79R2297 JRJ-D

By:  Brown of Kaufman                                             H.B. No. 516



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to requiring proof of citizenship at the time a person 
registers to vote.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 13.002, Election Code, is amended by 
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read 
as follows:
	(c)  A registration application must include:                                  
		(1)  the applicant's first name, middle name, if any, 
last name, and former name, if any;
		(2)  the month, day, and year of the applicant's birth;                       
		(3)  a statement that the applicant is a United States 
citizen;             
		(4)  a statement that the applicant is a resident of the 
county;            
		(5)  a statement that the applicant has not been 
determined mentally incompetent by a final judgment of a court;
		(6)  a statement that the applicant has not been 
finally convicted of a felony or that the applicant is a felon 
eligible for registration under Section 13.001;
		(7)  the applicant's residence address or, if the 
residence has no address, the address at which the applicant 
receives mail and a concise description of the location of the 
applicant's residence;
		(8)  the following information:                                               
			(A)  the applicant's Texas driver's license number 
or the number of a personal identification card issued by the 
Department of Public Safety;
			(B)  if the applicant has not been issued a number 
described by Paragraph (A), the last four digits of the applicant's 
social security number; or
			(C)  a statement by the applicant that the 
applicant has not been issued a number described by Paragraph (A) or 
(B);
		(9)  if the application is made by an agent, a statement 
of the agent's relationship to the applicant; [and]
		(10)  the city and county in which the applicant 
formerly resided; and
		(11)  a copy of a document providing proof that the 
applicant is a United States citizen.
	(e)  The following documentation is acceptable as proof of 
citizenship under Subsection (c)(11):
		(1)  a driver's license or personal identification card 
issued to the applicant by the Department of Public Safety or a 
similar document issued to the applicant by an agency of another 
state, if the department or the agency of another state indicates on 
the driver's license or personal identification card that the 
applicant has provided proof that the applicant is a United States 
citizen;
		(2)  a birth certificate or other document confirming 
birth that is admissible in a court of law;
		(3)  United States citizenship papers issued to the 
applicant; or    
		(4)  a United States passport issued to the applicant.                 
	(f)  Proof of registration as a voter in another state or 
county is not acceptable as proof of citizenship under Subsection 
(c)(11).
	SECTION 2.  Section 13.121(a), Election Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
	(a)  The officially prescribed application form for 
registration by mail must be in the form of [a] business reply mail
[postcard], unless another form or system is used under Subsection 
(b), with postage paid by the state. The secretary of state shall 
design the form to enhance the legibility of its contents.
	SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only 
to an application for voter registration that is submitted on or 
after the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.