HBA-RBT, MAJ H.B. 940 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 940
By: King, Tracy
Elections
4/12/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, presiding and alternate judges must be from different political
parties.  The process calls for the county chair of a party whose political
candidate for governor received the highest or second highest number of
votes in the county in the most recent gubernatorial general election to
submit in writing to the commissioner's court a list of names of persons
for appointment as an election judge. The commissioner's court shall
appoint the first person meeting the applicable eligibility requirements
from the list submitted. H.B. 940 deletes the requirement that the election
judge must be affiliated with different political parties.  This bill
requires the county clerk to recommend a presiding judge and an alternate
for each precinct and submit a list of the recommendations to the
commissioners court 

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 Sections 32.002(c) and (d), Election Code, as follows:

(c)  Deletes existing text of Subsection (c) relating to the provision that
the presiding judge and alternate presiding judge must be affiliated or
aligned with different political parties.  Deletes the text relating to the
requirement that the county chair of a political party whose candidate for
governor received the highest number of votes in the county in the most
recent election submit in writing a list of names of persons for
appointment as an election judge to the commissioners court before July of
each year.  Redesignated from existing Subsection (d). 

(d)  Requires the county clerk to recommend a presiding judge and an
alternate presiding judge for each precinct.  Requires the county clerk to
submit a list of the recommendations to the commissioners court.  Requires
the county clerk to recommend an appointee for each unexpired term.
Requires the court to consider the clerk's recommendation before making an
appointment.  Deletes existing text of Subsection (d) relating to the
requirement that the county clerk notify the county chair of the same
political party with which the original election judge was affiliated or
aligned of the vacancy in the position of election judge no later than 48
hours after the county clerk becomes aware of the vacancy.  Deletes the
text relating to the requirement that the county chair of the same
political party with which the original election judge was affiliated or
aligned submit in writing to the commissioners court the name of a person
who is eligible for the appointment of election judge no later than the
fifth day after the date of notification of the vacancy.  Deletes the text
relating to the requirement that the commissioners court appoint the name
submitted or an eligible person who is affiliated or aligned with the same
party in the vacant position of election judge.   

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.