By: Vasut, Geren, Swanson (Senate Sponsor - Taylor) H.B. No. 1987

(In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 2021; May 13, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; May 24, 2021, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 24, 2021, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to eligibility requirements to hold a political party office.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 161.005, Election Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for or to serve as an officer [a county or precinct chair] of a political party, a person must:

(1) [be a qualified voter of the county; and

[(2)] except as provided by Subsection (c), not be a candidate for nomination or election to, or be the holder of, an elective office of the federal, state, or county government; and

(2) if the office is a county or precinct chair of a political party, be a qualified voter of the county.

(a-1) For purposes of this section, the following are officers of a political party: precinct chair, county chair, and a member, vice chair, and chair of a state executive committee of a political party.

(c) A candidate for nomination or election to, or the holder of, an elective office of the federal, state, or county government is eligible to serve as an officer [a county or precinct chair] of a political party to which Chapter 181 applies.

SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a candidate for nomination or election to an office the term of which begins on or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.

* * * * *