BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 332 |
By: Meyer |
Elections |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
School buildings are a common choice for polling place locations because of their accessibility but interested parties have expressed concern that schools might lack sufficient security measures on regular school days during an early voting period or on election day. C.S.H.B. 332 seeks to improve school security during elections by requiring a public school district to include in its multihazard emergency operations plan a policy for school district property used as a polling place.
|
||||||
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
|
||||||
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
C.S.H.B. 332 amends the Education Code to require a public school district to include in its multihazard emergency operations plan a policy for school district property selected for use as a polling place. The bill authorizes the board of trustees of the district, in developing the policy, to consult with the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the school district property selected as a polling place regarding reasonable security accommodations that may be made to the property. The bill prohibits the interpretation of its provisions to require the board of trustees to obtain or contract for the presence of law enforcement or security personnel for the purpose of securing a polling place located on school district property. The bill establishes that failure to comply with the bill's provisions does not affect the requirement of the board of trustees to make a school facility available for use as a polling place.
|
||||||
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2017.
|
||||||
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 332 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
|
||||||
|