In the final days of the regular legislative session, a handful of Senate bills designed to make Texas elections more secure and fight voter fraud are barely hanging on to life as House deadlines for action are fast approaching.
To have a chance at passing, the bills must either be added to the House calendar by the Calendars Committee or placed on the Local and Consent calendar, a fast track for passing noncontroversial items. The later a bill is added to the calendar, the less likely it is to get a vote.
The Deadlines
- Saturday, May 18 – Deadline for Senate bills to be reported out of House committees and have a chance of getting on the House calendar for a vote.
- Tuesday, May 21 – Last day for the House to consider Senate bills on second reading; at midnight, all unheard Senate bills will die on the House calendar.
- Wednesday, May 22 – Last day for the House to vote on Senate bills sent to the Local and Consent calendar.
- Friday, May 24 – Deadline for the House to act on Senate amendments to House bills.
- Sunday, May 26 – Last chance for the House to adopt conference committee reports.
- Monday, May 27 – Last day of the regular session (sine die).
The Bills
- Senate Bill 9 (Hughes) – This session’s highest-priority election integrity legislation; omnibus bill addressing a wide range of election security issues. Reported out of Elections 5/17.
- Senate Bill 205 (Perry) -– Expands comparisons of lists of noncitizens and nonresidents excused from jury duty to to voter rolls. Reported out of Elections 5/17.
- Senate Bill 902 (Hughes) – Improves public access to election records. Reported to Local and Consent 5/16.
- Senate Bill 1568 (Fallon) – Adds penalties for organized election fraud; allows attorney general to seek an injunction to stop criminal activity during an election. Reported to Calendars 5/17.
- Senate Bill 1638 (Zaffirini) – Helps detect mail ballot fraud. Reported to Local and Consent 5/15.
The House must work quickly to keep these election integrity reforms alive; many others are already dead.
