88R6795 MLH-D
By: Hughes S.B. No. 2531
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to nominations by primary election by all political
parties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 145.003, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to read as
follows:
(f) A candidate may be declared ineligible only if:
(1) the information on the candidate's application for
a place on the ballot indicates that the candidate is ineligible for
the office; [or]
(2) facts indicating that the candidate is ineligible
are conclusively established by another public record; or
(3) the candidate has not been nominated by primary
election.
(f-1) For purposes of Subsection (f)(3), a candidate is
considered nominated by primary election if the candidate was
unopposed in the primary election.
SECTION 2. Section 161.005(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) For purposes of this section, a person becomes a
candidate at the earliest time at which one of the following occurs:
(1) the person files:
(A) a declaration of intent to run as an
independent candidate;
(B) an application for a place on a primary or
general election ballot [or for nomination by a convention]; or
(C) a declaration of write-in candidacy; or
(2) the person is nominated by an [a convention or]
executive committee.
SECTION 3. Section 162.001(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The affiliation requirement prescribed by Subsections
(a)(2) and (3) applies only during a voting year in which the
general election for state and county officers is held and does not
apply until[:
[(1)] general primary election day[, for a party
holding a primary election; or
[(2) the date of the precinct conventions held under
this title, for a party nominating by convention].
SECTION 4. Section 162.006, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 162.006. AFFILIATION BY TAKING OATH. A person becomes
affiliated with a political party when the person takes an oath of
affiliation as provided by Section [162.007 or] 162.008.
SECTION 5. Section 162.017(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) The preregistration process must include the statement
described by Section 162.004(a) and require a preregistering
attendee to affiliate with the party by taking the oath described in
Section 162.006 [162.007(b)].
SECTION 6. Section 172.001, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 172.001. NOMINATING BY PRIMARY ELECTION REQUIRED.
Except as otherwise provided by this code, a political party's
nominees in the general election for offices of state and county
government and the United States Congress must be nominated by
primary election, held as provided by this code[, if the party's
nominee for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general
election received 20 percent or more of the total number of votes
received by all candidates for governor in the election].
SECTION 7. Section 202.006(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A political party's state, district, county, or
precinct executive committee, as appropriate for the particular
office, may nominate a candidate for the unexpired term if[:
[(1) in the case of a party holding a primary
election,] the vacancy occurs after the fifth day before the date of
the regular deadline for candidates to file applications for a
place on the ballot for the general primary election[; or
[(2) in the case of a party nominating by convention,
the vacancy occurs after the fourth day before the date the
convention having the power to make a nomination for the office
convenes].
SECTION 8. Section 204.004, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 204.004. NOMINATION FOR VACANCY FILLED AT GENERAL
ELECTION. A nomination by a political party for an unexpired term
to be filled at the general election for state and county officers
is made in the manner prescribed by Section 202.004 [or 202.005, as
applicable].
SECTION 9. Section 251.001(1), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(1) "Candidate" means a person who knowingly and
willingly takes affirmative action for the purpose of gaining
nomination or election to public office or for the purpose of
satisfying financial obligations incurred by the person in
connection with the campaign for nomination or election. Examples
of affirmative action include:
(A) the filing of a campaign treasurer
appointment, except that the filing does not constitute candidacy
or an announcement of candidacy for purposes of the automatic
resignation provisions of Article XVI, Section 65, or Article XI,
Section 11, of the Texas Constitution;
(B) the filing of an application for a place on a
ballot;
(C) [the filing of an application for nomination
by convention;
[(D)] the filing of a declaration of intent to
become an independent candidate or a declaration of write-in
candidacy;
(D) [(E)] the making of a public announcement of
a definite intent to run for public office in a particular election,
regardless of whether the specific office is mentioned in the
announcement;
(E) [(F)] before a public announcement of
intent, the making of a statement of definite intent to run for
public office and the soliciting of support by letter or other mode
of communication;
(F) [(G)] the soliciting or accepting of a
campaign contribution or the making of a campaign expenditure; and
(G) [(H)] the seeking of the nomination of an
executive committee of a political party to fill a vacancy.
SECTION 10. Sections 253.153(a) and (b), Election Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A judicial candidate or officeholder, a
specific-purpose committee for supporting or opposing a judicial
candidate, or a specific-purpose committee for assisting a judicial
officeholder may not knowingly accept a political contribution
except during the period:
(1) beginning on:
(A) the 210th day before the date an application
for a place on the ballot [or for nomination by convention] for the
office is required to be filed, if the election is for a full term;
or
(B) the later of the 210th day before the date an
application for a place on the ballot [or for nomination by
convention] for the office is required to be filed or the date a
vacancy in the office occurs, if the election is for an unexpired
term; and
(2) ending on the 120th day after the date of the
election in which the candidate or officeholder last appeared on
the ballot, regardless of whether the candidate or officeholder has
an opponent in that election.
(b) Subsection (a)(2) does not apply to a political
contribution that was made and accepted with the intent that it be
used to defray expenses incurred in connection with an election,
including the repayment of any debt that is:
(1) incurred directly by the making of a campaign
expenditure during the period beginning on the date the application
for a place on the ballot [or for nomination by convention] was
required to be filed for the election in which the candidate last
appeared on the ballot and ending on the date of that election; and
(2) subject to the restrictions prescribed by Sections
253.162 and 253.1621.
SECTION 11. Section 571.079(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Not later than the 15th day after the date on which an
application for a place on the general primary election ballot [or
for nomination by convention] is required to be filed, the
commission shall post on its Internet website:
(1) the name and address of each candidate for an
office specified by Section 252.005(1), Election Code, who has
failed to pay a civil penalty imposed by the commission for failure
to file with the commission a required report or statement under
Chapter 254, Election Code, or Chapter 572; and
(2) for each candidate listed under Subdivision (1),
the amount of the penalty imposed and the amount paid, if any.
SECTION 12. The following provisions of the Election Code
are repealed:
(1) Section 162.007;
(2) Section 162.016;
(3) Section 172.002;
(4) Section 202.005; and
(5) Subtitle C, Title 10.
SECTION 13. The changes in law made by this Act apply
beginning with nominations made for an election held on or after
January 1, 2024.
SECTION 14. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.