H.B. No. 1268




AN ACT
relating to the information included on a voter registration application. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 13.002(c), Election Code, is amended to read as follows: (c) A registration application must include: (1) the applicant's first name, middle name, if any, last name, and former name, if any; (2) the month, day, and year of the applicant's birth; (3) a statement that the applicant is a United States citizen; (4) a statement that the applicant is a resident of the county; (5) a statement that the applicant has not been determined mentally incompetent by a final judgment of a court; (6) a statement that the applicant has not been finally convicted of a felony or that the applicant is a felon eligible for registration under Section 13.001; (7) the applicant's residence address or, if the residence has no address, the address at which the applicant receives mail and a concise description of the location of the applicant's residence; (8) the following information: (A) the applicant's Texas driver's license number or the number of a personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety or a statement by the applicant that the applicant has not been issued a driver's license or personal identification card; or (B) if the applicant has not been issued a number described by Paragraph (A), the last four digits of the applicant's social security number[;] or [(C)] a statement by the applicant that the applicant has not been issued a social security number [described by Paragraph (A) or (B)]; (9) if the application is made by an agent, a statement of the agent's relationship to the applicant; and (10) the city and county in which the applicant formerly resided. SECTION 2. Section 13.004(c), Election Code, is amended to read as follows: (c) A social security number, Texas driver's license number, [or] number of a personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety, or an indication that an applicant is interested in working as an election judge furnished on a registration application is confidential and does not constitute public information for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code. The registrar shall ensure that a social security number, Texas driver's license number, [or] number of a personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety, or an indication that an applicant is interested in working as an election judge is excluded from disclosure. SECTION 3. Section 13.122(a), Election Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) In addition to the other statements and spaces for entering information that appear on an officially prescribed registration application form, each official form must include: (1) the statement: "I understand that giving false information to procure a voter registration is perjury and a crime under state and federal law."; (2) a space for the applicant's registration number; (3) a space for the applicant's Texas driver's license number or number of a personal identification card issued by the Department of Public Safety; (4) a space for the applicant's telephone number; (5) a space for the applicant's social security number; (6) a space for the applicant's sex; (7) a statement indicating that the furnishing of the applicant's telephone number and sex is optional; (8) a space or box for indicating whether the applicant or voter is submitting new registration information or a change in current registration information; (9) a statement instructing a voter who is using the form to make a change in current registration information to enter the voter's name and the changed information in the appropriate spaces on the form; (10) a statement that if the applicant declines to register to vote, that fact will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration purposes; (11) a statement that if the applicant does register to vote, information regarding the agency or office to which the application is submitted will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration purposes; [and] (12) a space or box for indicating whether the applicant is interested in working as an election judge; (13) a statement warning that a conviction for making a false statement may result in imprisonment for up to the maximum amount of time provided by law, a fine of up to the maximum amount provided by law, or both the imprisonment and the fine; and (14) any other voter registration information required by federal law or considered appropriate and required by the secretary of state. SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only to an application for voter registration that is submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2006. ______________________________ ______________________________ President of the Senate Speaker of the House I certify that H.B. No. 1268 was passed by the House on May 11, 2005, by a non-record vote. ______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House I certify that H.B. No. 1268 was passed by the Senate on May 25, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. ______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: _____________________ Date _____________________ Governor