Bill Text: TX SB331 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to eligibility to serve as an interpreter in an election.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-14 - Effective immediately [SB331 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB331-Enrolled.html
| S.B. No. 331 | ||
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| relating to eligibility to serve as an interpreter in an election. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 61.032, Election Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 61.032. INTERPRETER PERMITTED. If an election officer | ||
| who attempts to communicate with a voter does not understand the | ||
| language used by the voter, the voter may communicate through an | ||
| interpreter selected by the voter or, if the voter has not selected | ||
| an interpreter, any interpreter an election officer may appoint. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 61.033, Election Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 61.033. ELIGIBILITY TO SERVE AS INTERPRETER. To be | ||
| eligible to serve as an interpreter, a person: | ||
| (1) may be any person other than the voter's employer, | ||
| an agent of the voter's employer, or an officer or agent of a labor | ||
| union to which the voter belongs; and | ||
| (2) if appointed to serve as an interpreter by an | ||
| election officer, must be a registered voter of the county in which | ||
| the voter needing the interpreter resides or a registered voter of | ||
| an adjacent county. | ||
| SECTION 3. Section 61.034, Election Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 61.034. TRANSLATING BALLOT. If a voter cannot | ||
| comprehend the language in which the ballot is printed, the voter | ||
| may receive assistance in accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 64 | ||
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| SECTION 4. Section 61.035, Election Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 61.035. OATH. (a) Before serving as an interpreter, | ||
| the person selected as interpreter must take the following oath | ||
| administered by an election officer: | ||
| "I swear (or affirm) that, to the best of my ability, I will | ||
| correctly interpret and translate each question, answer, or | ||
| statement addressed either to the voter by any election officer or | ||
| to an election officer by the voter." | ||
| (b) A person who will be providing ballot assistance under | ||
| Section 61.034 must also take the oath required by Subchapter B, | ||
| Chapter 64, and meet all other requirements of that subchapter. | ||
| SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I hereby certify that S.B. No. 331 passed the Senate on | ||
| April 7, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0; and that the | ||
| Senate concurred in House amendment on May 28, 2021, by the | ||
| following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| I hereby certify that S.B. No. 331 passed the House, with | ||
| amendment, on May 25, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 134, | ||
| Nays 10, two present not voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| Approved: | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
