HBA-TBM C.S.H.B. 2302 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2302 By: Madden Elections 4/9/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Voter registration information compiled by county voter registrars and the Department of Public Safety is often duplicative, incomplete, or incorrect. In certain cases, it is possible for a registrar to be misinformed or uninformed regarding the death of a voter or an individual's eligibility to vote. Additionally, a prospective voter needs to be informed that personal data is confidential and made aware of which information requested is mandatory versus that which is optional. C.S.H.B. 2302 improves voter information collection and validation techniques and procedures. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2302 amends the Election Code to provide that a social security number or telephone number furnished on a registration application is confidential, does not constitute public information, and is excluded from disclosure (Sec. 13.004). The bill requires a volunteer deputy registrar or the Department of Public Safety (DPS) upon receipt of a completed registration application to prepare a receipt in triplicate rather than duplicate and to retain a copy of the receipt. The bill modifies the contents of the receipt. The bill requires the secretary of state to prescribe procedures as necessary to implement the provisions relating to DPS (Secs. 13.040 and 20.063). The bill provides that the omission of an applicant's driver's license number, personal identification number, social security number, or sex does not affect the validity of the registration application. These provisions take effect January 1, 2002 (Sec. 13.122 and SECTION 15). The bill requires the secretary of state to prescribe a registration form that conforms to this provision on or before January 1, 2002 (SECTION 14). The bill provides that if a registrar receives information relating to a voter's death from a source that is not sanctioned by law, the registrar is required to deliver to the voter's address a written confirmation notice requesting confirmation of the voter's death (death confirmation request) (Sec. 15.051). The bill distinguishes confirmation notice requesting confirmation of a voter's correct residence from a death confirmation request and provides the required contents of a death confirmation request to be prescribed by the secretary of state on or before January 1, 2002 (Sec. 15.052 and SECTION 14). The bill sets forth provisions regarding a response to a death confirmation request by a voter who is incorrectly referenced as deceased (Sec. 15.053). The bill requires the registrar to furnish a copy of any list of registered voters directly to a person requesting it. If the county has contracted with a computer service company or other private business entity for services related to the lists, the registrar is prohibited from requiring the person requesting the list to contact the company or other entity to obtain a copy of the list (Sec. 18.008). The bill requires a voter registration application submitted by an applicant to an agency designated as a voter registration agency and submitted after the 34th day and before the 29th day before the date of an election held on a uniform election date or the date of a general primary election or the date of a runoff primary election in which any qualified voter of the county is eligible to vote to be delivered not later than 5 p.m. of the 29th day before the election day (Sec. 20.035). The bill sets forth provisions regarding the acceptance of a voter with a correct voter registration certificate who is not on the precinct list of registered voters and a voter without a voter registration certificate who is on the precinct list of registered voters (Secs. 63.006 and 63.008). The bill requires the secretary of state to study the feasibility of developing a standardized electronic format for entering voter information relating to residence address and to report its findings and recommendations to the governor, lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives not later than December 1, 2002 (SECTION 13). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2302 differs from the original by requiring a volunteer deputy registrar or the Department of Public Safety upon receipt of a completed registration application to prepare a receipt in triplicate rather than duplicate and by modifying the contents and handling of the receipt. The substitute requires the secretary of state to prescribe procedures as necessary to implement these provisions (Secs. 13.040 and 20.063). The substitute removes the prohibition against the inclusion of the word "optional" in the space provided for an applicant's identifying numbers on an official voter registration application form (Sec. 13.122). The substitute provides that if a completed and signed section of a voter death confirmation form is not submitted to the registrar on or before the 60th rather than 30th day after the date the confirmation notice is mailed, the voter's registration is subject to cancellation in the same manner as for a felony conviction rather than being subject to warnings, suspension of voting privileges, and cancellation of voter registration (Secs. 15.052 and 15.053). The substitute requires the registrar to furnish a copy of any list of registered voters directly to a person requesting it. If the county has contracted with a computer service company or other private business entity for services related to the lists, the registrar is prohibited from requiring the person requesting the list to contact the company or other entity to obtain a copy of the list (Sec. 18.008). The substitute sets forth provisions regarding the acceptance of a voter with a correct voter registration certificate who is not on the precinct list of registered voters and a voter without a voter registration certificate who is on the precinct list of registered voters (Secs. 63.006 and 63.008). The substitute removes provisions amending the Transportation Code in the original relating to the indication on a renewed license or identification card that the holder is a registered voter.