Honorable Jodie Laubenberg, Chair, House Committee on Elections
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB464 by Springer (Relating to requiring candidates to pay a filing fee or submit a petition in lieu of a filing fee to appear on the ballot for the general election for state and county officers.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend Chapter 141 of the Election Code, regarding candidacy for public office generally.
The bill would add new Section 141.041 to require a candidate nominated by a convention for a state or county office to either pay a filing fee or submit a signed petition meeting certain conditions in order to be placed on a general election ballot. The filing fee amounts would be the same as for candidates in a general primary election. Fees for state offices would be submitted to the Secretary of State (SOS) for deposit to the General Revenue Fund; for county offices fees would be submitted to the county judge for deposit to the county's general fund.
The SOS anticipates any additional work resulting from the passage of the bill could be reasonably absorbed within current resources. Years in which general elections for state offices occur the State will experience a minimal revenue gain due to the filing fees being deposited to the General Revenue Fund.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2015.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 307 Secretary of State