HBA-DMD C.S.H.B. 311 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 311 By: Madden Elections 4/30/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, election polling places require equipment and personnel which can be very costly to a county with precincts with small or no population. C.S.H.B. 311 authorizes the commissioners court to submit recommendations to the governing body of a city concerning the elimination of county election precincts with small or no population after wards of the city with a population of 10,000 or more have undergone redistricting. This bill requires the commissioners court, after the redistricting of a commissioners precinct and a justice precinct, to consider the changes to the territorial units to allow the county to eliminate county election precincts with no population or a substantially small population. This bill also authorizes the commissioners court, after the redistricting of a congressional district, a state representative district, a state senatorial district, and a State Board of Education district, to submit recommendations to the secretary of state on changes to the territorial units to allow the county to eliminate county election precincts with no population or a substantially small population. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 42, Election Code, by adding Section 42.010, as follows: Sec. 42.010. RECOMMENDATION ON ELIMINATION OF LESS POPULOUS PRECINCTS. (a) Authorizes the commissioners court to submit recommendations to the governing body of a city concerning the elimination of county election precincts with small or no population after wards of the city with a population of 10,000 or more have undergone redistricting. (b) Requires the commissioners court, after the redistricting of a commissioners precinct and a justice precinct, to consider the changes to the territorial units to allow the county to eliminate county election precincts with no population or a substantially small population. (c) Authorizes the commissioners court, after the redistricting of a congressional district, a state representative district, a state senatorial district, and a State Board of Education district, to submit recommendations to the secretary of state (secretary) on changes to the territorial units to allow the county to eliminate county election precincts with no population or a substantially small population. (d) Establishes that the recommendations submitted to the secretary must be submitted in the manner prescribed by the secretary. (e) Requires the secretary to evaluate all timely submitted recommendations and to compile those recommendations for the elimination of the county election precincts in a manner consistent with state and federal law. (f) Requires the secretary to file a report containing the information described in Subsection (e) with the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives, not later than the date the first regular legislative session convenes after redistricting of a territorial unit, and if the information submitted is insufficient for the compilation required, the secretary is required to include a statement in the report to that effect. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE This substitute modifies proposed Section 42.010, Election Code, in SECTION 1, by authorizing the commissioners court to submit recommendations to the governing body of a city, rather than the secretary of state (secretary), concerning the elimination of county election precincts with small or no population, after the redistricting of wards of a city with a population of 10,000 or more, rather than territorial units of a congressional district, a state representative district, a state senatorial district, or a State Board of Education district. Also, in SECTION 1: This substitute redesignates proposed Subsections (b)-(d) to proposed Subsections (d)-(f), respectively. This substitute adds new Subsection (b) to require the commissioners court, after the redistricting of a commissioners precinct and a justice precinct, to consider the changes to the territorial units to allow the county to eliminate county election precincts with no population or a substantially small population. This substitute adds new Subsection (c) to authorize the commissioners court, after the redistricting of a congressional district, a state representative district, a state senatorial district, and a State Board of Education district, to submit recommendations to the secretary on charges to the territorial units to allow the county to eliminate county election precincts with no population or a substantially small population. This substitute modifies proposed Subsection (e), by removing the specification that the secretary compile only those recommendations that the secretary determines will allow for the elimination of county election precincts in a manner consistent with state and federal law, thus requiring the secretary to compile all recommendations for the elimination of the county election precincts in a manner consistent with state and federal law. Makes a conforming change. This substitute makes conforming changes in proposed Subsection (f).