SRC-SEW S.B. 1491 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research Center S.B. 1491 77R9319 GGS-FBy: Shapleigh State Affairs 3/22/2001 As Filed DIGEST AND PURPOSE Current law stipulates that a roster be maintained and updated daily that lists each person who votes an "early voting" ballot by personal appearance in order to facilitate public disclosure and higher levels of voter participation. However, there is a concern that the immediate posting of this roster may conflict with open records laws which allow for a delay of up to 10 days before requested records are released. Such a delay in posting of the roster would defeat a major purpose of this election law. As proposed, S.B. 1491 eliminates statutory ambiguity by specifying that personal appearance early voting rosters be made available for public inspection not later than the beginning of business hours on the day following the day the information is entered on the roster. 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 87.121, Election Code, by adding Subsection (g), to require information on the roster for a person who votes an early voting ballot by personal appearance to be made available for public inspection by a certain date. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2001.