H.B. No. 2157
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the requirements for a candidate's application or
  petition for a place on the ballot.
         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 before a person authorized
  to administer oaths in this state 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";
                     (L)  a statement that the candidate is aware of
  the nepotism law, Chapter 573, Government Code; and
                     (M)  a public mailing address and any available
  electronic mail address at which the candidate receives
  correspondence relating to the candidate's campaign.
         SECTION 2.  Section 141.065, Election Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
  follows:
         (a)  Each part of a petition must include an affidavit of the
  person who circulated it, executed before a person authorized to
  administer oaths in this state, stating that the person:
               (1)  pointed out and read to each signer, before the
  petition was signed, each statement pertaining to the signer that
  appears on the petition;
               (2)  witnessed each signature;
               (3)  verified each signer's registration status; and
               (4)  believes each signature to be genuine and the
  corresponding information to be correct.
         (c)  A single notarized affidavit by any person who obtained
  signatures is valid for all signatures gathered by the person if the
  date of notarization is on or after the date of the last signature
  obtained by the person.
         SECTION 3.  The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
  141.031(a) and 141.065(a), Election Code, apply to an application
  for a place on the ballot made or a petition circulated on or after
  the effective date of this Act.  An application for a place on the
  ballot made or a petition circulated before the effective date of
  this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
  application is made or the petition is circulated, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2157 was passed by the House on May 9,
  2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 136, Nays 9, 2 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2157 was passed by the Senate on May
  23, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor