HBA-NLM H.B. 114 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 114 By: Smith Public Education 4/19/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the deadline for a declaration of write-in candidacy in a school board election is the 30th day before the election. The deadline for the declaration of a write-in candidacy in a city-wide election is the 45th day before the election, which cannot account for the uncertainty of the unopposed status of the school board elections. Under Section 2.052 of the Election Code, an election cannot be announced as unopposed until the deadline. This 15-day disparity does not permit a city or district to provide a joint ballot containing the races of both city wide offices and school board positions. H.B.114 will require a candidate in a school board election to file for a declaration of write-in candidacy prior to the 45th day before an election. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 11.056(b), Education Code, as follows: (b) Requires a declaration of write-in candidacy be filed by 5 p.m. of the 45th day before election day, rather than on the fifth day after the date an application for a place on the ballot must be filed. Authorizes a declaration of write-in candidacy for the office sought by the deceased or ineligible candidate be filed no later than 5 p.m. on the 42nd day before the election if a candidate whose name is to appear on the ballot dies or is declared ineligible after the 48th day before the election. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1,1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.