BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 875

By: Birdwell

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

In February 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Denton Independent School District, alleging that two elementary school principals violated state law by encouraging their staffs to vote for opponents of education savings accounts in the primary election. Both principals stated within their emails that they had allotted 30 minutes of coverage for employees to go vote during the primaries, according to reporting by the Texas Tribune. However, the two principals did not receive any criminal penalties for their actions. S.B. 875 seeks to address this issue by creating criminal offenses for school board members, superintendents, and other school officials that engage in certain election activity.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly does one or more of the following: creates a criminal offense, increases the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or changes 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

S.B. 875 amends the Education Code to replace the prohibition against the board of trustees of an independent school district using state or local funds or other resources of the district to electioneer for or against any candidate, measure, or political party with provisions establishing a Class A misdemeanor offense for a member of an independent school district's board of trustees who uses state or local funds or other resources of the district, including a district e-mail address, district telephone, mailing list maintained by the district, or meeting organized by or held on the premises of the district, to electioneer. The bill defines "electioneer" as engaging in an act intended to support or oppose a specific candidate, measure, or political party. The bill establishes that it is an exception to the application of the offense that the member of the board of trustees did the following:

· used a district facility to host a forum for political candidates or to hold a political party convention;

· used the facility for such a forum or convention at a time that was not during the period between the first day of early voting and the date of the election, if the facility was used as an early voting or election day polling place; and

· allowed equally all candidates for the same office or all political parties, as applicable, the opportunity to use the facility for such a forum or convention.

S.B. 875 creates a Class A misdemeanor offense for a superintendent of a public school district who uses state or local funds or other resources of the district, including a district e-mail address, district telephone, mailing list maintained by the district, or meeting organized by or held on the premises of the district, to electioneer. The bill provides the same exception to the application of this offense that is provided for the offense applicable to a member of an independent school district's board of trustees, and the same definition of "electioneer" also applies.

S.B. 875 amends the Election Code to create a Class B misdemeanor offense for a chief administrator of an independent school district campus who knowingly permits the posting of political signs on the premises of the campus for longer than 48 hours during any time other than the following:

· the early voting period, if the campus is being used as an early voting polling place; or

· on election day, if the campus is being used as a polling place.

S.B. 875 applies only to an offense committed on or after the bill's effective date. An offense committed before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For these purposes, an offense was committed before the bill's effective date if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.