As of May 21, members of the Texas State Legislature, which includes the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas State Senate, have passed two bills related to election administration since the beginning of the year. Of those two bills, legislators passed one during the week of May 15-21. A bipartisan group of legislators sponsored the bill. The bill is:
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TX SB2038: Relating to release of an area from a municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction by petition or election, click hyperlinked bill to see sponsors.
- Establishes that residents of an area with a population of less than 200 in the municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction may file a petition to be released from the extraterritorial jurisdiction.
- Establishes that the owner or owners of a majority value of the land in a municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction may file a petition to be released from the extraterritorial jurisdiction.
- Outlines petition requirements, including signature requirements and inclusion of a map.
- Outlines administrative requirements for the municipal secretary upon receiving the petition, including signature verification and notification of residents.
- Directs that if the petition meets requirements, the municipality must immediately release the area from extraterritorial jurisdiction.
- Click the hyperlinked bill number above for more information.
Of the two bills passed this year, two have been enacted. This is two more than this point a year ago. A bipartisan group of legislators sponsored both bills. The bills are:
- TX SB2038: See above bullet point for more information.
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TX SB1052: Relating to the compensation of an election judge or clerk, click hyperlinked bill to see sponsors.
- As introduced, this bill prohibits a judge or clerk from being paid for more than two hours of work before the polls open except for making changes to the list of registered voters at another polling place.
From May 15-21, legislators passed 11 bills related to election administration nationally. As of May 21, South Dakota legislators have passed the most bills this year with 17, while legislators in 20 states have passed none. The state with the most enacted bills is South Dakota with 16, while 22 states have enacted none.
The Texas State Legislature is scheduled to be in session from Jan. 10 to May 29 this year. In 2022, Texas legislators passed zero election-related bills. Texas is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
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