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78R17465 DRH-D
By: Ellis S.B. No. 1611
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1611:
By: Harper-Brown C.S.S.B. No. 1611
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the determination and clarification of certain dates,
deadlines, and procedures under the Election Code.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1.006, Election Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 1.006. EFFECT OF WEEKEND OR HOLIDAY. (a) If the last
day for performance of an act is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal state
or national holiday, the act is timely if performed on the next
regular business day, except as otherwise provided by this code.
(b) If the last day for performance of an act is extended
under Subsection (a), the extended date is used to determine any
other dates and deadlines, and the dates or times of any related
procedures, that are expressly required to be made on a date or at a
time determined in relation to the last day for performance of the
act.
(c) A declaration of ineligibility of a candidate is
considered to be the performance of an act under this section for
purposes of causing the candidate's name to be omitted from the
ballot.
(d) The filing of a document, including a withdrawal request
or resignation, is considered to be the performance of an act under
this section for purposes of creating a vacancy to be filled at a
subsequent election.
(e) The death of a person is not considered to be the
performance of an act under this section.
SECTION 2. Sections 41.001(a) and (b), Election Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this subchapter, each
general or special election in this state shall be held on one of
the following dates:
(1) [the first Saturday in February;
[(2)] the third [first] Saturday in May;
[(3) the second Saturday in September;] or
(2) [(4)] the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
November.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to:
(1) a runoff election;
(2) [an election for the issuance or assumption of
bonds for any purpose authorized by law relating to public schools
or colleges or the levy of a tax for the maintenance of a public
school or college, if the governing body of the political
subdivision having jurisdiction of the public school or college
issuing or assuming the bonds or levying the tax:
[(A) by resolution, order, or ordinance, finds
that holding the election on a date other than a uniform election
date is in the public interest, which finding is conclusive and
incontestable; and
[(B) the election is the only election of the
type described by this subdivision held by that political
subdivision on a date other than a uniform election date during the
state fiscal biennium;
[(3)] an election to resolve a tie vote;
(3) [(4)] an election held under an order of a court or
other tribunal;
(4) [(5)] an emergency election ordered under Section
41.0011;
(5) [(6)] an expedited election to fill a vacancy in
the legislature held under Section 203.013; or
(6) [(7)] an election held under a statute that
expressly provides that the requirement of Subsection (a) does not
apply to the election.
SECTION 3. Section 41.001(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) In addition to a date prescribed by Subsection (a), an
[An] election for an office in which a majority vote is required and
that is [may not be held on the September or February uniform
election date. This subsection does not apply to an election]
conducted under Section 26.045, Local Government Code, may be held
on the first Saturday in February or the second Saturday in
September, which are considered to be dates that comply with
Subsection (a) and Section 26.045, Local Government Code.
SECTION 4. Section 41.0052(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The governing body of a political subdivision other than
a county may, not later than December 31, 2003 [1999], change the
date on which it holds its general election for officers to another
authorized uniform election date. An election on the new date may
not be held before 2004 [2000].
SECTION 5. Section 67.003, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 67.003. TIME FOR LOCAL CANVASS. Each local canvassing
authority shall convene to conduct the local canvass at the time set
by the canvassing authority's presiding officer:
(1) on the seventh day after election day for:
(A) the general election for state and county
officers; or
(B) an election of a political subdivision that
is held jointly with an election of:
(i) a county; or
(ii) one or more other political
subdivisions under an election services contract with the county
election officer; or
(2) not earlier than the third day or later than the
sixth day after election day for an election other than an [the
general] election described by Subdivision (1) [for state and
county officers].
SECTION 6. Section 86.007(d), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) A marked ballot voted by mail that arrives after the
time prescribed by Subsection (a) shall be counted if:
(1) the ballot was cast from an address outside the
United States;
(2) the carrier envelope was placed for delivery
before the time the ballot is required to arrive under Subsection
(a); and
(3) the ballot arrives at the address on the carrier
envelope not later than:
(A) the fifth day after the date of:
(i) the general election for state and
county officers; or
(ii) an election of a political subdivision
that is held jointly with an election of:
(a) a county; or
(b) one or more political
subdivisions under an election services contract with the county
election officer; or
(B) the second day after the date of an election
other than an [the general] election described by Paragraph (A)
[for state and county officers].
SECTION 7. Section 87.125(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The early voting ballot board shall convene to count
ballots voted by mail described by Section 86.007(d) at the time set
by the presiding judge of the board [on]:
(1) on the sixth day after the date of:
(A) the [a] general election for state and county
officers; or
(B) an election of a political subdivision that
is held jointly with an election of:
(i) a county; or
(ii) one or more political subdivisions
under an election services contract with the county election
officer;
(2) on the second [fifth] day after the date of a
primary [or special] election, at a time following the last mail
delivery, or on an earlier day or at an earlier time if the early
voting clerk certifies that all ballots mailed from outside the
United States have been received; or
(3) not earlier than the third day or later than the
fifth day after the date of an election other than an election
described by Subdivision (1) or (2).
SECTION 8. Section 143.005(a), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A city charter may prescribe requirements in connection
with a candidate's application for a place on the ballot for an
office of a home-rule city. This section does not authorize a city
charter requirement in connection with the timely filing of an
application, and any charter requirement related to an
application's timely filing is superseded by Section 143.007 and
other applicable filing provisions prescribed by this code.
SECTION 9. Section 172.029(c), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Not later than the fifth [10th] day after the date of the
regular filing deadline for candidates' applications, the state
chair shall deliver the chair's list to the secretary of state, and
each county chair shall deliver a copy of the chair's list to the
county clerk, the state chair, and the secretary of state.
SECTION 10. Section 41.253(b), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The transitional board of trustees shall divide the
consolidated district into nine single-member trustee districts in
accordance with the procedures provided by Section 11.052. The
transitional board shall order an election for the initial board of
trustees to be held on the first May [February] uniform election
date after the effective date of a consolidation order.
SECTION 11. Section 49.103(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An election shall be held on the uniform election date,
established by the Election Code, in [either February or] May of
each even-numbered year to elect the appropriate number of
directors.
SECTION 12. Section 56.804(a), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The election shall be held on a uniform election day in
[February or] May.
SECTION 13. Section 41.001(d), Election Code, is repealed.
SECTION 14. Not later than December 31, 2003, a political
subdivision that before October 1, 2003, held its general election
for officers on the February or September uniform election date or
on the first Saturday in May shall change the election date as
permitted by Section 41.0052, Election Code, as amended by this
Act, to a date authorized by Section 41.001, Election Code, as
amended by this Act.
SECTION 15. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and
(c) of this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
(b) This section and Sections 1 and 8 of this Act take effect
immediately if this Act 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 section and Sections 1 and 8 of
this Act take effect September 1, 2003.
(c) Sections 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of this Act take
effect October 1, 2003, and apply only to an election ordered on or
after that date.