HBA-DMH C.S.H.B. 3305 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3305
By: Martinez Fischer
Elections
4/23/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, the last day to call an election is 45 days before the
day set as election day.  This provision creates a conflict for counties
that need to request  preclearance for an election from the United States
Department of Justice (USDOJ) in accordance with the federal Voting Rights
Act.  The USDOJ requires that a pre-clearance request be submitted 60 days
before election day.  As a result, the early voting period may begin before
a county receives preclearance.  In 1998, the Mexican American Legal
Defense and Education Fund filed a lawsuit against Bexar County for
reducing the number of early voting sites in minority neighborhoods and
beginning the early voting period before the county received permission
from USDOJ.  C.S.H.B. 3305 modifies time periods pertaining to elections. 

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 5
(Section 144.005, Election Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3305 amends the Election Code to require an election ordered by an
authority of a political subdivision to be ordered not later than the 45th
day before the earliest allowable date for the beginning of early voting by
personal appearance. 

The bill provides that an application for a place on the ballot for a
candidate for office of a political subdivision other than a county must be
filed not later than 5 p.m. of the 45th day before the earliest allowable
date for the beginning of early voting by personal appearance.  The bill
also requires the governing body of a political subdivision other than a
city or county for which a deadline for filing for candidacy is prescribed
by a law outside of the Election Code to take appropriate action to comply
with these provisions and to adjust any affected date, deadline, or
procedure to allow the same interval of time in relation to the filing
deadline.  The bill requires the secretary of state to prescribe any rules
necessary to facilitate the implementation of these provisions. 

The bill modifies provisions relating to withdrawal from a special
election, omission from a ballot, and addition to a ballot.  The bill
removes the provision that requires the mayor to order a general election
for city officers, and provides that the governing body of a political
subdivision, other than a county, that has elective offices is required to
order an election for its officers.   

The bill amends the Water, Education, and Health and Safety codes by
modifying the filing deadlines for a declaration of write-in candidacy in
elections for self-liquidating navigation districts, junior college
districts, and hospital districts to make the deadlines equivalent to
similar  provisions in the Election Code. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.

 COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 3305 differs from the original bill by removing the provision that
requires the mayor to order a general election for city officers and by
providing that the governing body of a political subdivision other than a
county is required to order an election for its officers.  The substitute
includes provisions modifying the filing deadline for a declaration of
write-in candidacy in elections for self-liquidating navigation districts,
junior college districts, and hospital districts.