SB 146

New Citizens’ Automatic Voter Registration Hinges On A ‘May’

Died in committee

Verdict: Smells

SmellsInitial review

Sen. José MenéndezDSenate 26

Why it's charged

The hole

THE TEXT

…“the Department of Public Safety may, in cooperation with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, establish a procedure”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

The automatic registration duty depends on a notice system that the department is only allowed, not required, to build. Without it, registrars have no way to learn of new citizens, and the main case falls back to the person showing up in person.

The hole

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the voter registration of naturalized United States citizens.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

DPS “may” build the notice system. No notice? Bring your certificate to the registrar.

The bill tells each county voter registrar to automatically register a county resident who is eligible to vote once that person receives a certificate of naturalization. It touches newly naturalized citizens, county registrars, and the Department of Public Safety, which may set up a system with the federal immigration agency to learn of new naturalizations and pass the names to registrars. If no notice arrives, the new citizen can bring the certificate to the registrar, who must help the person register, starting September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: ZOMBIE BILL. Died 2 times: 88R SB 119 (Died in committee) and this bill (Died in committee). Checked against 88R only.BACK FROM THE DEAD. Same text as a bill filed before that died: 88R SB 119 (Died in committee). Filed in 2 sessions, counting this one. Checked against 88R only.TRY NO. 2. Filed in 2 sessions: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Nov 12, 2024 and referred to the Senate State Affairs committee. No public hearing. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-SB146 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

Sen. José MenéndezDSenate 26

Sen. Molly CookDSenate 15

Sen. Sarah EckhardtDSenate 14

+ 1 more author, 1 coauthor

ITEM

relating to the voter registration of naturalized United States citizens.

WHAT IT DOES

DPS “may” build the notice system. No notice? Bring your certificate to the registrar.

CHARGES

[x] THE HOLEanalysis confidence 45%

THE TEXT

…“the Department of Public Safety may, in cooperation with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, establish a procedure”…

Bill text, introduced version (I)

TOTAL

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

HISTORY

Nov 12, 2024Received by the Secretary of the Senate
Nov 12, 2024Filed
Jan 29, 2025Co-author authorized
Feb 3, 2025Read first time
Feb 3, 2025Referred to State Affairs

FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

Smells

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

José Menéndez

Donors

Kickapoo Traditional Tribes of Texas$25K Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$20K Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee$10K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 5, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Kickapoo Traditional Tribes of Texas$25,000.00

Kickapoo Traditional Tribes of Texas

$25,000.00

Cash: $25,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $25,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Jan 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Jan 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101065471.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$20,000.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$20,000.00

Cash: $20,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $20,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 12, 2024 to Oct 5, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101012370, 101032316, 101072614.

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee$10,000.00

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$10,000.00

Cash: $10,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $10,000.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 2, 2025. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101032316.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

Kickapoo Traditional Tribes of Texas

$25,000.00

Cash: $25,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $25,000.00

Also funds 0 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · on Jan 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Jan 22, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101065471.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$20,000.00

Cash: $20,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $20,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 12, 2024 to Oct 5, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101012370, 101032316, 101072614.

Texas REALTORS Political Action Committee

$10,000.00

Cash: $10,000.00
Paid by others: $0.00
Total: $10,000.00

Also funds 140 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 2, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Dec 2, 2025. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101032316.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Fiscal

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

FILED BEFORE

Filed 2 times: 88R and 89R. Checked against 88R only.

88R SB 119

by Sen. Menéndez, same lead author · Died in committee · same text

Introduced text

Last action, Feb 15, 2023: Referred to State Affairs

Relating to the voter registration of naturalized United States citizens.

Caption, 88R bill history

Sources

Texas Senate · Filed Nov 12, 2024

02/03/2025 S Referred to State Affairs

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:19 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

Coauthors

Carol AlvaradoDSenate 6

Senate committee · State Affairs · Final status: Died in committee

Companion

HB 1296 by Vo (identical)

Subjects

Aliens

County Government--General

Elections--Registration & Suffrage

PUBLIC SAFETY, DEPARTMENT OF

SECRETARY OF STATE

Text

The text as introduced · 343 words

89R3949 JDK-D

By: Menéndez, et al.
S.B. No. 146

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the voter registration of naturalized United States

citizens.

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

SECTION 1. Section 13.002(a), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Section 13.009, a [ A ] person

desiring to register to vote must submit an application to the

registrar of the county in which the person resides. Except as

provided by Subsection (e), an application must be submitted by

personal delivery, by mail, or by telephonic facsimile machine in

accordance with Sections 13.143(d) and (d-2).

SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 13, Election Code, is

amended by adding Section 13.009 to read as follows:

Sec. 13.009. VOTER REGISTRATION OF NATURALIZED CITIZEN.

(a) The voter registrar of each county shall automatically

register a resident of the county who is eligible to vote as

provided by Section 13.001 upon issuance of a certificate of

naturalization by the United States Citizenship and Immigration

Services.

(b) For the purposes of Subsection (a), the Department of

Public Safety may, in cooperation with the United States

Citizenship and Immigration Services, establish a procedure by

which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

notifies the department when a person lawfully present in this

state is issued a certificate of naturalization.

(c) A procedure established under Subsection (b) must

require the Department of Public Safety to provide the information

received from the United States Citizenship and Immigration

Services to the appropriate county registrar.

(d) If the United States Citizenship and Immigration

Services fails to notify the Department of Public Safety that a

person lawfully present in this state has been issued a certificate

of naturalization, the newly naturalized citizen may present the

certificate of naturalization to the appropriate county registrar

in satisfaction of Section 13.002(c)(3). The registrar shall

assist the person in registering to vote.

(e) The secretary of state may adopt rules to implement this

section as necessary.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.