88R15283 PRL-D
 
  By: Hughes S.B. No. 2532
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to certain ballot access requirements.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 142.007, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 142.007.  NUMBER OF PETITION SIGNATURES REQUIRED.  The
  minimum number of signatures that must appear on a candidate's
  petition is:
               (1)  for a statewide office, two [one] percent of the
  total vote received by all candidates for governor in the most
  recent gubernatorial general election; or
               (2)  for a district, county, or precinct office, the
  lesser of:
                     (A)  1,000 [500]; or
                     (B)  five percent of the total vote received in
  the district, county, or precinct, as applicable, by all candidates
  for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election,
  unless that number is under 25, in which case the required number of
  signatures is the lesser of:
                           (i)  25; or
                           (ii)  10 percent of that total vote.
         SECTION 2.  Section 172.021(e), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (e)  A candidate for an office specified by Section
  172.024(a)(8), (10), or (12), or for justice of the peace in a
  county with a population of more than 1.5 million, who chooses to
  pay the filing fee must also accompany the application with a
  petition for a place on the primary ballot as a candidate for
  judicial office that complies with the requirements prescribed for
  the petition authorized by Subsection (b), except that the minimum
  number of signatures that must appear on the petition required by
  this subsection is 500 [250]. If the candidate chooses to file the
  petition authorized by Subsection (b) in lieu of the filing fee, the
  minimum number of signatures required for that petition is
  increased by 500 [250]. Signatures on a petition filed under this
  subsection or Subsection (b) by a candidate covered by this
  subsection may not be obtained on the grounds of a county courthouse
  or courthouse annex.
         SECTION 3.  Section 172.024(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The filing fee for a candidate for nomination in the
  general primary election is as follows:
               (1)  United States senator $10,000 [$5,000]
               (2)  office elected statewide, except United States
  senator 7,500 [3,750]
               (3)  United States representative 6,250 [3,125]
               (4)  state senator 2,500 [1,250]
               (5)  state representative 1,500 [750]
               (6)  member, State Board of Education 600 [300]
               (7)  chief justice or justice, court of appeals, other
  than a justice specified by Subdivision (8) 3,750 [1,875]
               (8)  chief justice or justice of a court of appeals that
  serves a court of appeals district in which a county with a
  population of more than one million is wholly or partly situated
  5,000 [2,500]
               (9)  district judge or judge specified by Section
  52.092(d) for which this schedule does not otherwise prescribe a
  fee 3,000 [1,500]
               (10)  district or criminal district judge of a court in
  a judicial district wholly contained in a county with a population
  of more than 1.5 million 5,000 [2,500]
               (11)  judge, statutory county court, other than a judge
  specified by Subdivision (12) 3,000 [1,500]
               (12)  judge of a statutory county court in a county with
  a population of more than 1.5 million 5,000 [2,500]
               (13)  district attorney, criminal district attorney,
  or county attorney performing the duties of a district attorney
  2,500 [1,250]
               (14)  county commissioner, district clerk, county
  clerk, sheriff, county tax assessor-collector, county treasurer,
  or judge, constitutional county court:
                     (A)  county with a population of 200,000 or more
  2,500 [1,250]
                     (B)  county with a population of under 200,000
  1,500 [750]
               (15)  justice of the peace or constable:
                     (A)  county with a population of 200,000 or more
  2,000 [1,000]
                     (B)  county with a population of under 200,000
  750 [375]
               (16)  county surveyor 150 [75]
               (17)  office of the county government for which this
  schedule does not otherwise prescribe a fee 1,500 [750]
         SECTION 4.  Section 172.025, Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 172.025.  NUMBER OF PETITION SIGNATURES REQUIRED.  The
  minimum number of signatures that must appear on the petition
  authorized by Section 172.021(b) is:
               (1)  10,000 [5,000], for a statewide office; or
               (2)  for a district, county, or precinct office, the
  lesser of:
                     (A)  1,000 [500]; or
                     (B)  two percent of the total vote received in the
  district, county, or precinct, as applicable, by all the candidates
  for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election,
  unless that number is under 50, in which case the required number of
  signatures is the lesser of:
                           (i)  50; or
                           (ii)  20 percent of that total vote.
         SECTION 5.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
  an election ordered on or after the effective date of this Act.  An
  election ordered before the effective date of this Act is governed
  by the law in effect when the election was ordered, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.