BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2574

By: Beckley

Elections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The process of finding enough election workers is often a challenge for party chairs, election clerks, and other election administrators given that the ability of a president judge to appoint a relative as an election clerk is curtailed by an attorney general opinion. Since there are no ballot security issues for relatives of election judges to serve as election clerks, it has been suggested that this decision was unnecessary and unfavorable for the electoral process. H.B. 2574 seeks to address this issue by allowing spouses, parents, and children of election judges to serve as election clerks if they are otherwise eligible to do so.

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 this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2574 amends the Government Code to remove language that limited the exemption of an appointment of an election clerk by a presiding judge from nepotism prohibitions applicable to public officials to a clerk who is not related in the first degree by consanguinity or affinity to an elected official of the authority that appoints the election judges for that election.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.