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78R14067 DRH-D


By:  Brown of Kaufman                                             H.B. No. 2119

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2119:                                   

By:  Bohac                                                    C.S.H.B. No. 2119



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to certain duties of local registrars of deaths relating 
to voter registration.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 16.001, Election Code, is amended by 
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read 
as follows:
	(a)  The [Each month the] local registrar of deaths shall 
prepare an abstract of each death certificate issued [in the month] 
for a decedent 18 years of age or older who was a resident of the 
state at the time of death.  The local registrar of deaths shall 
file each abstract with the voter registrar of the decedent's 
county of residence in accordance with Subsection (d) or (e), as 
applicable [not later than the 10th day of the month following the 
month in which the abstract is prepared].
	(d)  A local registrar of deaths that is an officer, 
employee, or department of a municipality shall file each abstract 
as required by Subsection (a) not later than the 10th day of the 
month following the month in which the abstract is prepared.
	(e)  A local registrar of deaths who is a county clerk, 
district clerk, or justice of the peace shall file each abstract as 
required by Subsection (a) not later than the 10th day after the 
date the death certificate is issued.
	SECTION 2.  Effective January 1, 2006, Section 19.002(b), 
Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
	(b)  After June 1 of each year, the comptroller of public 
accounts shall issue warrants pursuant to vouchers submitted by the 
registrar and approved by the secretary of state in amounts that in 
the aggregate do not exceed the registrar's entitlement less any 
amounts deducted under Section 19.0021.  The secretary of state 
shall prescribe the procedures necessary to implement this 
subsection.
	SECTION 3.  Effective January 1, 2006, Chapter 19, Election 
Code, is amended by adding Section 19.0021 to read as follows:
	Sec. 19.0021.  DISPOSITION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION ON 
DECEASED VOTERS.  (a)  At the time a registrar submits a statement 
to the comptroller under Section 19.001(a), the registrar shall 
provide a report to the secretary of state for each person whose 
death is reported in information provided to the registrar under 
Section 16.001(c) in the previous voting year.  The report must be 
in a form prescribed by the secretary of state and indicate:
		(1)  whether the voter registration of the person was 
canceled because the person was a registered voter in the county and 
is deceased; or
		(2)  an explanation as to the person's status.                         
	(b)  The secretary of state shall provide to the comptroller 
the number of persons for whom the registrar has failed to provide 
information to the secretary of state required under Subsection 
(a).
	(c)  From the amount a registrar is entitled under Section 
19.002, the comptroller shall deduct an amount equal to:
		(1)  40 cents multiplied by the number of persons the 
secretary of state identifies under Subsection (b); and
		(2)  20 percent of the total payment the registrar is 
otherwise entitled to receive under Section 19.002.
	(d)  The comptroller shall restore to a registrar's 
entitlement an amount deducted under Subsection (c) if the 
secretary of state notifies the comptroller that the secretary of 
state has received all outstanding information required under 
Subsection (a).
	SECTION 4.  Section 191.022(a), Health and Safety Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The justice of the peace is the local registrar of 
births and deaths in a justice of the peace precinct.  However, the 
duty of registering births and deaths may be transferred to the 
county clerk if the justice of the peace and the county clerk agree 
in writing and the agreement is ratified by the commissioners 
court.  The county shall notify the bureau of vital statistics, in 
the manner required by the state registrar, of the person serving as 
the local registrar for births and deaths in the county. The local 
registrar identified for a county under this subsection is 
responsible for ensuring compliance with Section 191.029.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.