87R7704 SLB-D
By: Dutton H.B. No. 2908
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the address of a candidate on an application for a place
on the ballot; creating a civil penalty; creating a criminal
offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 141.031, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g) to
read as follows:
(a) A candidate's application for a place on the ballot that
is required by this code must:
(1) be in writing;
(2) be signed and sworn to before a person authorized
to administer oaths in this state by the candidate and indicate the
date that the candidate swears to the application;
(3) be timely filed with the appropriate authority;
and
(4) include:
(A) the candidate's name;
(B) the candidate's occupation;
(C) the office sought, including any place number
or other distinguishing number;
(D) an indication of whether the office sought is
to be filled for a full or unexpired term if the office sought and
another office to be voted on have the same title but do not have
place numbers or other distinguishing numbers;
(E) a statement that the candidate is a United
States citizen;
(F) a statement that the candidate has not been
determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate
jurisdiction to be:
(i) totally mentally incapacitated; or
(ii) partially mentally incapacitated
without the right to vote;
(G) a statement that the candidate has not been
finally convicted of a felony from which the candidate has not been
pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;
(H) the candidate's date of birth;
(I) the candidate's residence address or, if the
residence has no address, the address at which the candidate
receives mail and a concise description of the location of the
candidate's residence and the affidavit required by Subsection (e)
verifying the candidate's address;
(J) the candidate's length of continuous
residence in the state and in the territory from which the office
sought is elected as of the date the candidate swears to the
application;
(K) the statement: "I, __________, of __________
County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of __________,
swear that I will support and defend the constitution and laws of
the United States and of the State of Texas";
(L) a statement that the candidate is aware of
the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code; and
(M) a public mailing address at which the
candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's
campaign, if available, and an electronic mail address at which the
candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's
campaign, if available.
(e) A candidate must submit with an application under this
section an affidavit stating that the candidate lives at the
residence address listed on the application form.
(f) A person who knowingly gives false information on an
affidavit submitted under Subsection (e) commits an offense. An
offense under this subsection is a felony of the third degree.
(g) A person who gives false information on an affidavit
submitted under Subsection (e) is liable to the state for a civil
penalty in an amount not to exceed $10,000.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an application to be a candidate in an election submitted on or
after the effective date of this Act. An application to be a
candidate in an election submitted before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect when the application was
submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.