| 1 | 1 | | By: Bettencourt, et al. S.B. No. 1911 |
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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 election supplies and the conduct of elections; |
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| 7 | 7 | | creating criminal offenses; increasing criminal penalties. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 51.005, Election Code, is amended by |
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| 10 | 10 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (d) to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) The authority responsible for procuring the election |
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| 13 | 13 | | supplies for an election shall provide for each election precinct a |
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| 14 | 14 | | number of ballots equal to at least the percentage of voters who |
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| 15 | 15 | | voted in that precinct in the most recent corresponding election |
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| 16 | 16 | | plus 25 percent of that number. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (a-1) The[, except that the] number of ballots provided may |
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| 18 | 18 | | not exceed the total number of registered voters in the precinct |
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| 19 | 19 | | unless the county participates in the countywide polling place |
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| 20 | 20 | | program under Section 43.007. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (d) The authority responsible for procuring the election |
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| 22 | 22 | | supplies for an election commits an offense if the authority |
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| 23 | 23 | | intentionally fails to provide an election precinct with the |
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| 24 | 24 | | required number of ballots under this section. An offense under |
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| 25 | 25 | | this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor. |
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| 26 | 26 | | SECTION 2. Section 51.008, Election Code, is amended by |
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| 27 | 27 | | adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (e) The authority responsible for procuring the election |
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| 29 | 29 | | supplies for an election commits an offense if the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | intentionally fails to promptly supplement the distributed ballots |
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| 31 | 31 | | upon request by a polling place. An offense under this subsection is |
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| 32 | 32 | | a Class A misdemeanor. |
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| 33 | 33 | | SECTION 3. Section 51.010(c), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 34 | 34 | | read as follows: |
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| 35 | 35 | | (c) An offense under this section is a Class A [C] |
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| 36 | 36 | | misdemeanor. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 4. Section 51.011(b), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 38 | 38 | | read as follows: |
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| 39 | 39 | | (b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony |
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| 40 | 40 | | [Class C misdemeanor]. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 5. Section 61.007(b), Election Code, is amended to |
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| 42 | 42 | | read as follows: |
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| 43 | 43 | | (b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony |
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| 44 | 44 | | [Class A misdemeanor]. |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections |
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| 46 | 46 | | 51.010, 51.011, and 61.007, Election Code, apply only to an offense |
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| 47 | 47 | | committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense |
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| 48 | 48 | | committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the |
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| 49 | 49 | | law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former |
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| 50 | 50 | | law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this |
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| 51 | 51 | | section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this |
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| 52 | 52 | | Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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