HBA-CMT C.S.H.B. 2903 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2903
By: Burnam
Elections
4/23/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, compensation for election judges and clerks may not exceed $6
per hour.  In some cases, election judges are being paid as little as $5.15
per hour.  It is important to have qualified election judges and clerks
working on elections.  Raising the hourly rate for election workers may
help to attract and retain more qualified people.  C.S.H.B. 2903 raises the
maximum compensation rate for election judges and clerks to $7 per hour and
mandates that election judges and clerks be paid for the time spent in a
training program.   

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. 2903 amends the Election Code to provide that for an election
ordered by the governor or a county authority or for a primary election,
the maximum hourly rate of pay is $7 if the election officer attended a
training program for election officers.   

The governing body of a political subdivision is authorized to appropriate
funds to compensate its election judges, early voting clerk, and deputy
early voting clerk in charge of early voting places,  for attendance of a
public county training program.   

The bill provides that an election judge, early voting clerk, or deputy
early voting clerk in charge of an early voting polling place is entitled
to compensation for attending a public county training program at an hourly
rate not to exceed $7.   

The bill provides that the maximum hourly rate payable with state funds in
a particular primary election year to election judges serving in a primary
election for attending training programs is the same as the maximum rate
prescribed by the Election Code for compensation for attending a training
program for election judges appointed to serve in elections ordered by the
governor or a county authority.  The bill deletes the authorization for the
secretary of state to deny payment of state funds to a county executive
committee for the purpose of training election judges or to limit the
amount of payment made. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B 2903 modifies the original bill by changing the effective date from
September 1, 2001 to September 1, 2003.