BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 630 |
By: Larson |
Elections |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Under current law, a majority of a party's county executive committee membership must be present to constitute a quorum for a vote to fill a precinct chair vacancy. In many counties, precinct chair vacancies occur frequently in both parties, and there are reports that it has been challenging to garner a quorum to vote to fill these vacancies. C.S.H.B. 630 seeks to remedy this problem by authorizing each party to adopt rules to determine a percentage of executive committee membership that constitutes a quorum for purposes of filling a precinct chair vacancy.
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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.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 630 amends the Election Code to clarify that a majority of a political party's county executive committee membership is required to participate in filling a vacancy in the office of county chair. The bill requires each party to adopt rules to determine a percentage of committee membership that constitutes a quorum for purposes of filling a county precinct chair vacancy. The bill requires a person to receive a favorable vote of a majority of the members voting in order to be elected and removes a provision authorizing the office to be filled without participation of the majority of the committee membership under certain conditions. The bill specifies that the prohibition against filling a vacancy before the beginning of the term of office in which the vacancy occurs applies to a vacancy in the office of county chair.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 630 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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