85R556 JRJ-D
 
  By: Schofield H.B. No. 1953
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the canvass of election returns for the offices of
  governor and lieutenant governor.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 67.008(c), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  The secretary of state shall [retain the returns in
  their sealed condition until the first day of the next regular
  legislative session, when the secretary shall] deliver the returns
  to the attorney general [speaker of the house of representatives].
         SECTION 2.  Section 67.011, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 67.011.  COUNTY RETURNS CANVASSED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL
  [LEGISLATURE]. (a) The county election returns for an election for
  the office of governor or lieutenant governor shall be canvassed by
  the attorney general [legislature and the official result declared
  by the speaker of the house of representatives in accordance with
  Article IV, Section 3, of the Texas Constitution].
         (b)  If a county's election returns are incomplete or
  missing, the attorney general [legislature] may substitute the
  secretary of state's tabulation for that county or may obtain the
  necessary information from the county. On request of the attorney
  general [legislature], the secretary of state or the county shall
  promptly transmit the information to the attorney general
  [legislature] by the most expeditious means available.
         (c)  On completion of the canvass, the attorney general
  [speaker of the house of representatives] shall deliver the county
  returns to the secretary of state, who shall retain them for the
  period for preserving the precinct election records.
         SECTION 3.  Section 67.014, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 67.014.  DETERMINING OFFICIAL RESULT OF ELECTION
  CANVASSED AT STATE LEVEL. The official result of an election
  canvassed by the governor or by the attorney general [legislature]
  is determined from the canvass of the county returns conducted by
  that authority.
         SECTION 4.  Section 67.015(e), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (e)  If a discrepancy exists between the attorney general's
  [legislature's] canvass of the election for governor or lieutenant
  governor and the register entries pertaining to either of those
  offices that are made from the secretary of state's tabulation, the
  secretary shall make the entries in the register necessary to make
  it correspond to the attorney general's [legislature's] canvass.
         SECTION 5.  Section 145.003(e), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (e)  In the case of a candidate for governor or lieutenant
  governor, a declaration of ineligibility by the attorney general
  [final canvassing authority's presiding officer] may not be made
  after the final canvass for that office is completed.
         SECTION 6.  Section 213.059(c), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  The recount supervisor shall deliver two copies of the
  report prepared under Section 213.055 to the secretary of state.
  The secretary shall use one copy for the tabulation of the votes
  after the recount is completed. The secretary shall deliver the
  other copy to the attorney general [speaker of the house of
  representatives].
         SECTION 7.  Section 242.003(d), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (d)  The committee to which the contest is referred may treat
  the tabulation as correct until the attorney general [speaker of
  the house of representatives] opens and publishes the official
  election returns. If a discrepancy exists between the tabulation
  and the attorney general's [speaker's] official count that might be
  material to a determination of the contest, the committee shall
  investigate the discrepancy to ascertain, if possible, the correct
  vote count.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2018, but only
  if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 85th Legislature,
  Regular Session, 2017, providing for the governor's and lieutenant
  governor's terms of office to begin at 10 a.m. on the day preceding
  the day the regular legislative session convenes is approved by the
  voters.  If that proposed constitutional amendment is not approved
  by the voters, this Act has no effect.