Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4555 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.B. No. 4555
	1	+	By: Guillen, Pacheco (Senate Sponsor - Hinojosa) H.B. No. 4555
	2	+	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 17, 2021;
	3	+	May 17, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on State
	4	+	Affairs; May 24, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable
	5	+	Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
	6	+	May 24, 2021, sent to printer.)
	7	+	Click here to see the committee vote
	8	+	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 4555 By: Lucio
2	9
3	10
	11	+	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
4	12		AN ACT
5	13		relating to an application for a place on a ballot filed by a person
6	14		convicted of a felony and to the general requirements of an
7	15		application for a place on a ballot; decreasing a criminal penalty.
8	16		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	17		SECTION 1. Section 141.031, Election Code, is amended by
10	18		amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
11	19		follows:
12	20		(a) A candidate's application for a place on the ballot that
13	21		is required by this code must:
14	22		(1) be in writing;
15	23		(2) be signed and sworn to before a person authorized
16	24		to administer oaths in this state by the candidate and indicate the
17	25		date that the candidate swears to the application;
18	26		(3) be timely filed with the appropriate authority;
19	27		and
20	28		(4) include:
21	29		(A) the candidate's name;
22	30		(B) the candidate's occupation;
23	31		(C) the office sought, including any place number
24	32		or other distinguishing number;
25	33		(D) an indication of whether the office sought is
26	34		to be filled for a full or unexpired term if the office sought and
27	35		another office to be voted on have the same title but do not have
28	36		place numbers or other distinguishing numbers;
29	37		(E) a statement that the candidate is a United
30	38		States citizen;
31	39		(F) a statement that the candidate has not been
32	40		determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate
33	41		jurisdiction to be:
34	42		(i) totally mentally incapacitated; or
35	43		(ii) partially mentally incapacitated
36	44		without the right to vote;
37	45		(G) an indication [a statement] that the
38	46		candidate has either not been finally convicted of a felony or if so
39	47		convicted [from which the candidate] has [not] been pardoned or
40	48		otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;
41	49		(H) the candidate's date of birth;
42	50		(I) the candidate's residence address or, if the
43	51		residence has no address, the address at which the candidate
44	52		receives mail and a concise description of the location of the
45	53		candidate's residence;
46	54		(J) the candidate's length of continuous
47	55		residence in the state and in the territory from which the office
48	56		sought is elected as of the date the candidate swears to the
49	57		application;
50	58		(K) the statement: "I, __________, of __________
51	59		County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of __________,
52	60		swear that I will support and defend the constitution and laws of
53	61		the United States and of the State of Texas";
54	62		(L) a statement that the candidate is aware of
55	63		the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code; and
56	64		(M) a public mailing address at which the
57	65		candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's
58	66		campaign, if available, and an electronic mail address at which the
59	67		candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's
60	68		campaign, if available.
61	69		(a-1) A person who has been convicted of a felony shall
62	70		include in the application proof that the person is eligible for
63	71		public office under Section 141.001(a)(4).
64	72		SECTION 2. Section 141.039, Election Code, is amended to
65	73		read as follows:
66	74		Sec. 141.039. OFFICIAL APPLICATION FORM. In addition to
67	75		the other statements and spaces for entering information that
68	76		appear on an officially prescribed form for an application for a
69	77		place on the ballot, each official form for an application that a
70	78		candidate is required to file under this code must include:
71	79		(1) a space for indicating the form in which the
72	80		candidate's name is to appear on the ballot;
73	81		(2) a space for the candidate's public mailing
74	82		address;
75	83		(3) spaces for the candidate's home and office
76	84		telephone numbers and e-mail address at which the candidate
77	85		receives correspondence relating to the candidate's campaign;
78	86		[and]
79	87		(4) a statement informing candidates that the
80	88		furnishing of the telephone numbers is optional;
81	89		(5) a statement informing candidates that knowingly
82	90		providing false information on the application under Section
83	91		141.031(a)(4)(G) constitutes a Class B misdemeanor; and
84	92		(6) a statement informing candidates that a candidate
85	93		who indicates under Section 141.031(a)(4)(G) that the candidate has
86	94		been convicted of a felony must comply with the requirements of
87	95		Section 141.031(a-1).
88	96		SECTION 3. Section 37.10(c), Penal Code, is amended by
89	97		amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (5) to read as
90	98		follows:
91	99		(c)(1) Except as provided by Subdivisions (2), (3), [and]
92	100		(4), and (5), and by Subsection (d), an offense under this section
93	101		is a Class A misdemeanor unless the actor's intent is to defraud or
94	102		harm another, in which event the offense is a state jail felony.
95	103		(5) An offense under this section is a Class B
96	104		misdemeanor if the governmental record is an application for a
97	105		place on the ballot under Section 141.031, Election Code, and the
98	106		actor knowingly provides false information under Subsection
99	107		(a)(4)(G) of that section.
100	108		SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies to an
101	109		application for a place on the ballot filed on or after the
102	110		effective date of this Act. An application for a place on the
103	111		ballot filed before the effective date of this Act is covered by the
104	112		law in effect on the date the application was filed, and the former
105	113		law is continued in effect for that purpose.
106	114		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
107		-	______________________________ ______________________________
108		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
109		-	I certify that H.B. No. 4555 was passed by the House on May
110		-	14, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 4, 2 present, not
111		-	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
112		-	No. 4555 on May 28, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 1,
113		-	1 present, not voting.
114		-	______________________________
115		-	Chief Clerk of the House
116		-	I certify that H.B. No. 4555 was passed by the Senate, with
117		-	amendments, on May 25, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
118		-	0.
119		-	______________________________
120		-	Secretary of the Senate
121		-	APPROVED: __________________
122		-	Date
123		-	__________________
124		-	Governor
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