78R2405 JRJ-D

By:  Brimer                                                       S.B. No. 757



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the application for a candidate to be placed on the 
general primary election ballot.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Sections 172.021(b) and (e), Election Code, are 
amended to read as follows:
	(b)  An application must, in addition to complying with 
Section 141.031, be accompanied by the appropriate filing fee or[, 
instead of the filing fee,] a petition in lieu of the filing fee
that satisfies the requirements prescribed by Section 141.062.  A 
political party may not require payment of a fee as a condition to 
applying for a place on the ballot as a candidate for county chair 
or precinct chair.
	(e)  A candidate for an office specified by Section 
172.024(a)(8), (10), or (12), or for justice of the peace in a 
county with a population of more than 850,000, who chooses to pay 
the filing fee must also accompany the application with a petition 
for a place on the primary ballot as a candidate for judicial office
that complies with the requirements prescribed for the petition 
authorized by Subsection (b), except that the minimum number of 
signatures that must appear on the petition required by this 
subsection is 250.  If the candidate chooses to file the petition 
authorized by Subsection (b) in lieu [instead] of the filing fee, 
the minimum number of signatures required for that petition is 
increased by 250.  Signatures on a petition filed under this 
subsection or Subsection (b) by a candidate covered by this 
subsection may not be obtained on the grounds of a county courthouse 
or courthouse annex.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.