Honorable Joan Huffman, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs
FROM:
John McGeady, Assistant Director Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1638 by Zaffirini (relating to early voting procedures.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined at this time.
The bill would amend the Election Code to authorize a signature verification committee to compare signatures of mail-in ballots. The bill would require a majority vote determination by the committee that the same voter cast more than one ballot. The committee would be required to report the issue to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and would require OAG to investigate the allegations. The bill would authorize the Secretary of State to adopt rules relating to the information included in this report.
According to the Secretary of State, no significant fiscal impact to the State is anticipated. Based on analysis by the Office of the Attorney General, additional referrals by signature verification committees and the resulting investigations would require additional staff resources. Because the number and frequency of such referrals cannot be estimated, the costs for enforcement cannot be determined at this time.
Local Government Impact
According to Cameron County, the county does not anticipate a fiscal impact from the bill.
Source Agencies:
302 Office of the Attorney General, 307 Secretary of State