HBA-CMT H.B. 709 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 709 By: Danburg Elections 3/27/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In the last decade Texas has experienced a rapid population growth, especially in large urban counties, which has strained the resources of counties to provide essential voting equipment and personnel to conduct elections. House Bill 709 increases the maximum number of registered voters that an election precinct in a county of 2.8 million or more is authorized to contain. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 709 amends the Election Code to authorize a county with a population of 2.8 million or more to have a maximum of 5,000 registered voters in an election precinct for a general election for state and county officers. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.