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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the punishment for certain voting-related offenses |
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committed or attempted by persons who are not citizens of the United |
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States. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 13.007(b), Election Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, |
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unless the person is not a citizen of the United States. In that |
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case, the offense is a state jail felony. |
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SECTION 2. Section 64.012, Election Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as |
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follows: |
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(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an [An] offense |
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under this section is a felony of the second degree [unless the
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person is convicted of an attempt.
In that case, the offense is a
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state jail felony]. |
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(c) If a person is convicted of an attempt to commit an |
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offense under this section, the offense is: |
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(1) a state jail felony, if the person is a citizen of |
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the United States; or |
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(2) a felony of the third degree, if the person is not |
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a citizen of the United States. |
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SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the |
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former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect December 1, 2017. |