Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB378 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R452 JRJ-D
2	2	By: Lang H.B. No. 378
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the verification of citizenship of an applicant for
8	8	voter registration.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 13.002(a), Election Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(a) A person desiring to register to vote must submit an
13	13	application to the registrar of the county in which the person
14	14	resides. Except as provided by Subsection (e), an application must
15	15	be submitted by personal delivery, by mail, or by telephonic
16	16	facsimile machine in accordance with Section 13.143(d-2) [Sections
17	17	13.143(d) and (d-2)].
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 13.046(f), Election Code, is amended to
19	19	read as follows:
20	20	(f) Except as provided by this subsection, Sections
21	21	13.039[, 13.041,] and 13.042 apply to the submission and delivery
22	22	of registration applications under this section, and for that
23	23	purpose, "volunteer deputy registrar" in those sections includes a
24	24	high school deputy registrar. A high school deputy registrar may
25	25	review an application for completeness out of the applicant's
26	26	presence. A deputy may deliver a group of applications to the
27	27	registrar by mail in an envelope or package, and, for the purpose of
28	28	determining compliance with the delivery deadline, an application
29	29	delivered by mail is considered to be delivered at the time of its
30	30	receipt by the registrar.
31	31	SECTION 3. Section 13.071, Election Code, is amended to
32	32	read as follows:
33	33	Sec. 13.071. REVIEW OF APPLICATION. (a) The registrar
34	34	shall review each submitted application for registration to
35	35	determine whether it complies with Section 13.002 and indicates
36	36	that the applicant is a United States citizen eligible for
37	37	registration.
38	38	(b) If the application is submitted to the Department of
39	39	Public Safety in person with the proof of citizenship required by
40	40	Section 20.063(e), the [The] registrar shall make the determination
41	41	not later than the seventh day after the date the application is
42	42	submitted to the registrar.
43	43	(c) If the application is submitted in a manner other than
44	44	the manner described by Subsection (b), the registrar shall forward
45	45	the information relating to the applicant to the secretary of state
46	46	for determining citizenship as provided by Section 13.0721.
47	47	SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 13, Election Code, is
48	48	amended by adding Section 13.0721 to read as follows:
49	49	Sec. 13.0721. DETERMINATION OF CITIZENSHIP. (a) This
50	50	section does not apply to an application for registration submitted
51	51	to the Department of Public Safety in person with the proof of
52	52	citizenship required by Section 20.063(e).
53	53	(b) The secretary of state shall verify with the Department
54	54	of Public Safety the citizenship status of each applicant for voter
55	55	registration whose information is forwarded to the secretary of
56	56	state as provided by Section 13.071(c). If the department verifies
57	57	the applicant's citizenship status, the secretary of state shall
58	58	notify the registrar. If the department does not have information
59	59	regarding the citizenship status of the applicant or has
60	60	information indicating that the applicant is not a citizen, the
61	61	registrar and the applicant shall be notified as provided by
62	62	secretary of state rule.
63	63	(c) An applicant for voter registration who receives notice
64	64	under Subsection (b) must provide proof of citizenship to the
65	65	registrar not later than the 60th day after the date of receipt.
66	66	Except as provided by Subsection (d), this proof must be presented
67	67	in person. The following is acceptable as proof of citizenship
68	68	under this section:
69	69	(1) an unexpired passport issued to the person;
70	70	(2) a certified copy of a birth certificate or other
71	71	document confirming the person's birth that is admissible in a
72	72	court of law and establishes the person's identity, presented with
73	73	a government-issued identification that contains the person's
74	74	photograph; or
75	75	(3) United States citizenship papers issued to the
76	76	person, presented with a government-issued identification that
77	77	contains the person's photograph.
78	78	(d) An applicant may mail a certified copy of a document
79	79	described by Subsection (c)(2) or (3) with a copy of the person's
80	80	government-issued photo identification to the registrar.
81	81	(e) If an applicant does not provide proof of citizenship as
82	82	required, the registrar shall reject the application and notify the
83	83	secretary of state. The secretary of state shall keep a list of
84	84	applicants of which the secretary receives notice under this
85	85	subsection.
86	86	(f) The secretary of state shall adopt rules and prescribe
87	87	procedures to implement this section.
88	88	SECTION 5. Section 13.143(a), Election Code, is amended to
89	89	read as follows:
90	90	(a) Except as provided by Subsection [Subsections] (b) [and
91	91	(e)], if an applicant's registration application is approved, the
92	92	registration becomes effective on the 30th day after the date the
93	93	application is approved [submitted to the registrar] or on the date
94	94	the applicant becomes 18 years of age, whichever is later.
95	95	SECTION 6. Section 20.063, Election Code, is amended by
96	96	adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
97	97	(e) A person who submits a voter registration application to
98	98	the department in person shall at the time of submission present as
99	99	proof of citizenship:
100	100	(1) an unexpired passport issued to the person;
101	101	(2) a certified copy of a birth certificate or other
102	102	document confirming the person's birth that is admissible in a
103	103	court of law and establishes the person's identity; or
104	104	(3) United States citizenship papers issued to the
105	105	person.
106	106	SECTION 7. Sections 13.041 and 13.143(d) and (e), Election
107	107	Code, are repealed.
108	108	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
109	109	an application to register to vote submitted on or after the
110	110	effective date of this Act.
111	111	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.