85R11055 SRS-D     By: Miller H.B. No. 2157       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   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(a), Election Code, is amended 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.          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.