BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3069

By: Bohac

Elections

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, the process to register to vote after moving includes an extra step in the statement of residence confirmation that could be eliminated by streamlining the process from county to county. 

C.S.H.B. 3069 changes requirements for the content of a confirmation notice of a voter's current residence, a confirmation notice response form, and a statement submitted to an election officer before being accepted for voting and requires the secretary of state to prescribe official forms for these purposes.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3069 amends the Election Code to require the officially prescribed form for a confirmation notice of a voter's current residence to include a statement that the voter must include all of the required information on the official confirmation notice response form.  The bill requires the form to provide spaces for the voter to include all of the information that a person must include in an application to register to vote and requires the response to the confirmation notice to contain all of the information that a person must include in such an application.  The bill requires the registrar to act in accordance with provisions relating to required procedures for action on an application for voter registration.  The bill requires the statement a voter must execute and submit to an election officer before being accepted for voting to include all of the information that a person must include in an application to register to vote.  The bill removes language that requires the statement to include the voter's residence address or, if the residence has no address, the address at which the voter receives mail and a concise description of the location of the voter's residence, and the month, day, and year of the voter's birth.

C.S.H.B. 3069 requires the secretary of state, not later than September 1, 2009, to prescribe official forms for a confirmation notice and confirmation notice response and a form that may be used for the statement of residence that meet the requirements of these provisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 3069 adds a provision not in the original to require the registrar to act in accordance with provisions relating to required procedures for action on an application for voter registration.