| 1 | | - | By: Bettencourt, et al. S.B. No. 1907 |
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| 1 | + | By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 1907 |
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| 2 | + | (In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2023; March 20, 2023, read |
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| 3 | + | first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; |
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| 4 | + | April 4, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8, |
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| 5 | + | Nays 2; April 4, 2023, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | + | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 2 | 7 | | |
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| 3 | 8 | | |
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| 4 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 11 | | relating to preparing and delivering precinct election returns; |
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| 7 | 12 | | increasing a criminal penalty. |
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| 8 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Section 65.014(e), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 10 | 15 | | read as follows: |
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| 11 | 16 | | (e) An offense under Subsection (d) is a Class A [B] |
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| 12 | 17 | | misdemeanor. |
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| 13 | 18 | | SECTION 2. Section 66.055, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 14 | 19 | | read as follows: |
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| 15 | 20 | | Sec. 66.055. FAILURE TO DELIVER [JUDICIAL IMPOUNDMENT OF] |
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| 16 | 21 | | ELECTION RECORDS. (a) If the precinct election records are not |
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| 17 | 22 | | delivered by the deadline prescribed by Section 66.053(c): |
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| 18 | 23 | | (1) the secretary of state may supervise the |
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| 19 | 24 | | activities necessary to complete the count, prepare the precinct |
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| 20 | 25 | | returns, and distribute the records; or |
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| 21 | 26 | | (2) [,] on application by a member of the canvassing |
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| 22 | 27 | | authority, a district judge shall order the precinct election |
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| 23 | 28 | | records to be impounded. |
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| 24 | 29 | | (b) If the precinct election records are impounded under |
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| 25 | 30 | | Subsection (a)(2), the [The] district judge shall supervise the |
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| 26 | 31 | | activities necessary to complete the count, prepare the precinct |
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| 27 | 32 | | returns, and distribute the records. |
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| 28 | 33 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act in amending |
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| 29 | 34 | | Section 65.014(e), Election Code, applies only to an offense |
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| 30 | 35 | | committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense |
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| 31 | 36 | | committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the |
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| 32 | 37 | | law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former |
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| 33 | 38 | | law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this |
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| 34 | 39 | | section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this |
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| 35 | 40 | | Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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| 36 | 41 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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