BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2393

By: Davis

Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that the required number of petition signatures needed to run for the office of president-elect of the State Bar of Texas should be reduced in order to make state bar elections more inclusive. C.S.H.B. 2393 reduces the required number to one percent of the state bar membership.

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.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Supreme Court in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2393 amends the Government Code to decrease the minimum number of State Bar of Texas members whose signatures are required on a petition in order for a member's name to be included on a ballot as a candidate for president‑elect of the state bar from five percent of state bar membership to one percent of state bar membership. The bill requires state bar election rules to permit electronic signatures on such a petition and requires the Texas Supreme Court to adopt any rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions as soon as practicable after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2393 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute changes the new signature threshold from 500 active state bar members, as in the original, to one percent of the state bar membership.

The substitute does not include provisions that appeared in the original prohibiting certain voting discrimination in state bar elections and authorizing an action for injunctive relief to be brought against a state bar member who appears to be violating or is threatening to violate that prohibition.