By: Taylor of Collin  S.B. No. 503
         (In the Senate - Filed January 25, 2017; January 30, 2017,
  read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
  February 2, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:  
  Yeas 9, Nays 0; February 2, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the prohibition on lobbying by certain elected
  officers.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 141.001, Election Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read
  as follows:
         (a)  To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or
  appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:
               (1)  be a United States citizen;
               (2)  be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the
  term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as
  applicable;
               (3)  have not been determined by a final judgment of a
  court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:
                     (A)  totally mentally incapacitated; or
                     (B)  partially mentally incapacitated without the
  right to vote;
               (4)  have not been finally convicted of a felony from
  which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from
  the resulting disabilities;
               (5)  have resided continuously in the state for 12
  months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six
  months immediately preceding the following date:
                     (A)  for a candidate whose name is to appear on a
  general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing
  deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;
                     (B)  for an independent candidate, the date of the
  regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place
  on the ballot;
                     (C)  for a write-in candidate, the date of the
  election at which the candidate's name is written in;
                     (D)  for a party nominee who is nominated by any
  method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is
  made; and
                     (E)  for an appointee to an office, the date the
  appointment is made;
               (6)  on the date described by Subdivision (5), be
  registered to vote in the territory from which the office is
  elected; [and]
               (7)  not be required to be registered as a lobbyist
  under Chapter 305, Government Code; and
               (8)  satisfy any other eligibility requirements
  prescribed by law for the office.
         (e)  Except as restricted by Section 7.103(c), Education
  Code, if applicable, Subsection (a)(7) does not apply to:
               (1)  an office of a political subdivision with a
  population of 150,000 or less, other than the office of presiding
  officer of the governing body of the political subdivision,
  provided that the officeholder does not receive a salary or wage for
  that office; or
               (2)  the office of the presiding officer of the
  governing body of a political subdivision with a population of
  50,000 or less, provided that the presiding officer does not
  receive a salary or wage for that office.
         (f)  For purposes of Subsection (e), a presiding officer or
  other officeholder is not considered to have received a salary or
  wage if the officeholder refuses to accept a salary or wage offered
  or budgeted for that office.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 305, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 305.0031 to read as follows:
         Sec. 305.0031.  CERTAIN ELECTED OFFICERS MAY NOT REGISTER.
  (a)  A member of Congress, a member of the legislature, or a holder
  of a statewide office may not register under this chapter.
         (b)  A registration under this chapter expires on the date a
  person takes office as a member of Congress, a member of the
  legislature, or a holder of a statewide office.
         SECTION 3.  Chapter 601, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Section 601.010 to read as follows:
         Sec. 601.010.  ELECTED OFFICER MAY NOT BE REGISTERED
  LOBBYIST. (a)  A person may not qualify for a public elective
  office if the person is required to be registered as a lobbyist
  under Chapter 305.
         (b)  Except as restricted by Section 7.103(c), Education
  Code, if applicable, Subsection (a) does not apply to:
               (1)  an office for which the federal or state
  constitution prescribes exclusive qualification requirements;
               (2)  an office of a political subdivision with a
  population of 150,000 or less, other than the office of presiding
  officer of the governing body of the political subdivision,
  provided that the officeholder does not receive a salary or wage for
  that office; or
               (3)  the office of the presiding officer of the
  governing body of a political subdivision with a population of
  50,000 or less, provided that the presiding officer does not
  receive a salary or wage for that office.
         (c)  For purposes of Subsection (b), a presiding officer or
  other officeholder is not considered to have received a salary or
  wage if the officeholder refuses to accept a salary or wage offered
  or budgeted for that office.
         SECTION 4.  Section 141.001(a), Election Code, as amended by
  this Act, and Section 601.010, Government Code, as added by this
  Act, apply only to the eligibility and qualification requirements
  for a candidate or officer whose term of office will begin on or
  after the effective date of this Act.  The eligibility and
  qualification requirements for a candidate or officer whose term of
  office will begin before the effective date of this Act are governed
  by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this
  Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect January 8, 2019.
 
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