Texas House Bill HB 1090

Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

• Filed: 11/12/24
• Out of House Committee: 3/31/25

Caption

Relating to prohibiting certain individuals from serving as a volunteer deputy registrar.

Summary

HB 1090 amends the Texas Election Code to tighten eligibility rules for volunteer deputy registrars. A volunteer deputy registrar is the person authorized to help voters complete voter registration applications, so the bill focuses on who may be appointed to that role. Under the bill, a person must be at least 18, meet the general qualifications for a voter, and, in addition to existing requirements, may not have been finally convicted of a felony unless the person has fully discharged the sentence or been pardoned/released from voting disability. The bill also adds new disqualifications tied to identity theft and misconduct in office. A person would be ineligible if finally convicted of an offense under Penal Code Section 32.51 (identity theft) or of an offense committed while actually performing duties as a volunteer deputy registrar. It further bars appointment if the person is currently charged with a felony or with one of those specified offenses in any Texas county. The bill also updates termination rules so an appointment ends if the deputy registrar is finally convicted of certain offenses or is charged with an offense allegedly committed during the discharge of duties. The bill’s impact is to narrow the pool of people who can serve as volunteer deputy registrars and to create clearer automatic disqualification and termination triggers. It amends Sections 13.031 and 13.036 of the Election Code and would take effect September 1, 2025. In practical terms, county election officials and voter registration volunteers would need to ensure appointees are screened for felony status, pending charges, and identity-theft-related convictions. The available record shows no committee transcript, recorded votes, or formal debate excerpts, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to summarize beyond the bill’s movement through the process. Based on the text alone, the measure appears administrative and integrity-focused, aimed at protecting the voter registration process by excluding individuals with certain criminal histories or pending charges from serving in a sensitive election-related role. No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of concern, if raised, would likely involve the breadth of the new disqualifications, especially the use of pending charges as a basis for ineligibility or termination, and whether the bill could reduce volunteer capacity for voter registration efforts.

Impact

HB 1090 amends the Election Code to add and clarify eligibility and removal standards for volunteer deputy registrars. It specifically changes Section 13.031(d) to bar appointment of persons with certain felony convictions, identity theft convictions under Penal Code Section 32.51, convictions for offenses committed while serving as a volunteer deputy registrar, and current felony or specified offense charges. It also revises Section 13.036(a) to make appointment termination automatic upon certain convictions or charges. The bill affects county election administration, volunteer registrars, and applicants for voter registration appointment, and it becomes effective September 1, 2025.

Sentiment

There is no committee transcript or vote record provided, so no direct evidence of support or opposition is available. The bill’s text suggests a generally protective, election-integrity-oriented purpose, with the likely sentiment being neutral to favorable among lawmakers concerned with safeguarding voter registration processes. Because the measure is framed as a qualification and disqualification update rather than a major policy expansion, it appears to have been treated as a technical election administration bill.

Contention

No explicit contention is documented in the provided materials. The most likely areas of debate would be the new prohibition on serving while currently charged with a felony or specified offense, which could be viewed as necessary risk management by supporters but as overly broad or potentially unfair by critics. Another possible point of concern is the added identity-theft conviction bar and whether the bill could unnecessarily limit the number of available volunteer deputy registrars, especially in communities that rely on volunteers for voter registration drives.