BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2263

By: Miller, Rick

Elections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under current law, a voter must submit a written, signed notice of the loss or destruction of the voter's registration certificate to the voter registrar in order to obtain a replacement certificate. Because alternate methods of communication are now commonplace, interested parties contend that allowing voters to use such methods to request a replacement certificate would be a natural transition and may even increase the number of registered voters who would otherwise be inconvenienced by the current process. H.B. 2263 seeks to ease the burden of obtaining a replacement voter registration certificate by providing additional methods of requesting a replacement certificate.

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. 2263 amends the Election Code to add to the means by which a voter whose registration certificate is lost or destroyed may obtain a replacement certificate to include delivering an electronic notice of the loss or destruction of the certificate to the voter registrar and telephoning the registrar to request a replacement. The bill removes the specification that a delivered notice be signed. The bill requires a replacement certificate requested electronically or by telephone to be sent to the mailing address on the voter's registration records. The bill requires the registrar to retain an electronic notice of the loss or destruction of a registration certificate on file with the voter's registration application and, if the voter requests a replacement registration certificate by telephone, to make a written record of the request and keep the record on file with the voter's registration application.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.