81R4407 DRH-D
 
  By: Miller of Erath H.B. No. 835
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to requiring a candidate for public office to provide
  proof of citizenship.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 141.031(a), Election Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  A candidate's application for a place on the ballot that
  is required by this code must:
               (1)  be in writing;
               (2)  be signed and sworn to by the candidate and
  indicate the date that the candidate swears to the application;
               (3)  be timely filed with the appropriate authority;
  and
               (4)  include:
                     (A)  the candidate's name;
                     (B)  the candidate's occupation;
                     (C)  the office sought, including any place number
  or other distinguishing number;
                     (D)  an indication of whether the office sought is
  to be filled for a full or unexpired term if the office sought and
  another office to be voted on have the same title but do not have
  place numbers or other distinguishing numbers;
                     (E)  a statement that the candidate is a United
  States citizen;
                     (F)  a statement that the candidate has not been
  determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate
  jurisdiction to be:
                           (i)  totally mentally incapacitated; or
                           (ii)  partially mentally incapacitated
  without the right to vote;
                     (G)  a statement that the candidate has not been
  finally convicted of a felony from which the candidate has not been
  pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities;
                     (H)  the candidate's date of birth;
                     (I)  the candidate's residence address or, if the
  residence has no address, the address at which the candidate
  receives mail and a concise description of the location of the
  candidate's residence;
                     (J)  the candidate's length of continuous
  residence in the state and in the territory from which the office
  sought is elected as of the date the candidate swears to the
  application;
                     (K)  the statement:  "I, __________, of
  __________ County, Texas, being a candidate for the office of
  __________, swear that I will support and defend the constitution
  and laws of the United States and of the State of Texas";  [and]
                     (L)  a statement that the candidate is aware of
  the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code; and
                     (M)  proof of the candidate's United States
  citizenship through a certified copy of a birth certificate or
  other document that establishes citizenship in a form prescribed by
  the secretary of state.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a candidate's application for a place on the ballot that is filed
  on or after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.