| 9 | | - | SECTION 1. Section 141.001, Election Code, is amended by |
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| 10 | | - | adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: |
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| 11 | | - | (a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(4), a person is not |
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| 12 | | - | eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, a public |
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| 13 | | - | elective office of this state if the person has previously been |
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| 14 | | - | convicted of an offense under Title 5, Penal Code. |
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| 14 | + | SECTION 1. Section 141.001(a), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 15 | + | read as follows: |
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| 16 | + | (a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or |
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| 17 | + | appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must: |
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| 18 | + | (1) be a United States citizen; |
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| 19 | + | (2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the |
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| 20 | + | term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as |
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| 21 | + | applicable; |
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| 22 | + | (3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a |
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| 23 | + | court exercising probate jurisdiction to be: |
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| 24 | + | (A) totally mentally incapacitated; or |
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| 25 | + | (B) partially mentally incapacitated without the |
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| 26 | + | right to vote; |
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| 27 | + | (4) have not been finally convicted of a felony from |
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| 28 | + | which the person has not been pardoned [or otherwise released from |
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| 29 | + | the resulting disabilities]; |
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| 30 | + | (5) have resided continuously in the state for 12 |
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| 31 | + | months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six |
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| 32 | + | months immediately preceding the following date: |
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| 33 | + | (A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a |
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| 34 | + | general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing |
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| 35 | + | deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot; |
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| 36 | + | (B) for an independent candidate, the date of the |
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| 37 | + | regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place |
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| 38 | + | on the ballot; |
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| 39 | + | (C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the |
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| 40 | + | election at which the candidate's name is written in; |
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| 41 | + | (D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any |
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| 42 | + | method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is |
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| 43 | + | made; and |
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| 44 | + | (E) for an appointee to an office, the date the |
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| 45 | + | appointment is made; |
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| 46 | + | (6) on the date described by Subdivision (5), be |
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| 47 | + | registered to vote in the territory from which the office is |
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| 48 | + | elected; and |
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| 49 | + | (7) satisfy any other eligibility requirements |
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| 50 | + | prescribed by law for the office. |
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| 15 | 51 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 16 | 52 | | the eligibility requirements for a candidate or officer whose term |
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| 17 | 53 | | of office will begin on or after the effective date of this Act. The |
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| 18 | 54 | | eligibility requirements for a candidate or officer whose term of |
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| 19 | 55 | | office will begin before the effective date of this Act are governed |
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| 20 | 56 | | by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this |
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| 21 | 57 | | Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 22 | 58 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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