HBA-CMT H.B. 613 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 613
By: Maxey
Elections
2/12/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Many Texans have access to the Internet and have grown accustomed to the
24-hour-a-day access to the information and services that the Internet
provides.  House Bill 613  authorizes county commissioners to decide
whether a county voter registrar may accept voter registration applications
on-line at a county web page, and requires the secretary of state to adopt
rules and procedures to permit a county to accept these newly registered
voters. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the secretary of state in SECTION 2
(Section 13.0021 Election Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 613 amends the Election Code to authorize the commissioners
court of a county to permit the submission of a voter registration
application to the registrar of the county by digital transmission.  The
bill provides that a digital signature on a registration application
submitted by digital transmission is sufficient to satisfy the requirement
that the application be in writing and signed by the applicant.   

H.B. 613 requires the secretary of state (secretary) to adopt rules to
approve technologies for submitting a registration application by digital
transmission, and to approve technologies capable of creating digital
signatures that are: 

_ unique to the person using the signature; 

_capable of verification; 

_under the sole control of the person using the signature; 

_linked to the registration application such that the signature is
invalidated if the information in the application is changed; and 

_consistent with any other criteria the secretary determines necessary to
ensure the validity of the signature. 

The secretary is required to  prescribe additional procedures as necessary
to implement a system for the digital transmission of registration
applications and the use of digital signatures on the applications. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

January 1, 2002.