| 1 | 1 | | By: Bell of Kaufman H.B. No. 678 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the appointment by the attorney general of a special |
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| 7 | 7 | | prosecutor to prosecute certain election offenses that are |
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| 8 | 8 | | committed in an adjacent county. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 273.001(e), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (e) Not later than the 30th day after the date on which a |
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| 13 | 13 | | county or district attorney begins an investigation under this |
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| 14 | 14 | | section, the county or district attorney shall deliver notice of |
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| 15 | 15 | | the investigation to the Office of the Attorney General [secretary |
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| 16 | 16 | | of state]. The notice may [must] include a request that the |
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| 17 | 17 | | Attorney General appoint a county or district attorney in an |
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| 18 | 18 | | adjacent county as a special prosecutor for the case. [statement |
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| 19 | 19 | | that a criminal investigation is being conducted and the date on |
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| 20 | 20 | | which the election that is the subject of the investigation was |
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| 21 | 21 | | held. The secretary of state may disclose information relating to a |
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| 22 | 22 | | criminal investigation received under this subsection only if the |
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| 23 | 23 | | county or district attorney has disclosed the information or would |
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| 24 | 24 | | be required by law to disclose the information.] |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 2. Section 273.002, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 26 | 26 | | read as follows: |
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| 27 | 27 | | Sec. 273.002. LOCAL ASSISTANCE TO ATTORNEY GENERAL. For an |
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| 28 | 28 | | election in which the attorney general is conducting an |
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| 29 | 29 | | investigation, the attorney general may: |
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| 30 | 30 | | (1) request [direct] the county or district attorney |
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| 31 | 31 | | serving a county in the territory covered by the election to conduct |
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| 32 | 32 | | or assist the attorney general in conducting the investigation; or |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) direct the Department of Public Safety to assist in |
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| 34 | 34 | | conducting the investigation. |
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| 35 | 35 | | SECTION 3. The heading to Section 273.021, Election Code, |
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| 36 | 36 | | is amended to read as follows: |
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| 37 | 37 | | Sec. 273.021. PROSECUTION BY SPECIAL PROSECUTOR [ATTORNEY |
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| 38 | 38 | | GENERAL AUTHORIZED]. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 4. Section 273.021, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 40 | 40 | | read as follows: |
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| 41 | 41 | | (a) The attorney general may in the course of investigating |
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| 42 | 42 | | [prosecute] a criminal offense prescribed by the election laws of |
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| 43 | 43 | | this state request that the county or district attorney of the |
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| 44 | 44 | | county where the offense occurred or the county or district |
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| 45 | 45 | | attorney of an adjacent county be appointed as a special prosecutor |
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| 46 | 46 | | for the matter. |
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| 47 | 47 | | (b) The special prosecutor [attorney general] may appear |
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| 48 | 48 | | before a grand jury in connection with an offense the [attorney |
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| 49 | 49 | | general] special prosecutor is requested [authorized] to prosecute |
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| 50 | 50 | | under Subsection (a). |
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| 51 | 51 | | (c) The authority to prosecute prescribed by this |
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| 52 | 52 | | subchapter does not affect the authority derived from other law to |
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| 53 | 53 | | prosecute the same offenses. |
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| 54 | 54 | | SECTION 5. Section 273.022, Election Code, is repealed. |
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| 55 | 55 | | SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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