S.B. No. 722

AN ACT

relating to eligibility to serve as an interpreter in an election.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 61.032, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 61.032. INTERPRETER PERMITTED. If an election officer who attempts to communicate with a voter does not understand the language used by the voter, the voter may communicate through an interpreter selected by the voter or by the authority ordering the election.

SECTION 2. Section 61.033, Election Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 61.033. ELIGIBILITY TO SERVE AS INTERPRETER. To be eligible to serve as an interpreter, a person:

(1) if selected by the voter, may be any person other than the voter's employer, an agent of the voter's employer, or an officer or agent of a labor union to which the voter belongs; or

(2) if appointed to serve as an interpreter by the authority ordering the election, must be a registered voter of the county in which the voter needing the interpreter resides or a registered voter of an adjacent county.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.

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President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 722 passed the Senate on April 24, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays 4.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 722 passed the House on May 22, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 6, two present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

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Date

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Governor