HBA-MPM, LCA C.S.H.B. 1825 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1825 By: Hochberg Public Education 4/28/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, all elections in Texas are conducted at polls. While early voting is available, anyone not voting absentee must go to a poll to cast a vote. The State of Oregon has conducted elections by mail for several years, and has seen a significant decrease in the cost of conducting an election by mail, rather than at polls. C.S.H.B. 1825 establishes a pilot program, under the Office of the Secretary of State, to conduct elections by mail. The pilot program, which has been applied successfully in the State of Oregon, may reduce the cost of administering a poll election, while maintaining a low incidence of fraud. The pilot program established under this bill requires the use of a signature identification envelope, which provides for comparison with the signature on a voter's registration card. The pilot program will use a school district election as a model. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the secretary of state in SECTION 1 of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. (a) Requires the secretary of state to develop a program to allow one or more school districts (districts) holding an election to elect members to their boards of trustees on the spring uniform election date in 2000 to participate in a test election for the evaluation of mail ballot elections. Requires a district participating in the election to conduct its election exclusively by mail ballots under rules adopted by the secretary of state. Provides that the rules must include provisions requiring certain procedures with respect to the test election for the evaluation of mail ballots and verification of voters' signatures. (b) Authorizes the secretary of state to adopt rules to administer this section as necessary and to modify provisions of the Election Code to allow for the mail ballot election. Prohibits the secretary of state from allowing a ballot to be cast any later than current law provides. (c) Requires the secretary of state, between the conclusion of the election and the first day of the regular session of the 77th Legislature, to file a report evaluating the use of the mail ballot election with the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives. Requires each participating district to send the secretary of state a cost comparison of the cost of a vote and voter turnout at a mail ballot election with the cost of a vote and voter turnout at a regular election for inclusion in the report. Provides that the report must also identify any problems with the use of mail ballot elections. Requires the secretary of state to recommend whether mail ballot elections should be used in the future, and how the mail ballot elections should be implemented. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1825 differs from the original bill in proposed SECTION 1(a) by making this subsection applicable to one or more school districts, rather than a school district, that participate in a test election for the evaluation of mail ballot elections. The substitute specifies that this election takes place on the spring uniform election date in 2000, rather than the uniform election date in May 2000, as set forth in the original. Furthermore, the substitute modifies the procedures required to be included in the rules adopted by the secretary of state with respect to mail ballot elections. The substitute modifies Subsection (b) of the original to authorize the secretary of state to adopt rules to administer this section as necessary and modifies Subsection (c) of the original to specify that the comparison described under this subsection is required to be sent by a school district to the secretary of state. The original did not specify that the district is required to send this comparison.