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INTRODUCED
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HOUSE COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE
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SECTION 1. Sec. 43.031,
Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
POLLING PLACE IN PUBLIC
BUILDING. (a) In this subchapter, "public building" means a
building owned or controlled by the state or a political subdivision.
(b) Each polling place shall
be located inside a building.
(c) The building selected
for a polling place shall be a public building if practicable. The entity
that owns or controls a public building shall make the building available
for use as a polling place in any election that covers territory in which
the building is located, and shall not prohibit electioneering,
including but not limited to posting political signs, on the building's
premises outside the prescribed limits within which electioneering is
prohibited during the voting period. If more than one authority
requests the use of the building for the same day and simultaneous use is
impracticable, the entity that owns or controls the building shall
determine which authority may use the building.
(d) If a suitable public
building is unavailable, the polling place may be located in some other
building, including a building on a federal military base or facility with
the permission of the post or base commander, and any charge for its use is
an election expense. A polling place may not be located in a building under
this subsection unless electioneering is permitted on the building's
premises outside the prescribed limits within which electioneering is
prohibited, except that a polling place may be located in a building at
which electioneering is not permitted if it is the only building available
for use as a polling place in the election precinct.
(e) A polling place may not
be located at the residence of a person who is:
(1) a candidate for an
elective office, including an office of a political party; or
(2) related within the third
degree by consanguinity or the second degree by affinity, as determined
under Chapter 573, Government Code, to a candidate described by Subdivision
(1).
(f) The entity that owns
or controls a public building cannot restrict electioneering, including but
not limited to posting political signs, outside the prescribed limits
within which electioneering is prohibited at any time during the voting
period. In this section, the "voting period" begins with the
commencement of early voting by personal appearance defined under Sec.
85.001 and ends after the polls close on the last day for early voting by
personal appearance for an early voting polling place, and begins when the
polls open on election day and ends when the polls close on election day
for an election day polling place.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 2. Sec. 85.002,
Election Code, is amended as follows:
MAIN EARLY VOTING POLLING
PLACE. (a) Early voting by personal appearance for each election shall be
conducted at the main early voting polling place.
(b) In an election in which
a county clerk or city secretary is the early voting clerk under Section
83.002 or 83.005, the main early voting polling place shall be located in
any room selected by the early voting clerk in the building that houses the
main business office of the county clerk or city secretary, as applicable.
However, if the commissioners court or city governing body determines that
locating the polling place in that building is impracticable, the
commissioners court or city governing body may designate a different
location in the city in which the business office is located that is as
near as practicable to the business office. The polling place must meet
the requirements prescribed in Section 43.031.
(c) In an election in which
a county clerk is the early voting clerk under Section 83.003 or 83.004,
the authority authorized to appoint the clerk shall designate the location
of the main early voting polling place. The location must be in the
territory covered by the election or in any room selected by the clerk in
the building that houses the county clerk's main business office, whether
or not the office is located in the territory covered by the election.
However, if the commissioners court determines that locating the polling
place in that building is impracticable, the commissioners court may
designate a different location in the city in which the business office is
located that is as near as practicable to the business office. The
polling place must meet the requirements prescribed in Section 43.031.
(d) In an election in which
a person other than a county clerk or city secretary is early voting clerk,
the authority appointing the clerk shall designate the location of the main
early voting polling place. The location must be in the territory covered
by the election. The polling place must meet the requirements prescribed
in Section 43.031.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 3. Sec. 85.062,
Election Code is amended as follows:
TEMPORARY BRANCH POLLING
PLACE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (d) or (e), one or more early
voting polling places other than the main early voting polling place may be
established by:
(1) the commissioners court,
for an election in which the county clerk is the early voting clerk; or
(2) the governing body of
the political subdivision served by the authority ordering the election,
for an election in which a person other than the county clerk is the early
voting clerk.
(b) A polling place
established under this section may be located, subject to Subsection (d),
at any place in the territory served by the early voting clerk and may be
located in any stationary structure as directed by the authority
establishing the branch office. The polling place may be located in a
movable structure in the general election for state and county officers,
general primary election, or runoff primary election. Ropes or other
suitable objects may be used at the polling place to ensure compliance with
Section 62.004. Persons who are not expressly permitted by law to be in a
polling place shall be excluded from the polling place to the extent
practicable. The polling place must meet the requirements relating to
electioneering prescribed in Section 43.031.
(c) In any election, the
location of a polling place established under this section shall be fixed
at one place for the duration of the period that voting is required to be
conducted at the polling place.
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No
equivalent provision.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 1. The heading to
Section 61.003, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 61.003. ELECTIONEERING
AND LOITERING NEAR POLLING PLACE [PROHIBITED].
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 2. Section 61.003,
Election Code, is amended by adding Subsection (a-1) and amending
Subsection (b) to read as follows:
(a-1) The entity that
owns or controls a public building being used as a polling place may not,
at any time during the voting period, prohibit electioneering on the
building's premises outside of the area described in Subsection (a), but
may enact reasonable regulations concerning the time, place, and manner of
electioneering.
(b) In this section:
(1)
"Electioneering" includes the posting, use, or distribution of
political signs or literature.
(2) "Voting [,
"voting] period" means the period beginning when the polls
open for voting and ending when the polls close or the last voter has
voted, whichever is later.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 3. The heading to
Section 85.036, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 85.036. ELECTIONEERING
[PROHIBITED].
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4. Section 85.036,
Election Code, is amended by adding Subsections (b) and (f) to read as
follows:
(b) The entity that owns
or controls a public building being used as an early voting polling place
may not, at any time during the early voting period, prohibit
electioneering on the building's premises outside of the area described in
Subsection (a), but may enact reasonable regulations concerning the time,
place, and manner of electioneering.
(f) In this section:
(1) "Early voting
period" means the period prescribed by Section 85.001.
(2) "Electioneering"
includes the posting, use, or distribution of political signs or
literature.
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SECTION 4. This Act takes
effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
elected to each house. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
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SECTION 5. Substantially the
same as introduced version.
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