Honorable Bryan Hughes, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB2433 by Bettencourt (relating to certain election practices and procedures; increasing a criminal penalty; providing an administrative penalty.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Among other provisions, the bill would increase the criminal penalty for a presiding judge knowingly failing to provide applicable information or failing to complete precinct returns in time for timely delivery, and would authorize the Secretary of State to supervise the completion of election returns and assess an administrative penalty for failure to comply with a request made as part of a randomized county audit. It is assumed that any fiscal impact and any impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources would not be significant.
Local Government Impact
There could be an impact on certain counties related to the requirements the bill would impose on certain election officials with respect to elections reporting, polling places designation, the delivery of provisional ballots and election records, and the processing of electronic voting system results. It is assumed that any fiscal impact to units of local government associated with enforcement, prosecution, supervision, or confinement per the criminal penalty would not be significant.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 307 Secretary of State, 405 Department of Public Safety