88R15283 PRL-D
By: Hughes S.B. No. 2532
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain ballot access requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 142.007, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 142.007. NUMBER OF PETITION SIGNATURES REQUIRED. The
minimum number of signatures that must appear on a candidate's
petition is:
(1) for a statewide office, two [one] percent of the
total vote received by all candidates for governor in the most
recent gubernatorial general election; or
(2) for a district, county, or precinct office, the
lesser of:
(A) 1,000 [500]; or
(B) five percent of the total vote received in
the district, county, or precinct, as applicable, by all candidates
for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election,
unless that number is under 25, in which case the required number of
signatures is the lesser of:
(i) 25; or
(ii) 10 percent of that total vote.
SECTION 2. Section 172.021(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) A candidate for an office specified by Section
172.024(a)(8), (10), or (12), or for justice of the peace in a
county with a population of more than 1.5 million, who chooses to
pay the filing fee must also accompany the application with a
petition for a place on the primary ballot as a candidate for
judicial office that complies with the requirements prescribed for
the petition authorized by Subsection (b), except that the minimum
number of signatures that must appear on the petition required by
this subsection is 500 [250]. If the candidate chooses to file the
petition authorized by Subsection (b) in lieu of the filing fee, the
minimum number of signatures required for that petition is
increased by 500 [250]. Signatures on a petition filed under this
subsection or Subsection (b) by a candidate covered by this
subsection may not be obtained on the grounds of a county courthouse
or courthouse annex.
SECTION 3. Section 172.024(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The filing fee for a candidate for nomination in the
general primary election is as follows:
(1) United States senator $10,000 [$5,000]
(2) office elected statewide, except United States
senator 7,500 [3,750]
(3) United States representative 6,250 [3,125]
(4) state senator 2,500 [1,250]
(5) state representative 1,500 [750]
(6) member, State Board of Education 600 [300]
(7) chief justice or justice, court of appeals, other
than a justice specified by Subdivision (8) 3,750 [1,875]
(8) chief justice or justice of a court of appeals that
serves a court of appeals district in which a county with a
population of more than one million is wholly or partly situated
5,000 [2,500]
(9) district judge or judge specified by Section
52.092(d) for which this schedule does not otherwise prescribe a
fee 3,000 [1,500]
(10) district or criminal district judge of a court in
a judicial district wholly contained in a county with a population
of more than 1.5 million 5,000 [2,500]
(11) judge, statutory county court, other than a judge
specified by Subdivision (12) 3,000 [1,500]
(12) judge of a statutory county court in a county with
a population of more than 1.5 million 5,000 [2,500]
(13) district attorney, criminal district attorney,
or county attorney performing the duties of a district attorney
2,500 [1,250]
(14) county commissioner, district clerk, county
clerk, sheriff, county tax assessor-collector, county treasurer,
or judge, constitutional county court:
(A) county with a population of 200,000 or more
2,500 [1,250]
(B) county with a population of under 200,000
1,500 [750]
(15) justice of the peace or constable:
(A) county with a population of 200,000 or more
2,000 [1,000]
(B) county with a population of under 200,000
750 [375]
(16) county surveyor 150 [75]
(17) office of the county government for which this
schedule does not otherwise prescribe a fee 1,500 [750]
SECTION 4. Section 172.025, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 172.025. NUMBER OF PETITION SIGNATURES REQUIRED. The
minimum number of signatures that must appear on the petition
authorized by Section 172.021(b) is:
(1) 10,000 [5,000], for a statewide office; or
(2) for a district, county, or precinct office, the
lesser of:
(A) 1,000 [500]; or
(B) two percent of the total vote received in the
district, county, or precinct, as applicable, by all the candidates
for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election,
unless that number is under 50, in which case the required number of
signatures is the lesser of:
(i) 50; or
(ii) 20 percent of that total vote.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act. An
election ordered before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect when the election was ordered, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.