Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2532 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R15283 PRL-D
2	2	By: Hughes S.B. No. 2532
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to certain ballot access requirements.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 142.007, Election Code, is amended to
10	10	read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 142.007. NUMBER OF PETITION SIGNATURES REQUIRED. The
12	12	minimum number of signatures that must appear on a candidate's
13	13	petition is:
14	14	(1) for a statewide office, two [one] percent of the
15	15	total vote received by all candidates for governor in the most
16	16	recent gubernatorial general election; or
17	17	(2) for a district, county, or precinct office, the
18	18	lesser of:
19	19	(A) 1,000 [500]; or
20	20	(B) five percent of the total vote received in
21	21	the district, county, or precinct, as applicable, by all candidates
22	22	for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election,
23	23	unless that number is under 25, in which case the required number of
24	24	signatures is the lesser of:
25	25	(i) 25; or
26	26	(ii) 10 percent of that total vote.
27	27	SECTION 2. Section 172.021(e), Election Code, is amended to
28	28	read as follows:
29	29	(e) A candidate for an office specified by Section
30	30	172.024(a)(8), (10), or (12), or for justice of the peace in a
31	31	county with a population of more than 1.5 million, who chooses to
32	32	pay the filing fee must also accompany the application with a
33	33	petition for a place on the primary ballot as a candidate for
34	34	judicial office that complies with the requirements prescribed for
35	35	the petition authorized by Subsection (b), except that the minimum
36	36	number of signatures that must appear on the petition required by
37	37	this subsection is 500 [250]. If the candidate chooses to file the
38	38	petition authorized by Subsection (b) in lieu of the filing fee, the
39	39	minimum number of signatures required for that petition is
40	40	increased by 500 [250]. Signatures on a petition filed under this
41	41	subsection or Subsection (b) by a candidate covered by this
42	42	subsection may not be obtained on the grounds of a county courthouse
43	43	or courthouse annex.
44	44	SECTION 3. Section 172.024(a), Election Code, is amended to
45	45	read as follows:
46	46	(a) The filing fee for a candidate for nomination in the
47	47	general primary election is as follows:
48	48	(1) United States senator $10,000 [$5,000]
49	49	(2) office elected statewide, except United States
50	50	senator 7,500 [3,750]
51	51	(3) United States representative 6,250 [3,125]
52	52	(4) state senator 2,500 [1,250]
53	53	(5) state representative 1,500 [750]
54	54	(6) member, State Board of Education 600 [300]
55	55	(7) chief justice or justice, court of appeals, other
56	56	than a justice specified by Subdivision (8) 3,750 [1,875]
57	57	(8) chief justice or justice of a court of appeals that
58	58	serves a court of appeals district in which a county with a
59	59	population of more than one million is wholly or partly situated
60	60	5,000 [2,500]
61	61	(9) district judge or judge specified by Section
62	62	52.092(d) for which this schedule does not otherwise prescribe a
63	63	fee 3,000 [1,500]
64	64	(10) district or criminal district judge of a court in
65	65	a judicial district wholly contained in a county with a population
66	66	of more than 1.5 million 5,000 [2,500]
67	67	(11) judge, statutory county court, other than a judge
68	68	specified by Subdivision (12) 3,000 [1,500]
69	69	(12) judge of a statutory county court in a county with
70	70	a population of more than 1.5 million 5,000 [2,500]
71	71	(13) district attorney, criminal district attorney,
72	72	or county attorney performing the duties of a district attorney
73	73	2,500 [1,250]
74	74	(14) county commissioner, district clerk, county
75	75	clerk, sheriff, county tax assessor-collector, county treasurer,
76	76	or judge, constitutional county court:
77	77	(A) county with a population of 200,000 or more
78	78	2,500 [1,250]
79	79	(B) county with a population of under 200,000
80	80	1,500 [750]
81	81	(15) justice of the peace or constable:
82	82	(A) county with a population of 200,000 or more
83	83	2,000 [1,000]
84	84	(B) county with a population of under 200,000
85	85	750 [375]
86	86	(16) county surveyor 150 [75]
87	87	(17) office of the county government for which this
88	88	schedule does not otherwise prescribe a fee 1,500 [750]
89	89	SECTION 4. Section 172.025, Election Code, is amended to
90	90	read as follows:
91	91	Sec. 172.025. NUMBER OF PETITION SIGNATURES REQUIRED. The
92	92	minimum number of signatures that must appear on the petition
93	93	authorized by Section 172.021(b) is:
94	94	(1) 10,000 [5,000], for a statewide office; or
95	95	(2) for a district, county, or precinct office, the
96	96	lesser of:
97	97	(A) 1,000 [500]; or
98	98	(B) two percent of the total vote received in the
99	99	district, county, or precinct, as applicable, by all the candidates
100	100	for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election,
101	101	unless that number is under 50, in which case the required number of
102	102	signatures is the lesser of:
103	103	(i) 50; or
104	104	(ii) 20 percent of that total vote.
105	105	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
106	106	an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act. An
107	107	election ordered before the effective date of this Act is governed
108	108	by the law in effect when the election was ordered, and the former
109	109	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
110	110	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.