87R9063 MLH-D
 
  By: Dutton H.B. No. 2291
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to eligibility requirements for public office and to the
  form of an application for a place on the ballot.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  This Act may be cited as the Felon Candidacy
  Disambiguation Act.
         SECTION 2.  Section 141.001(a), Election Code, is amended 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 for
  [from] which the person has not provided documentation under
  Section 141.031(e) that the person has 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)  satisfy any other eligibility requirements
  prescribed by law for the office.
         SECTION 3.  Section 141.031, Election Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  In support of the statement required by Subsection
  (a)(4)(G), a candidate shall provide a certified copy of the
  candidate's pardon or other documentation evincing removal of
  disability.
         SECTION 4.  Section 141.039, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 141.039.  OFFICIAL APPLICATION FORM. In addition to
  the other statements and spaces for entering information that
  appear on an officially prescribed form for an application for a
  place on the ballot, each official form for an application that a
  candidate is required to file under this code must include:
               (1)  a space for indicating the form in which the
  candidate's name is to appear on the ballot;
               (2)  a space for the candidate's public mailing
  address;
               (3)  spaces for the candidate's home and office
  telephone numbers and e-mail address at which the candidate
  receives correspondence relating to the candidate's campaign;
  [and]
               (4)  a statement informing candidates that the
  furnishing of the telephone numbers is optional; and
               (5)  a notice adjacent to the statement required by
  Section 141.031(a)(4)(G), printed in boldfaced type and capital
  letters, that reads: "RESTORATION OF VOTING RIGHTS IS NOT THE SAME
  AS REMOVAL OF DISABILITY FOR PURPOSES OF SATISFYING ELIGIBILITY
  REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC OFFICE.".
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.