Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1263 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1036 LRM-D
2	2	By: Schofield H.B. No. 1263
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the verification of citizenship of an applicant for
10	10	voter registration.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 13.002(a), Election Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	(a) A person desiring to register to vote must submit an
15	15	application to the registrar of the county in which the person
16	16	resides. Except as provided by Subsection (e), an application must
17	17	be submitted by personal delivery, by mail, or by telephonic
18	18	facsimile machine in accordance with Section 13.143(d-2) [Sections
19	19	13.143(d) and (d-2)].
20	20	SECTION 2. Section 13.046(f), Election Code, is amended to
21	21	read as follows:
22	22	(f) Except as provided by this subsection, Sections
23	23	13.039[, 13.041,] and 13.042 apply to the submission and delivery
24	24	of registration applications under this section, and for that
25	25	purpose, "volunteer deputy registrar" in those sections includes a
26	26	high school deputy registrar. A high school deputy registrar may
27	27	review an application for completeness out of the applicant's
28	28	presence. A deputy may deliver a group of applications to the
29	29	registrar by mail in an envelope or package, and, for the purpose of
30	30	determining compliance with the delivery deadline, an application
31	31	delivered by mail is considered to be delivered at the time of its
32	32	receipt by the registrar.
33	33	SECTION 3. Section 13.071, Election Code, is amended to
34	34	read as follows:
35	35	Sec. 13.071. REVIEW OF APPLICATION. (a) The registrar
36	36	shall review each submitted application for registration to
37	37	determine whether it complies with Section 13.002 and indicates
38	38	that the applicant is a United States citizen eligible for
39	39	registration.
40	40	(b) If the application is submitted to the Department of
41	41	Public Safety in person with the proof of citizenship required by
42	42	Section 20.063(e), the [The] registrar shall make the determination
43	43	not later than the seventh day after the date the application is
44	44	submitted to the registrar.
45	45	(c) If the application is submitted in a manner other than
46	46	the manner described by Subsection (b), the registrar shall forward
47	47	the information relating to the applicant to the secretary of state
48	48	for determining citizenship as provided by Section 13.0721.
49	49	SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 13, Election Code, is
50	50	amended by adding Section 13.0721 to read as follows:
51	51	Sec. 13.0721. DETERMINATION OF CITIZENSHIP. (a) This
52	52	section does not apply to an application for registration submitted
53	53	to the Department of Public Safety in person with the proof of
54	54	citizenship required by Section 20.063(e).
55	55	(b) The secretary of state shall verify with the Department
56	56	of Public Safety the citizenship status of each applicant for voter
57	57	registration whose information is forwarded to the secretary of
58	58	state as provided by Section 13.071(c). If the department verifies
59	59	the applicant's citizenship status, the secretary of state shall
60	60	notify the registrar. If the department does not have information
61	61	regarding the citizenship status of the applicant or has
62	62	information indicating that the applicant is not a citizen, the
63	63	registrar and the applicant shall be notified as provided by
64	64	secretary of state rule.
65	65	(c) An applicant for voter registration who receives notice
66	66	under Subsection (b) must provide proof of citizenship to the
67	67	registrar not later than the 60th day after the date of receipt.
68	68	Except as provided by Subsection (d), this proof must be presented
69	69	in person. The following is acceptable as proof of citizenship
70	70	under this section:
71	71	(1) an unexpired passport issued to the person;
72	72	(2) a certified copy of a birth certificate, or other
73	73	document confirming the person's birth that is admissible in a
74	74	court of law and establishes the person's identity, presented with
75	75	a government-issued identification that contains the person's
76	76	photograph; or
77	77	(3) United States citizenship papers issued to the
78	78	person and presented with a government-issued identification that
79	79	contains the person's photograph.
80	80	(d) An applicant may mail a certified copy of a document
81	81	described by Subsection (c)(2) or (3) with a copy of the person's
82	82	government-issued photo identification to the registrar.
83	83	(e) If an applicant does not provide proof of citizenship as
84	84	required, the registrar shall reject the application and notify the
85	85	secretary of state. The secretary of state shall keep a list of
86	86	applicants of whom the secretary receives notice under this
87	87	section.
88	88	(f) The secretary of state shall adopt rules and prescribe
89	89	procedures to implement this section.
90	90	SECTION 5. Section 13.143(a), Election Code, is amended to
91	91	read as follows:
92	92	(a) Except as provided by Subsection [Subsections] (b) [and
93	93	(e)], if an applicant's registration application is approved, the
94	94	registration becomes effective on the 30th day after the date the
95	95	application is approved [submitted to the registrar] or on the date
96	96	the applicant becomes 18 years of age, whichever is later.
97	97	SECTION 6. Section 20.063, Election Code, is amended by
98	98	adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
99	99	(e) A person who submits a voter registration application to
100	100	the department in person shall at the time of submission present as
101	101	proof of citizenship:
102	102	(1) an unexpired passport issued to the person;
103	103	(2) a certified copy of a birth certificate or other
104	104	document confirming the person's birth that is admissible in a
105	105	court of law and establishes the person's identity; or
106	106	(3) United States citizenship papers issued to the
107	107	person.
108	108	SECTION 7. Sections 13.041 and 13.143(d) and (e), Election
109	109	Code, are repealed.
110	110	SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
111	111	an application to register to vote submitted on or after the
112	112	effective date of this Act.
113	113	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.