89R5780 LRM-D By: Bucy H.B. No. 1780 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to postage for early voting ballots voted by mail. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 86.002, Election Code, is amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: (a-1) The officially prescribed carrier envelope shall be prepared so that it can be mailed free of United States postage. The secretary of state shall adopt rules necessary for the administration of this subsection. SECTION 2. Section 86.013(a), Election Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) "Carrier Envelope for Early Voting Ballot," the name and official title of the early voting clerk as addressee, [and] the clerk's official mailing address, and an indication that return postage for the envelope and balloting materials is prepaid must be printed on the face of each official carrier envelope for a ballot to be voted by mail. SECTION 3. Section 86.002(e), Election Code, is repealed. SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies 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 as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.