Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB725 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R4500 JRJ-D
2	2	By: Larson H.B. No. 725
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the date of the primary election and related
8	8	procedures.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 41.007(a), (b), and (c), Election Code,
11	11	are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) The general primary election date is the fourth [first]
13	13	Tuesday in January [March] in each even-numbered year.
14	14	(b) The runoff primary election date is the fourth Tuesday
15	15	in March [May] following the general primary election.
16	16	(c) The presidential primary election date is the fourth
17	17	[first] Tuesday in January [March] in each presidential election
18	18	year.
19	19	SECTION 2. Section 141.031(a), Election Code, is amended to
20	20	read as follows:
21	21	(a) A candidate's application for a place on the ballot that
22	22	is required by this code must:
23	23	(1) be in writing;
24	24	(2) be signed and sworn to before a person authorized
25	25	to administer oaths in this state by the candidate and indicate the
26	26	date that the candidate swears to the application;
27	27	(3) be timely filed with the appropriate authority;
28	28	and
29	29	(4) include:
30	30	(A) the candidate's name;
31	31	(B) the candidate's occupation;
32	32	(C) the office sought, including any place number
33	33	or other distinguishing number;
34	34	(D) an indication of whether the office sought is
35	35	to be filled for a full or unexpired term if the office sought and
36	36	another office to be voted on have the same title but do not have
37	37	place numbers or other distinguishing numbers;
38	38	(E) a statement that the candidate is a United
39	39	States citizen;
40	40	(F) a statement that the candidate has not been
41	41	determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate
42	42	jurisdiction to be:
43	43	(i) totally mentally incapacitated; or
44	44	(ii) partially mentally incapacitated
45	45	without the right to vote;
46	46	(G) a statement that the candidate has not been
47	47	finally convicted of a felony from which the candidate has not been
48	48	pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;
49	49	(H) the candidate's date of birth;
50	50	(I) the candidate's residence address or, if the
51	51	residence has no address, the address at which the candidate
52	52	receives mail and a concise description of the location of the
53	53	candidate's residence;
54	54	(J) the candidate's length of continuous
55	55	residence in the state and in the territory from which the office
56	56	sought is elected as of the date the candidate swears to the
57	57	application;
58	58	(K) the statement: "I, __________, of
59	59	__________ County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of
60	60	__________, swear that I will support and defend the constitution
61	61	and laws of the United States and of the State of Texas";
62	62	(L) a statement that the candidate is aware of
63	63	the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code; [and]
64	64	(M) a public mailing address at which the
65	65	candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's
66	66	campaign, if available, and an electronic mail address at which the
67	67	candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's
68	68	campaign, if available; and
69	69	(N) a statement that the candidate is aware of
70	70	the provisions of Section 65, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
71	71	SECTION 3. Section 162.003, Election Code, is amended to
72	72	read as follows:
73	73	Sec. 162.003. AFFILIATION BY VOTING IN PRIMARY. (a) A
74	74	person becomes affiliated with a political party when the person:
75	75	(1) is accepted to vote in the party's primary
76	76	election; or
77	77	(2) applies for and is provided an early voting or
78	78	limited primary ballot to be voted by mail.
79	79	(b) An affiliation under Subsection (a)(2) applies to the
80	80	voting year in which the primary election is held.
81	81	SECTION 4. Section 172.023(a), Election Code, is amended to
82	82	read as follows:
83	83	(a) An application for a place on the general primary
84	84	election ballot must be filed not later than 6 p.m. on the second
85	85	Monday in October [December] of an odd-numbered year unless the
86	86	filing deadline is extended under Subchapter C.
87	87	SECTION 5. Section 173.010, Election Code, is amended to
88	88	read as follows:
89	89	Sec. 173.010. FURNISHING RULES AND GUIDELINES. During
90	90	September [October] preceding each primary election year, the
91	91	secretary of state shall post on the secretary's website a current
92	92	set of the rules and any available guidelines adopted under this
93	93	subchapter. The secretary of state shall e-mail each state or
94	94	county chair who has provided the secretary of state an e-mail
95	95	address when the rules and guidelines have been posted. If a rule or
96	96	amendment of a rule is adopted after the set is posted, the
97	97	secretary shall update the posting with the new rule or amendment
98	98	not later than the 10th day after the date of its adoption.
99	99	SECTION 6. Section 181.0041, Election Code, is amended to
100	100	read as follows:
101	101	Sec. 181.0041. REGISTRATION OF PARTY REQUIRED. A political
102	102	party that intends to make nominations under this chapter for the
103	103	general election for state and county officers must register with
104	104	the secretary of state, in the manner prescribed by the secretary,
105	105	not later than the regular filing deadline for candidates in the
106	106	general primary election [January 2 of the election year].
107	107	SECTION 7. Sections 181.061(b) and (c), Election Code, are
108	108	amended to read as follows:
109	109	(b) A party nominating by convention must make its
110	110	nominations for offices of districts situated in more than one
111	111	county at district conventions held on the second Saturday after
112	112	general primary election day [the second Tuesday in March]. A
113	113	district convention consists of delegates selected at the county
114	114	conventions held under Subsection (c).
115	115	(c) A party nominating by convention must make its
116	116	nominations for county and precinct offices and for offices of
117	117	districts not situated in more than one county at county
118	118	conventions held on the first Saturday after general primary
119	119	election day [the second Tuesday in March]. A county convention
120	120	consists of delegates selected at precinct conventions held on
121	121	general primary election day [the second Tuesday in March] in the
122	122	regular county election precincts.
123	123	SECTION 8. Section 182.005, Election Code, is amended to
124	124	read as follows:
125	125	Sec. 182.005. NOMINATIONS MADE BY COUNTY CONVENTION. A
126	126	political party must make its nominations under this chapter at a
127	127	county convention held on the first Saturday after general primary
128	128	election day [the second Tuesday in March of the election year].
129	129	The convention consists of delegates selected at precinct
130	130	conventions held on general primary election day [the second
131	131	Tuesday in March] in the regular county election precincts.
132	132	SECTION 9. Section 204.005, Election Code, is amended to
133	133	read as follows:
134	134	Sec. 204.005. VACANCY FILLED AT SPECIAL ELECTION. An [If a
135	135	vacancy occurs during an odd-numbered year or after the 62nd day
136	136	before general primary election day in an even-numbered year, the
137	137	remainder of the] unexpired term shall be filled by a special
138	138	election in the same manner as provided by Chapter 203 for the
139	139	legislature, except that:
140	140	(1) the minimum number of signatures that must appear
141	141	on a petition accompanying a candidate's application for a place on
142	142	the ballot is 5,000; and
143	143	(2) Section 203.013 does not apply.
144	144	SECTION 10. Sections 204.003 and 204.004, Election Code,
145	145	are repealed.
146	146	SECTION 11. The term of a person who is serving as a county
147	147	or precinct chair of a political party on the effective date of this
148	148	Act ends on the 20th day after the fourth Tuesday in March 2020.
149	149	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.