Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1217 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	H.B. No. 1217
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the administration of and procedures relating to early
6	6	voting by personal appearance.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 19.004(a), Election Code, is amended to
9	9	read as follows:
10	10	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), state funds
11	11	disbursed under this chapter may be used only to:
12	12	(1) defray expenses of the registrar's office in
13	13	connection with voter registration, including additional expenses
14	14	related to:
15	15	(A) [(1)] implementation of the National Voter
16	16	Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. Section 20501 et seq.) [(42
17	17	U.S.C. Section 1973gg et seq.)];
18	18	(B) [(2)] complying with [the] weekly updating
19	19	requirements [prescribed by Section 18.063]; and
20	20	(C) [(3)] the employment of temporary voter
21	21	registration personnel for not more than 39 weeks in a state fiscal
22	22	year; and
23	23	(2) if the registrar's county has a population of less
24	24	than 55,000, defray the cost to the registrar's county of keeping
25	25	the polling places in the county open during the early voting period
26	26	as required under Sections 85.005(c), 85.006(e), and 85.064(d).
27	27	SECTION 2. Section 85.005(c), Election Code, is amended to
28	28	read as follows:
29	29	(c) Voting [In a county with a population of 55,000 or more,
30	30	the voting] in a primary election or the general election for state
31	31	and county officers shall be conducted at the main early voting
32	32	polling place for at least 12 consecutive hours on each weekday of
33	33	the last week of the early voting period, and the voting in a
34	34	special election ordered by the governor shall be conducted at the
35	35	main early voting polling place for at least 12 consecutive hours on
36	36	each of the last two days of the early voting period. Voting under
37	37	this subsection may not be conducted earlier than 6 a.m. or later
38	38	than 10 p.m. [Voting shall be conducted in accordance with this
39	39	subsection in those elections in a county with a population under
40	40	55,000 on receipt by the early voting clerk of a written request for
41	41	the extended hours submitted by at least 15 registered voters of the
42	42	county. The request must be submitted in time to enable compliance
43	43	with Section 85.067.]
44	44	SECTION 3. Section 85.006(e), Election Code, is amended to
45	45	read as follows:
46	46	(e) In a primary election or the general election for state
47	47	and county officers [in a county with a population of 55,000 or
48	48	more], the early voting clerk shall order voting by personal
49	49	appearance at the main early voting polling place to be conducted on
50	50	the last Saturday of the early voting period for at least 12
51	51	consecutive hours, except that voting may not be conducted earlier
52	52	than 6 a.m. or later than 10 p.m., and on the last Sunday of the
53	53	early voting period for at least six consecutive hours, except that
54	54	voting may not be conducted earlier than 9 a.m. or later than 10
55	55	p.m. [The early voting clerk shall order voting to be conducted at
56	56	those times in those elections in a county with a population under
57	57	55,000 on receipt of a written request for those hours submitted by
58	58	at least 15 registered voters of the county. The request must be
59	59	submitted in time to enable compliance with Section 85.007.] This
60	60	subsection supersedes any provision of this subchapter to the
61	61	extent of any conflict.
62	62	SECTION 4. The heading to Section 85.064, Election Code, is
63	63	amended to read as follows:
64	64	Sec. 85.064. DAYS AND HOURS FOR VOTING: TEMPORARY BRANCH
65	65	[IN POPULOUS COUNTY].
66	66	SECTION 5. Section 85.064(d), Election Code, is amended to
67	67	read as follows:
68	68	(d) The authority authorized under Section 85.006 to order
69	69	early voting on a Saturday or Sunday may also order, in the manner
70	70	prescribed by that section, early voting to be conducted on a
71	71	Saturday or Sunday at any one or more of the temporary branch
72	72	polling places. In addition, the early voting clerk [of a county
73	73	covered by Section 85.006(e)] shall order such voting in accordance
74	74	with Section 85.006(e) [that subsection] at each temporary branch
75	75	polling place established under Section 85.062(d).
76	76	SECTION 6. Section 85.068(a), Election Code, is amended to
77	77	read as follows:
78	78	(a) The early voting clerk shall post notice for each
79	79	election stating any dates and the hours that voting on Saturday or
80	80	Sunday will be conducted under Section 85.064(d) [or 85.065(b)], if
81	81	the early voting clerk is a county clerk or city secretary under
82	82	Section 83.002 or 83.005.
83	83	SECTION 7. The following provisions of the Election Code
84	84	are repealed:
85	85	(1) Section 85.064(a); and
86	86	(2) Section 85.065.
87	87	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
88	88	an election for which early voting begins on or after the effective
89	89	date of this Act.
90	90	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
91	91	______________________________ ______________________________
92	92	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
93	93	I certify that H.B. No. 1217 was passed by the House on May 6,
94	94	2023, by the following vote: Yeas 131, Nays 3, 2 present, not
95	95	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
96	96	No. 1217 on May 24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 128, Nays 16,
97	97	1 present, not voting.
98	98	______________________________
99	99	Chief Clerk of the House
100	100	I certify that H.B. No. 1217 was passed by the Senate, with
101	101	amendments, on May 19, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
102	102	0.
103	103	______________________________
104	104	Secretary of the Senate
105	105	APPROVED: __________________
106	106	Date
107	107	__________________
108	108	Governor