1-1 By: Thompson (Senate Sponsor - Armbrister) H.B. No. 1140
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 1999;
1-3 May 12, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
1-4 Justice; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to notice to voter registrars concerning persons convicted
1-9 of a felony.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Section 16.003, Election Code, is amended to read
1-12 as follows:
1-13 Sec. 16.003. FELONY CONVICTION. (a) Each month the
1-14 Department of Public Safety shall prepare an abstract of
1-15 information received under Chapter 60, Code of Criminal Procedure,
1-16 [both the clerk of each court having felony jurisdiction] and the
1-17 institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
1-18 shall prepare an abstract of each final judgment of a court [served
1-19 by the clerk or] received by the institutional division, [ as
1-20 applicable,] occurring in the month, convicting a person 18 years
1-21 of age or older who is a resident of the state of a felony.
1-22 (b) The Department of Public Safety [clerk] and the
1-23 institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
1-24 shall file each abstract with the voter registrar of the person's
1-25 county of residence within a reasonable period and in accordance
1-26 with guidelines adopted by the respective agency [not later than
1-27 the 10th day of the month following the month in which the
1-28 abstract is prepared].
1-29 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-30 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
1-31 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-32 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-33 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-34 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-35 * * * * *