85R911 ADM-D
 
  By: Schofield H.B. No. 531
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the prosecution of certain offenses relating to an
  application for a ballot to be voted by mail; increasing a criminal
  penalty.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 84.003(b), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  A person who acts as a witness for an applicant for an
  early voting ballot application commits an offense if the person
  knowingly fails to comply with Section 1.011. A person who [in the
  presence of the applicant] otherwise assists an applicant in
  completing an early voting ballot application commits an offense if
  the person knowingly fails to comply with Section 1.011(d) in the
  same manner as a witness.
         SECTION 2.  Section 84.0041(b), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  An offense under this section is a state jail felony
  [unless the person is the applicant, is related to the applicant
  within the second degree by affinity or the third degree by
  consanguinity, as determined under Subchapter B, Chapter 573,
  Government Code, or is registered to vote at the same address as the
  applicant, in which event the offense is a Class A misdemeanor].
         SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
  An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
  the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
  purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
  effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
  before that date.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.