SRC-SEW C.S.S.B. 1424 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterC.S.S.B. 1424
77R11469 DRH-DBy: Brown, J.  E.  "Buster"
State Affairs
4/3/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

After the 2000 presidential election, the Texas Election Code was analyzed
to identify what statutory changes could be made to avoid the voting
difficulties encountered by members of the armed forces of the United
States who live in Florida.  As a result of that analysis, C.S.S.B. 1424
increases the time period that balloting materials for voting by mail are
made available to voters from 45 days prior to the election date to 55 days
before the election date and mandates that county clerks return problematic
mail ballots or Federal Post Card Application ballot requests to voters
within two working days if received within a certain time frame.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 86.004, Election Code, to require the balloting
materials for voting by mail to be mailed to voters as soon as practicable
after the ballots become available but not earlier than the 55th (rather
than the 45th) day before election day. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 86.011(d), Election Code, to require the clerk,
notwithstanding any other provisions of this code, if the clerk receives a
timely carrier envelope before the seventh day before election day that
does not fully comply with the applicable requirements prescribed by this
title, to return the carrier envelope by mail to the voter not later than
the second day after the date the envelope is received.  Requires the
clerk, if the clerk receives a timely carrier envelope on or after the
seventh day before election day, to, if possible, notify the voter of the
defect by telephone and advise the voter that the voter may come to the
clerk's office in person to correct the defect or cancel the voter's
application to vote by mail and vote on election day. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 2001.  

SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE CHANGES

SECTION 1.  Omits text from original proposed SECTION 1 adding Section
82.006, Election Code, regarding emergency military deployment.
Redesignates text from original SECTION 2 as SECTION 1 and amends text to
require the balloting material for voting by mail to become available no
earlier than the 55th, rather than the 60th, day before election day.   

SECTION 2.  Redesignates text from original SECTION 3 as SECTION 2 and
makes a nonsubstantive change.   

SECTION 3.  Redesignates text from original SECTION 4 as SECTION 3.  No
changes in text.