BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 1661 By: Vasut Elections Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The secretary of state's 2021-2022 Comprehensive Election Audit Report found that "Harris County failed to supply adequate amounts of ballot paper to polling locations for the November 8, 2022, general election." H.B. 1661 seeks to mitigate this issue by establishing specific requirements for providing ballots to an election precinct, creating new offenses for intentionally failing to supply or supplement ballots to a polling place, and enhancing penalties for intentional failures to comply with state law relating to the distribution of election supplies and revealing election information before polls close. CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly does one or more of the following: creates a criminal offense, increases the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or changes the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS H.B. 1661 amends the Election Code to create a Class A misdemeanor offense for an authority responsible for procuring the election supplies for an election who does the following: intentionally fails to provide an election precinct with the required number of ballots; or intentionally fails to promptly supplement the distributed ballots upon request by a polling place. The bill exempts a county who participates in the countywide polling place program from the prohibition against the number of ballots provided to an election precinct for an election exceeding the total number of registered voters in the precinct. H.B. 1661 increases the penalties for the following offenses: for the offense of intentionally failing to timely distribute or deliver election supplies, from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor; for the offense of intentionally obstructing the distribution of election supplies, from a Class C misdemeanor to a state jail felony; and for the offense of unlawfully revealing election information before polls close, from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony. These penalty increases apply only to an offense committed on or after the bill's effective date. An offense committed before the bill's effective date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For these purposes, an offense was committed before the bill's effective date if any element of the offense occurred before that date. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
BILL ANALYSIS
# BILL ANALYSIS
H.B. 1661
By: Vasut
Elections
Committee Report (Unamended)
H.B. 1661
By: Vasut
Elections
Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The secretary of state's 2021-2022 Comprehensive Election Audit Report found that "Harris County failed to supply adequate amounts of ballot paper to polling locations for the November 8, 2022, general election." H.B. 1661 seeks to mitigate this issue by establishing specific requirements for providing ballots to an election precinct, creating new offenses for intentionally failing to supply or supplement ballots to a polling place, and enhancing penalties for intentional failures to comply with state law relating to the distribution of election supplies and revealing election information before polls close.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly does one or more of the following: creates a criminal offense, increases the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or changes the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS H.B. 1661 amends the Election Code to create a Class A misdemeanor offense for an authority responsible for procuring the election supplies for an election who does the following: intentionally fails to provide an election precinct with the required number of ballots; or intentionally fails to promptly supplement the distributed ballots upon request by a polling place. The bill exempts a county who participates in the countywide polling place program from the prohibition against the number of ballots provided to an election precinct for an election exceeding the total number of registered voters in the precinct. H.B. 1661 increases the penalties for the following offenses: for the offense of intentionally failing to timely distribute or deliver election supplies, from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor; for the offense of intentionally obstructing the distribution of election supplies, from a Class C misdemeanor to a state jail felony; and for the offense of unlawfully revealing election information before polls close, from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony. These penalty increases apply only to an offense committed on or after the bill's effective date. An offense committed before the bill's effective date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For these purposes, an offense was committed before the bill's effective date if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The secretary of state's 2021-2022 Comprehensive Election Audit Report found that "Harris County failed to supply adequate amounts of ballot paper to polling locations for the November 8, 2022, general election." H.B. 1661 seeks to mitigate this issue by establishing specific requirements for providing ballots to an election precinct, creating new offenses for intentionally failing to supply or supplement ballots to a polling place, and enhancing penalties for intentional failures to comply with state law relating to the distribution of election supplies and revealing election information before polls close.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly does one or more of the following: creates a criminal offense, increases the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or changes the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 1661 amends the Election Code to create a Class A misdemeanor offense for an authority responsible for procuring the election supplies for an election who does the following:
intentionally fails to provide an election precinct with the required number of ballots; or
intentionally fails to promptly supplement the distributed ballots upon request by a polling place.
The bill exempts a county who participates in the countywide polling place program from the prohibition against the number of ballots provided to an election precinct for an election exceeding the total number of registered voters in the precinct.
H.B. 1661 increases the penalties for the following offenses:
for the offense of intentionally failing to timely distribute or deliver election supplies, from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor;
for the offense of intentionally obstructing the distribution of election supplies, from a Class C misdemeanor to a state jail felony; and
for the offense of unlawfully revealing election information before polls close, from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony.
These penalty increases apply only to an offense committed on or after the bill's effective date. An offense committed before the bill's effective date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For these purposes, an offense was committed before the bill's effective date if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025.