85R911 ADM-D     By: Schofield H.B. No. 531       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the prosecution of certain offenses relating to an   application for a ballot to be voted by mail; increasing a criminal   penalty.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 84.003(b), Election Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (b)  A person who acts as a witness for an applicant for an   early voting ballot application commits an offense if the person   knowingly fails to comply with Section 1.011. A person who [in the   presence of the applicant] otherwise assists an applicant in   completing an early voting ballot application commits an offense if   the person knowingly fails to comply with Section 1.011(d) in the   same manner as a witness.          SECTION 2.  Section 84.0041(b), Election Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (b)  An offense under this section is a state jail felony   [unless the person is the applicant, is related to the applicant   within the second degree by affinity or the third degree by   consanguinity, as determined under Subchapter B, Chapter 573,   Government Code, or is registered to vote at the same address as the   applicant, in which event the offense is a Class A misdemeanor].          SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only   to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.   An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is   governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and   the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For   purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the   effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred   before that date.          SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.