HBA-NMO H.B. 246 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 246
By: Denny
Elections
3/28/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the duties placed on an officer of a political party by the
Election Code are enforceable by writ of mandamus (Black's Law Dictionary,
Sixth Edition:  A writ issuing from a court commanding an entity or person
to perform a duty imposed by law), but the officer is not liable for any
criminal penalties for failure to perform such duties.  H.B. 246 provides
criminal penalties for the failure of a political party officer to perform
certain statutory duties.      

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 161, Election Code, by adding Section 161.0091,
as follows: 

Sec.  161.0091.  PARTY OFFICER SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PENALTY.  Provides that
an officer of a political party commits an offense if the officer fails to
perform a duty placed by this code on the officer.  Provides that an
offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor if the conduct is
performed recklessly or with criminal negligence or a Class A misdemeanor
if the conduct is performed knowingly. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date:  September 1, 1999.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.