HBA-CBW S.B. 1199 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1199 By: Barrientos Judicial Affairs 5/7/2001 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a prospective primary election candidate for certain judicial offices in a county with 850,000 or fewer residents is only required to complete an application and pay a filing fee by a certain deadline. However, in counties with a population of more than 850,000, candidates are required to submit a petition signed by 250 supporters in addition to an application and a filing fee. Without such a petition, candidates who are not seriously seeking a particular office may easily get on the ballot, resulting in extra expenditures for candidates who are seriously seeking office. Reducing the population requirement for candidates who must submit a petition may decrease the additional expenditures that result from the candidacy of such persons. Senate Bill 1199 requires a candidate for certain judicial offices in a county with a population of more than 725,000, rather than more than 850,000, to submit a petition signed by supporters in addition to an application and a filing fee. 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 Senate Bill 1199 amends the Election Code to provide that a candidate for chief justice or justice of a court of appeals, district or criminal district judge, judge of a statutory county court, or justice of the peace in a county with a population of more than 725,000, rather than more than 850,000, who chooses to pay the filing fee must also accompany the application with a petition that complies with the requirements prescribed for the petition. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Committee Amendment No. 1 reduces the population requirement of a county from 725,000 to 300,000 to which the provisions of the bill apply.