By Woolley                                       H.B. No. 684

      75R3121 DRH-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to changing a person's date of birth to a statement of age

 1-3     on certain election documents.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 13.002(c), Election Code, is amended to

 1-6     read as follows:

 1-7           (c)  A registration application must include:

 1-8                 (1)  the applicant's first name, middle name, if any,

 1-9     last name, and former name, if any;

1-10                 (2)  a statement that the applicant is 18 years of age

1-11     or older [the month, day, and year of the applicant's birth];

1-12                 (3)  a statement that the applicant is a United States

1-13     citizen;

1-14                 (4)  a statement that the applicant is a resident of

1-15     the county;

1-16                 (5)  a statement that the applicant has not been

1-17     determined mentally incompetent by a final judgment of a court;

1-18                 (6)  a statement that the applicant has not been

1-19     finally convicted of a felony or that the applicant is a felon

1-20     eligible for registration under Section 13.001;

1-21                 (7)  the applicant's residence address or, if the

1-22     residence has no address, the address at which the applicant

1-23     receives mail and a concise description of the location of the

1-24     applicant's residence;

 2-1                 (8)  if the application is made by an agent, a

 2-2     statement of the agent's relationship to the applicant;  and

 2-3                 (9)  the city and county in which the applicant

 2-4     formerly resided.

 2-5           SECTION 2.  Section 141.031, Election Code, is amended to

 2-6     read as follows:

 2-7           Sec. 141.031.  GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION.  A

 2-8     candidate's application for a place on the ballot that is required

 2-9     by this code must:

2-10                 (1)  be in writing;

2-11                 (2)  be signed and sworn to by the candidate and

2-12     indicate the date that the candidate swears to the application;

2-13                 (3)  be timely filed with the appropriate authority;

2-14     and

2-15                 (4)  include:

2-16                       (A)  the candidate's name;

2-17                       (B)  the candidate's occupation;

2-18                       (C)  the office sought, including any place

2-19     number or other distinguishing number;

2-20                       (D)  an indication of whether the office sought

2-21     is to be filled for a full or unexpired term if the office sought

2-22     and another office to be voted on have the same title but do not

2-23     have place numbers or other distinguishing numbers;

2-24                       (E)  a statement that the candidate is a United

2-25     States citizen;

2-26                       (F)  a statement that the candidate has not been

2-27     determined mentally incompetent by a final judgment of a court;

 3-1                       (G)  a statement that the candidate has not been

 3-2     finally convicted of a felony from which the candidate has not been

 3-3     pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;

 3-4                       (H)  a statement that the candidate will meet the

 3-5     minimum age requirements for the office sought on the first day of

 3-6     the term to be filled at the election [the candidate's date of

 3-7     birth];

 3-8                       (I)  the candidate's residence address or, if the

 3-9     residence has no address, the address at which the candidate

3-10     receives mail and a concise description of the location of the

3-11     candidate's residence;

3-12                       (J)  the candidate's length of continuous

3-13     residence in the state and in the territory from which the office

3-14     sought is elected as of the date the candidate swears to the

3-15     application;

3-16                       (K)  the statement:  "I, __________, of

3-17     __________ County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of

3-18     __________, swear that I will support and defend the constitution

3-19     and laws of the United States and of the State of Texas";  and

3-20                       (L)  a statement that the candidate is aware of

3-21     the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code.

3-22           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

3-23           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-24     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-25     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-26     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-27     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.