BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 1707 |
By: Swanson |
Elections |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties contend that some voters in Texas encounter difficulties in identifying the polling place location of their political party of choice during a primary election, which creates inefficiencies in the voting process. C.S.H.B. 1707 seeks to address this issue by revising restrictions placed on the posting of certain signs at a polling place.
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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.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the secretary of state in SECTION 1 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1707 amends the Election Code to revise the requirements for a sign used to identify the location of a polling place by authorizing the presiding judge or alternate presiding judge for a precinct to post such signs at a polling place for a primary election or a primary runoff election and by expressly authorizing the signs to identify the names of or symbols representing any political parties holding an election at the polling place without reference to a candidate or measure on the ballot. The bill requires the secretary of state to adopt rules to provide that signs posted in the same county have a similar size and format.
C.S.H.B. 1707 repeals Section 172.127(a), Election Code, which limits the applicability of sign posting requirements to signs posted at a polling place used to hold an election for more than one political party.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2017.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 1707 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.
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