Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5222 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R14440 JDK-D
2	2	By: Virdell H.B. No. 5222
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the eligibility of persons finally convicted of a
10	10	felony to run for certain public offices.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 141.001, Election Code, is amended by
13	13	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-4) to read as
14	14	follows:
15	15	(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or
16	16	appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:
17	17	(1) be a United States citizen;
18	18	(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the
19	19	term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as
20	20	applicable;
21	21	(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a
22	22	court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
23	23	(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or
24	24	(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the
25	25	right to vote;
26	26	(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony
27	27	described by Subsection (a-4) from which the person has not been
28	28	pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;
29	29	(5) have resided continuously in the state for 12
30	30	months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six
31	31	months immediately preceding the following date:
32	32	(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a
33	33	general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing
34	34	deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;
35	35	(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the
36	36	regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place
37	37	on the ballot;
38	38	(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the
39	39	election at which the candidate's name is written in;
40	40	(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any
41	41	method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is
42	42	made; and
43	43	(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the
44	44	appointment is made;
45	45	(6) on the date described by Subdivision (5), be
46	46	registered to vote in the territory from which the office is
47	47	elected;
48	48	(7) if convicted of a felony not described by
49	49	Subsection (a-4), have:
50	50	(A) fully discharged the sentence, including any
51	51	term of incarceration, parole, or supervision, or completed a
52	52	period of probation ordered by any court; or
53	53	(B) been pardoned or otherwise released from the
54	54	resulting disabilities; and
55	55	(8) [(7)] satisfy any other eligibility requirements
56	56	prescribed by law for the office.
57	57	(a-4) Subsection (a)(4) applies only to a felony:
58	58	(1) that has as an element the intentional or knowing
59	59	use, attempted use, or threatened use of force; or
60	60	(2) under any of the following provisions of the Penal
61	61	Code:
62	62	(A) Title 5;
63	63	(B) Section 25.02;
64	64	(C) Section 25.04;
65	65	(D) Section 25.08;
66	66	(E) Section 28.02;
67	67	(F) Chapter 29;
68	68	(G) Section 30.02;
69	69	(H) Section 42.02;
70	70	(I) Section 42.072;
71	71	(J) Section 42.09;
72	72	(K) Section 42.091;
73	73	(L) Section 42.092;
74	74	(M) Section 42.10;
75	75	(N) Section 42.105;
76	76	(O) Section 43.05;
77	77	(P) Section 43.25;
78	78	(Q) Section 43.251;
79	79	(R) Section 76.02;
80	80	(S) Section 76.03; or
81	81	(T) Section 76.04.
82	82	SECTION 2. Sections 141.031(a) and (a-1), Election Code,
83	83	are amended to read as follows:
84	84	(a) A candidate's application for a place on the ballot that
85	85	is required by this code must:
86	86	(1) be in writing;
87	87	(2) be signed and sworn to before a person authorized
88	88	to administer oaths in this state by the candidate and indicate the
89	89	date that the candidate swears to the application;
90	90	(3) be timely filed with the appropriate authority;
91	91	and
92	92	(4) include:
93	93	(A) the candidate's name;
94	94	(B) the candidate's occupation;
95	95	(C) the office sought, including any place number
96	96	or other distinguishing number;
97	97	(D) an indication of whether the office sought is
98	98	to be filled for a full or unexpired term if the office sought and
99	99	another office to be voted on have the same title but do not have
100	100	place numbers or other distinguishing numbers;
101	101	(E) a statement that the candidate is a United
102	102	States citizen;
103	103	(F) a statement that the candidate has not been
104	104	determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate
105	105	jurisdiction to be:
106	106	(i) totally mentally incapacitated; or
107	107	(ii) partially mentally incapacitated
108	108	without the right to vote;
109	109	(G) an indication that the candidate has either
110	110	not been finally convicted of a felony described by Section
111	111	141.001(a-4) or if so convicted has been pardoned or otherwise
112	112	released from the resulting disabilities;
113	113	(H) the candidate's date of birth;
114	114	(I) the candidate's residence address or, if the
115	115	residence has no address, the address at which the candidate
116	116	receives mail and a concise description of the location of the
117	117	candidate's residence;
118	118	(J) the candidate's length of continuous
119	119	residence in the state and in the territory from which the office
120	120	sought is elected as of the date the candidate swears to the
121	121	application;
122	122	(K) the statement: "I, __________, of __________
123	123	County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of __________,
124	124	swear that I will support and defend the constitution and laws of
125	125	the United States and of the State of Texas";
126	126	(L) a statement that the candidate is aware of
127	127	the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code; [and]
128	128	(M) a public mailing address at which the
129	129	candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's
130	130	campaign, if available, and an electronic mail address at which the
131	131	candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's
132	132	campaign, if available; and
133	133	(N) an indication that the candidate has either
134	134	not been finally convicted of a felony other than a felony described
135	135	by Section 141.001(a-4), or if so convicted has:
136	136	(i) fully discharged the sentence,
137	137	including any term of incarceration, parole, or supervision, or
138	138	completed a period of probation ordered by any court; or
139	139	(ii) been pardoned or otherwise released
140	140	from the resulting disabilities.
141	141	(a-1) A person who has been convicted of a felony shall
142	142	include in the application proof that the person is eligible for
143	143	public office under Section 141.001(a)(4) or (a)(7).
144	144	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
145	145	the eligibility requirements for a candidate or officer whose term
146	146	of office will begin on or after the effective date of this Act. The
147	147	eligibility requirements for a candidate or officer whose term of
148	148	office will begin before the effective date of this Act are governed
149	149	by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this
150	150	Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
151	151	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.