By: Denny, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Ellis) H.B. No. 56
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 20, 2005;
April 21, 2005, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 16, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
May 16, 2005, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 56 By: Armbrister
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the offense of tampering with a direct recording
electronic voting machine; providing criminal penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 33, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 33.05 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.05. TAMPERING WITH DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC
VOTING MACHINE. (a) In this section:
(1) "Direct recording electronic voting machine" has
the meaning assigned by Section 121.003, Election Code.
(2) "Measure" has the meaning assigned by Section
1.005, Election Code.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
accesses a computer, computer network, computer program, computer
software, or computer system that is a part of a voting system that
uses direct recording electronic voting machines and by means of
that access:
(1) prevents a person from lawfully casting a vote;
(2) changes a lawfully cast vote;
(3) prevents a lawfully cast vote from being counted;
or
(4) causes a vote that was not lawfully cast to be
counted.
(c) An offense under this section does not require that the
votes as affected by the person's actions described by Subsection
(b) actually be the votes used in the official determination of the
outcome of the election.
(d) An offense under this section is a felony of the first
degree.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 15.01(d), an offense under
Section 15.01(a) is a felony of the third degree if the offense the
actor intends to commit is an offense under this section.
SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
before the effective date.
(b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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