| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the declaration of a candidate's ineligibility on the |
|
|
basis of failure to pay a filing fee or submit a petition in lieu of |
|
|
a filing fee. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 145.003, Election Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), a [A] candidate |
|
|
in the general election for state and county officers may be |
|
|
declared ineligible before the 30th day preceding election day by: |
|
|
(1) the party officer responsible for certifying the |
|
|
candidate's name for placement on the general election ballot, in |
|
|
the case of a candidate who is a political party's nominee; [or] |
|
|
(2) the authority with whom the candidate's |
|
|
application for a place on the ballot is required to be filed, in |
|
|
the case of an independent candidate; or |
|
|
(3) the secretary of state, if the candidate is |
|
|
ineligible under Subsection (f)(3). |
|
|
(f) A candidate may be declared ineligible only if: |
|
|
(1) the information on the candidate's application for |
|
|
a place on the ballot indicates that the candidate is ineligible for |
|
|
the office; [or] |
|
|
(2) facts indicating that the candidate is ineligible |
|
|
are conclusively established by another public record; or |
|
|
(3) the candidate fails to pay the filing fee or submit |
|
|
a petition in lieu of a filing fee. |
|
|
(f-1) A candidate may not be declared ineligible under |
|
|
Subsection (f)(3) after the 74th day preceding election day. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 145.036, Election Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as |
|
|
follows: |
|
|
(a) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (b) and |
|
|
(b-1), if a candidate's name is to be omitted from the ballot under |
|
|
Section 145.035, the political party's state, district, county, or |
|
|
precinct executive committee, as appropriate for the particular |
|
|
office, may nominate a replacement candidate to fill the vacancy in |
|
|
the nomination. |
|
|
(b-1) An executive committee may make a replacement |
|
|
nomination following an administrative declaration of |
|
|
ineligibility under Section 145.003(f)(3) only if the replacement |
|
|
candidate pays the filing fee or submits a petition in lieu of a |
|
|
filing fee. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |