from providing information for a member of the legislature or
31- appearing before a legislative committee at the request of the
32- committee or the member of the legislature;
33- (2) an elected officer of a political subdivision from
34- advocating for or against or otherwise influencing or attempting to
35- influence the outcome of legislation pending before the legislature
36- while acting as an officer of the political subdivision; or
37- (3) an employee of a political subdivision from
38- advocating for or against or otherwise influencing or attempting to
39- influence the outcome of legislation pending before the legislature
40- if those actions would not require a person to register as a
41- lobbyist under Chapter 305.
42- (d) The governing body of a political subdivision
43- [commissioners court] may spend, in the name of the political
44- subdivision [county], public money [from the county's general fund]
45- for membership fees and dues of a nonprofit state association or
46- organization of similarly situated political subdivisions only
47- [counties] if:
48- (1) a majority of the governing body [court] votes to
49- approve membership in the association or organization;
50- (2) the association or organization exists for the
51- betterment of local [county] government and the benefit of all
52- local [county] officials;
53- (3) the association or organization is not affiliated
54- with a labor organization;
55- (4) neither the association or organization nor an
56- employee of the association or organization directly or indirectly
57- influences or attempts to influence the outcome of any legislation
58- pending before the legislature[, except that this subdivision does
59- not prevent a person from providing information for a member of the
60- legislature or appearing before a legislative committee at the
61- request of the committee or the member of the legislature]; and
62- (5) [neither] the association or organization does not
63- [nor an employee of the association] directly or indirectly
64- contribute [contributes] any money, services, or other valuable
65- thing to a political campaign or endorse [endorses] a candidate or
66- group of candidates for public office.
67- (e) Subsection (d)(4) does not prevent a person from
68- providing information for a member of the legislature or appearing
69- before a legislative committee at the request of the committee or
70- the member of the legislature.
71- (f) If a political subdivision engages in an activity
72- prohibited by Subsection (c) or if [(b) If] any association or
73- organization supported wholly or partly by payments of public money
74- [tax receipts] from political subdivisions engages in an activity
75- described by Subsection (d)(4) [(a)(4)] or (5), a taxpayer or
76- resident of the [a] political subdivision that engages in the
77- prohibited activity or that pays fees or dues to the association or
78- organization is entitled to appropriate injunctive relief to
79- prevent any further activity prohibited by Subsection (c) or
80- described by Subsection (d)(4) [(a)(4)] or (5) or any further
81- payments of fees or dues.
82- (g) A taxpayer or resident who prevails in an action under
83- Subsection (f) is entitled to recover from the political
84- subdivision the taxpayer's or resident's reasonable attorney's fees
85- and costs incurred in bringing the action.
86- SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
87- 556.0056, Government Code, as redesignated and amended by this Act,
88- apply only to an expenditure or payment of public money by a
89- political subdivision that is made on or after September 1, 2019,
90- including an expenditure or payment of public money by a political
91- subdivision that is made under a contract entered into before, on,
92- or after the effective date of this Act. A contract term providing
93- for an expenditure or payment prohibited by Section 556.0056,
94- Government Code, as redesignated and amended by this Act, is void on
95- the effective date of this Act for being counter to public policy.
96- SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
9+ SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 13, Election Code, is
10+ amended by adding Section 13.009 to read as follows:
11+ Sec. 13.009. ELECTRONIC VOTER REGISTRATION. (a) The
12+ secretary of state shall implement a program to allow a person who
13+ has an unexpired driver's license or personal identification card
14+ issued in this state to complete a voter registration application
15+ over the Internet from the official website of this state. The
16+ websites of the secretary of state and the Department of Public
17+ Safety must also provide a link to the location of the application
18+ on the official website of this state.
19+ (b) An applicant for electronic voter registration must:
20+ (1) attest to the truth of the information provided on
21+ the application by affirmatively accepting the information as true;
22+ (2) affirmatively consent to the use of the signature
23+ on the applicant's driver's license or personal identification card
24+ for voter registration purposes;
25+ (3) provide the information required under Section
26+ 13.002(c); and
27+ (4) provide the audit number and date of issuance of
28+ the applicant's Texas driver's license or personal identification
29+ card issued by the Department of Public Safety.
30+ (c) For each application the program shall:
31+ (1) require that a digital copy of the applicant's
32+ signature be obtained from the Department of Public Safety; and
33+ (2) compare the information provided by the applicant
34+ against Department of Public Safety records.
35+ (d) If the information submitted by an applicant does not
36+ match Department of Public Safety records, the program shall:
37+ (1) notify the applicant that the application cannot
38+ be processed electronically; and
39+ (2) advise the applicant to print an application and
40+ submit it to the voter registrar of the county in which the
41+ applicant resides by mail or personal delivery.
42+ (e) If the information submitted by an applicant matches
43+ Department of Public Safety records, the program shall forward the
44+ application to the registrar of the county in which the applicant
45+ states that the applicant resides.
46+ (f) On receipt of an application under Subsection (e), the
47+ registrar shall review the application in accordance with Section
48+ 13.071.
49+ (g) An application electronically submitted under this
50+ section is considered for all purposes as an application submitted
51+ by mail under this title.
52+ (h) The secretary of state shall adopt rules as necessary to
53+ implement this section, including rules to provide for additional
54+ security measures necessary to ensure the accuracy and integrity of
55+ applications submitted electronically.
56+ (i) The rules adopted under Subsection (h) must require
57+ that:
58+ (1) the Internet website through which a person may
59+ complete a voter registration application include a description of
60+ the offense described by Section 13.007 in a conspicuous location
61+ on the website near the place where the person begins or submits the
62+ application; and
63+ (2) the state electronic Internet portal project be
64+ used to authenticate the identity of a person who submits an
65+ application electronically under this section.
66+ SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.