S.B. No. 994
AN ACT
relating to the declaration of a candidate's ineligibility on the
basis of failure to pay a filing fee or submit a petition in lieu of
a filing fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 145.003, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to
read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), a [A] candidate
in the general election for state and county officers may be
declared ineligible before the 30th day preceding election day by:
(1) the party officer responsible for certifying the
candidate's name for placement on the general election ballot, in
the case of a candidate who is a political party's nominee; [or]
(2) the authority with whom the candidate's
application for a place on the ballot is required to be filed, in
the case of an independent candidate; or
(3) the secretary of state, if the candidate is
ineligible under Subsection (f)(3).
(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 fails to pay the filing fee or submit
a petition in lieu of a filing fee.
(f-1) A candidate may not be declared ineligible under
Subsection (f)(3) after the 74th day preceding election day.
SECTION 2. Section 145.036, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (b) and
(b-1), if a candidate's name is to be omitted from the ballot under
Section 145.035, the political party's state, district, county, or
precinct executive committee, as appropriate for the particular
office, may nominate a replacement candidate to fill the vacancy in
the nomination.
(b-1) An executive committee may make a replacement
nomination following an administrative declaration of
ineligibility under Section 145.003(f)(3) only if the replacement
candidate pays the filing fee or submits a petition in lieu of a
filing fee.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 994 passed the Senate on
March 15, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 22, Nays 8; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 21, 2023, by the
following vote: Yeas 23, Nays 8.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 994 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 93,
Nays 51, one present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor