83R5824 JRJ-D
 
  By: Miller of Fort Bend H.B. No. 927
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to voter registration; creating an offense.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 13.007(b), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  An offense under this section is a Class A [B]
  misdemeanor.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 13, Election Code, is
  amended by adding Section 13.009 to read as follows:
         Sec. 13.009.  UNLAWFUL APPLICATION BY PERSON WHO IS NOT
  UNITED STATES CITIZEN. (a) A person commits an offense if the
  person is not a citizen of the United States and the person:
               (1)  submits an application for registration as a voter
  in this state; or
               (2)  requests, commands, or attempts to induce another
  to submit on the person's behalf a registration application.
         (b)  An offense under this section is a state jail felony.
  SECTION 3.  Section 13.031(d), Election Code, as amended by
  Chapters 1002 (H.B. 2194) and 1164 (H.B. 2817), Acts of the 82nd
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2011, is reenacted and amended to
  read as follows:
         (d)  To be eligible for appointment as a volunteer deputy
  registrar, a person must:
               (1)  be 18 years of age or older;
               (2)  not have been finally convicted of a felony or, if
  so convicted, must have:
                     (A)  fully discharged the person's sentence,
  including any term of incarceration, parole, or supervision, or
  completed a period of probation ordered by any court; or
                     (B)  been pardoned or otherwise released from the
  resulting disability to vote; [and
               [(3)     meet the requirements to be a qualified voter
  under Section 11.002 except that the person is not required to be a
  registered voter]
               (3)  not have been finally convicted of an offense
  under Section 32.51, Penal Code; and
               (4)  for the six months immediately preceding the date
  of appointment:
                     (A)  have resided continuously in this state; and
                     (B)  have been a registered voter.
         SECTION 4.  Section 13.036(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  An appointment as a volunteer deputy registrar is
  terminated on:
               (1)  the expiration of the volunteer deputy's term of
  appointment; [or]
               (2)  the final conviction of the volunteer deputy for
  an offense prescribed by Section 13.008 or 13.043;
               (3)  the submission of an incomplete or late
  registration application; or
               (4)  apparent evidence of forgery by the volunteer
  deputy in the completion of a registration application.
         SECTION 5.  Section 13.122(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  In addition to the other statements and spaces for
  entering information that appear on an officially prescribed
  registration application form, each official form must include:
               (1)  the statement:  "I understand that giving false
  information to procure a voter registration is perjury and a crime
  under state and federal law and that submitting a voter
  registration or voting as a noncitizen is also a crime under state
  law.";
               (2)  a space for the applicant's registration number;
               (3)  a space for the applicant's Texas driver's license
  number or number of a personal identification card issued by the
  Department of Public Safety;
               (4)  a space for the applicant's telephone number;
               (5)  a space for the applicant's social security
  number;
               (6)  a space for the applicant's sex;
               (7)  a statement indicating that the furnishing of the
  applicant's telephone number and sex is optional;
               (8)  a space or box for indicating whether the
  applicant or voter is submitting new registration information or a
  change in current registration information;
               (9)  a statement instructing a voter who is using the
  form to make a change in current registration information to enter
  the voter's name and the changed information in the appropriate
  spaces on the form;
               (10)  a statement that if the applicant declines to
  register to vote, that fact will remain confidential and will be
  used only for voter registration purposes;
               (11)  a statement that if the applicant does register
  to vote, information regarding the agency or office to which the
  application is submitted will remain confidential and will be used
  only for voter registration purposes;
               (12)  a space or box for indicating whether the
  applicant is interested in working as an election judge;
               (13)  a statement warning that a conviction of an
  offense under this code [for making a false statement] may result in
  imprisonment for up to the maximum amount of time provided by law, a
  fine of up to the maximum amount provided by law, or both the
  imprisonment and the fine; and
               (14)  any other voter registration information
  required by federal law or considered appropriate and required by
  the secretary of state.
         SECTION 6.  Section 16.092, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 16.092.  SWORN STATEMENT REQUIRED. A voter desiring to
  challenge a registration must file with the registrar a sworn
  statement of the grounds for the challenge that:
               (1)  identifies the voter whose registration is being
  challenged; and
               (2)  states a specific qualification for registration
  that the challenged voter has not met based on the personal
  knowledge of the voter desiring to challenge the registration or as
  evidenced by documentation.
         SECTION 7.  The appointment of a person serving as a
  volunteer deputy registrar who does not meet the eligibility
  requirements of Section 13.031, Election Code, as amended by this
  Act, expires on the effective date of this Act. The secretary of
  state shall prescribe procedures necessary to implement this
  section.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.