Amend HB 2817 on third reading by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTIONS to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:

SECTION ____. Section 43.007, Election Code, is amended by adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:

(k) Each county that previously participated in a program under this section is authorized to continue participation in the program for future elections described by Subsection (a) if:

(1) the commissioners court of the county approves participation in the program; and

(2) the secretary of state determines the county's participation in the program was successful.

(l) Subsections (b), (c), and (d) do not apply to a county participating in the program under Subsection (k).

SECTION ____. Subchapter E, Chapter 127, Election Code, is amended by adding Section 127.1311 to read as follows:

Sec. 127.1311. ANNOUNCING UNOFFICIAL RESULTS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), unofficial election results shall be released as soon as they are available after the polls close.

(b) The presiding judge of the central counting station, in cooperation with the county clerk, may withhold the release of unofficial election results until the last voter has voted.

SECTION ____. Section 174.092(a), Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The biennial state convention shall be convened on any day in June or July.

SECTION ____. Section 573.061, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 573.061. GENERAL EXCEPTIONS. Section 573.041 does not apply to:

(1) an appointment to the office of a notary public or to the confirmation of that appointment;

(2) an appointment of a page, secretary, attendant, or other employee by the legislature for attendance on any member of the legislature who, because of physical infirmities, is required to have a personal attendant;

(3) a confirmation of the appointment of an appointee appointed to a first term on a date when no individual related to the appointee within a degree described by Section 573.002 was a member of or a candidate for the legislature, or confirmation on reappointment of the appointee to any subsequent consecutive term;

(4) an appointment or employment of a bus driver by a school district if:

(A) the district is located wholly in a county with a population of less than 35,000; or

(B) the district is located in more than one county and the county in which the largest part of the district is located has a population of less than 35,000;

(5) an appointment or employment of a personal attendant by an officer of the state or a political subdivision of the state for attendance on the officer who, because of physical infirmities, is required to have a personal attendant;

(6) an appointment or employment of a substitute teacher by a school district; [or]

(7) an appointment or employment of a person by a municipality that has a population of less than 200; or

(8) an appointment of an election clerk under Section 32.031, Election Code, who is not related in the first degree by consanguinity or affinity to an elected official of the authority that appoints the election judges for that election.