HBA-CMT C.S.H.B. 709 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 709 By: Danburg Elections 4/19/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In the last decade, Texas has experienced a rapid population growth, especially in large urban counties, which has strained the resources of counties to provide the essential voting equipment and personnel needed to conduct elections. C.S.H.B. 709 modifies the provisions governing the maximum number of registered voters that election precincts in certain counties are authorized to contain. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 709 amends the Election Code to provide that the maximum number of registered voters a precinct is authorized to contain in a general election for state and county officers is 3,000 in a county with a population of less than 400,000 and 6,000 in a county with a population larger than 400,000. The bill prohibits an election precinct that is larger than 200 square miles to be combined with an adjacent precinct for the purpose of reaching the maximum number of registered voters a precinct is authorized to contain. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 709 differs the original bill by modifying the maximum number of registered voters a precinct is authorized to contain and population requirements pertaining to the maximum number of registered voters allowed in those precincts. The substitute adds the provision prohibiting an election precinct that is larger than 200 square miles from combining with an adjacent precinct for the purpose of reaching the maximum number of registered voters a precinct is authorized to contain.