Bill Text: TX HB531 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution of certain offenses relating to an application for a ballot to be voted by mail; increasing a criminal penalty.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-16 - Referred to Elections [HB531 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB531-Introduced.html

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85R911 ADM-D
By: Schofield H.B. No. 531

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of certain offenses relating to an
application for a ballot to be voted by mail; increasing a criminal
penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 84.003(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A person who acts as a witness for an applicant for an
early voting ballot application commits an offense if the person
knowingly fails to comply with Section 1.011. A person who [in the
presence of the applicant] otherwise assists an applicant in
completing an early voting ballot application commits an offense if
the person knowingly fails to comply with Section 1.011(d) in the
same manner as a witness.
SECTION 2. Section 84.0041(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony
[unless the person is the applicant, is related to the applicant
within the second degree by affinity or the third degree by
consanguinity, as determined under Subchapter B, Chapter 573,
Government Code, or is registered to vote at the same address as the
applicant, in which event the offense is a Class A misdemeanor].
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.