BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1518

By: Sheffield, J. D.

Elections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties would like to create a program that effectively eliminates county election precinct polling places for each participating county's commissioners court and to instead establish countywide polling places for general elections, uniform elections, and elections for proposed constitutional amendments. The parties report that the proposed program has support from several counties and is similar to legislation that was recently filed in the Texas Senate.  H.B. 1518 seeks to authorize the recommended program. 

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

H.B. 1518 amends the Election Code to expand the countywide polling place program, as implemented by the secretary of state, to allow each participating commissioners court to eliminate county election precinct polling places and to instead establish countywide polling places for primary and runoff primary elections if the county chair or county executive committee of each political party participating in a joint primary election agrees to the use of countywide polling places or if the county chair or county executive committee of each political party required to nominate candidates by primary election agrees to use the same countywide polling places.

H.B. 1518 authorizes the governing body of a political subdivision that holds an election jointly with a general election for state and county officers, an election held on the uniform election date in May, an election on a proposed constitutional amendment, or a primary election or runoff primary election to designate as the polling places for any required runoff election only the polling places located in the territory or in and near the territory of the political subdivision where eligible voters reside.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2013.