H.B. No. 1217

	AN ACT
	relating to the administration of and procedures relating to early
	voting by personal appearance.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 19.004(a), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), state funds
	disbursed under this chapter may be used only to:
	(1)  defray expenses of the registrar's office in
	connection with voter registration, including additional expenses
	related to:
	(A) [(1)]  implementation of the National Voter
	Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. Section 20501 et seq.) [(42
	U.S.C. Section 1973gg et seq.)];
	(B) [(2)]  complying with [the] weekly updating
	requirements [prescribed by Section 18.063]; and
	(C) [(3)]  the employment of temporary voter
	registration personnel for not more than 39 weeks in a state fiscal
	year; and
	(2)  if the registrar's county has a population of less
	than 55,000, defray the cost to the registrar's county of keeping
	the polling places in the county open during the early voting period
	as required under Sections 85.005(c), 85.006(e), and 85.064(d).
	SECTION 2.  Section 85.005(c), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(c)  Voting [In a county with a population of 55,000 or more,
	the voting] in a primary election or the general election for state
	and county officers shall be conducted at the main early voting
	polling place for at least 12 consecutive hours on each weekday of
	the last week of the early voting period, and the voting in a
	special election ordered by the governor shall be conducted at the
	main early voting polling place for at least 12 consecutive hours on
	each of the last two days of the early voting period.  Voting under
	this subsection may not be conducted earlier than 6 a.m. or later
	than 10 p.m.  [Voting shall be conducted in accordance with this
	subsection in those elections in a county with a population under
	55,000 on receipt by the early voting clerk of a written request for
	the extended hours submitted by at least 15 registered voters of the
	county.  The request must be submitted in time to enable compliance
	with Section 85.067.]
	SECTION 3.  Section 85.006(e), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(e)  In a primary election or the general election for state
	and county officers [in a county with a population of 55,000 or
	more], the early voting clerk shall order voting by personal
	appearance at the main early voting polling place to be conducted on
	the last Saturday of the early voting period for at least 12
	consecutive hours, except that voting may not be conducted earlier
	than 6 a.m. or later than 10 p.m., and on the last Sunday of the
	early voting period for at least six consecutive hours, except that
	voting may not be conducted earlier than 9 a.m. or later than 10
	p.m.  [The early voting clerk shall order voting to be conducted at
	those times in those elections in a county with a population under
	55,000 on receipt of a written request for those hours submitted by
	at least 15 registered voters of the county.  The request must be
	submitted in time to enable compliance with Section 85.007.]  This
	subsection supersedes any provision of this subchapter to the
	extent of any conflict.
	SECTION 4.  The heading to Section 85.064, Election Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 85.064.  DAYS AND HOURS FOR VOTING: TEMPORARY BRANCH
	[IN POPULOUS COUNTY].
	SECTION 5.  Section 85.064(d), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(d)  The authority authorized under Section 85.006 to order
	early voting on a Saturday or Sunday may also order, in the manner
	prescribed by that section, early voting to be conducted on a
	Saturday or Sunday at any one or more of the temporary branch
	polling places.  In addition, the early voting clerk [of a county
	covered by Section 85.006(e)] shall order such voting in accordance
	with Section 85.006(e) [that subsection] at each temporary branch
	polling place established under Section 85.062(d).
	SECTION 6.  Section 85.068(a), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  The early voting clerk shall post notice for each
	election stating any dates and the hours that voting on Saturday or
	Sunday will be conducted under Section 85.064(d) [or 85.065(b)], if
	the early voting clerk is a county clerk or city secretary under
	Section 83.002 or 83.005.
	SECTION 7.  The following provisions of the Election Code
	are repealed:
	(1)  Section 85.064(a); and
	(2)  Section 85.065.
	SECTION 8.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
	an election for which early voting begins on or after the effective
	date of this Act.
	SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1217 was passed by the House on May 6,
	2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 131, Nays 3, 2 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 1217 on May 24, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 128, Nays 16,
	1 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1217 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 19, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
	0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor