81R2374 JRJ-D

By: Hilderbran H.B. No. 3832

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the requirements to become a candidate for public office; creating an offense.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 141.001(a), Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:

(1) be a United States citizen;

(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as applicable;

(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:

(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or

(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote;

(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;

(5) have resided continuously in the state for two years [12 months] and in the territory from which the office is elected for one year [six months] immediately preceding the following date:

(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;

(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;

(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the election at which the candidate's name is written in;

(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is made; and

(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the appointment is made; [and]

(6) not have been convicted of an offense under Section 141.040 in the previous 24 months; and

(7) satisfy any other eligibility requirements prescribed by law for the office.

SECTION 2. Section 141.002(a), Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Instead of the one year [six-month] residence requirement prescribed by Section 141.001(a)(5), a candidate for or appointee to a precinct office must be a resident of the precinct on the date prescribed by Section 141.001(a)(5) and must have resided continuously in the county in which the precinct is located for one year [six months] immediately preceding that date if an order creating the precinct or changing the boundary of the precinct:

(1) was adopted less than 13 [seven] months before that date; or

(2) was in litigation at any time during the 13th [seventh] month immediately preceding that date.

SECTION 3. Section 141.003, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 141.003. AGE AND RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR HOME-RULE CITY OFFICE. (a) Different age and residence requirements from those prescribed by Section 141.001 may be prescribed by a home-rule city charter, but a minimum age may not be more than 21 years and a minimum length of residence in the state or city may not be more than two years [12 months] immediately preceding election day.

(b) A charter provision is void if it prescribes a minimum age requirement of more than 21 years or a minimum length of residence requirement of more than two years [12 months].

SECTION 4. Section 141.031, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 141.031. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION. A candidate's application for a place on the ballot that is required by this code must:

(1) be in writing;

(2) be signed and sworn to by the candidate and indicate the date that the candidate swears to the application;

(3) be timely filed with the appropriate authority; and

(4) include:

(A) the candidate's name;

(B) the candidate's occupation;

(C) the office sought, including any place number or other distinguishing number;

(D) an indication of whether the office sought is to be filled for a full or unexpired term if the office sought and another office to be voted on have the same title but do not have place numbers or other distinguishing numbers;

(E) a statement that the candidate is a United States citizen;

(F) a statement that the candidate has not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:

(i) totally mentally incapacitated; or

(ii) partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote;

(G) a statement that the candidate has not been finally convicted of a felony from which the candidate has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;

(H) the candidate's date of birth;

(I) the candidate's residence address or, if the residence has no address, the address at which the candidate receives mail and a concise description of the location of the candidate's residence;

(J) the candidate's length of continuous residence in the state and in the territory from which the office sought is elected as of the date the candidate swears to the application;

(K) the statement: "I, __________, of __________ County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of __________, swear that I will support and defend the constitution and laws of the United States and of the State of Texas"; [and]

(L) a statement that the candidate is aware of the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code; and

(M) the statement: "I, __________, of __________ County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of __________, swear that I am not currently violating the constitution or laws of the United States and of the State of Texas.".

SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 141, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 141.040 to read as follows:

Sec. 141.040. PROVIDING FALSE INFORMATION ON APPLICATION. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly provides false information on an application for a place on the ballot.

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to the eligibility requirements for a candidate whose term of office will begin on or after the effective date of this Act. The eligibility requirements for a candidate whose term of office will begin before the effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.