bill rewriting felony rules for holding public office

The text as introduced · 351 words

89R11345 AB-D

By: Dutton
H.B. No. 3040

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to eligibility requirements for public office for persons

finally convicted of a felony.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 141.001(a), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or

appointed to, a public elective office in this state, a person must:

(1) be a United States citizen;

(2) be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the

term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as

applicable;

(3) have not been determined by a final judgment of a

court exercising probate jurisdiction to be:

(A) totally mentally incapacitated; or

(B) partially mentally incapacitated without the

right to vote;

(4) have not been finally convicted of a felony from

which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from

the resulting disabilities by a court of competent jurisdiction ;

(5) have resided continuously in the state for 12

months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six

months immediately preceding the following date:

(A) for a candidate whose name is to appear on a

general primary election ballot, the date of the regular filing

deadline for a candidate's application for a place on the ballot;

(B) for an independent candidate, the date of the

regular filing deadline for a candidate's application for a place

on the ballot;

(C) for a write-in candidate, the date of the

election at which the candidate's name is written in;

(D) for a party nominee who is nominated by any

method other than by primary election, the date the nomination is

made; and

(E) for an appointee to an office, the date the

appointment is made;

(6) on the date described by Subdivision (5), be

registered to vote in the territory from which the office is

elected; and

(7) satisfy any other eligibility requirements

prescribed by law for the office.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.