S.B. No. 994         AN ACT   relating to the declaration of a candidate's ineligibility on the   basis of failure to pay a filing fee or submit a petition in lieu of   a filing fee.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 145.003, Election Code, is amended by   amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding Subsection (f-1) to   read as follows:          (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (f-1), a [A] candidate   in the general election for state and county officers may be   declared ineligible before the 30th day preceding election day by:                (1)  the party officer responsible for certifying the   candidate's name for placement on the general election ballot, in   the case of a candidate who is a political party's nominee; [or]                (2)  the authority with whom the candidate's   application for a place on the ballot is required to be filed, in   the case of an independent candidate; or                (3)  the secretary of state, if the candidate is   ineligible under Subsection (f)(3).          (f)  A candidate may be declared ineligible only if:                (1)  the information on the candidate's application for   a place on the ballot indicates that the candidate is ineligible for   the office; [or]                (2)  facts indicating that the candidate is ineligible   are conclusively established by another public record; or                (3)  the candidate fails to pay the filing fee or submit   a petition in lieu of a filing fee.          (f-1)  A candidate may not be declared ineligible under   Subsection (f)(3) after the 74th day preceding election day.          SECTION 2.  Section 145.036, Election Code, is amended by   amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as   follows:          (a)  Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (b) and   (b-1), if a candidate's name is to be omitted from the ballot under   Section 145.035, the political party's state, district, county, or   precinct executive committee, as appropriate for the particular   office, may nominate a replacement candidate to fill the vacancy in   the nomination.          (b-1)  An executive committee may make a replacement   nomination following an administrative declaration of   ineligibility under Section 145.003(f)(3) only if the replacement   candidate pays the filing fee or submits a petition in lieu of a   filing fee.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.             ______________________________ ______________________________      President of the Senate Speaker of the House                 I hereby certify that S.B. No. 994 passed the Senate on   March 15, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 22, Nays 8; and that   the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 21, 2023, by the   following vote: Yeas 23, Nays 8.       ______________________________   Secretary of the Senate                I hereby certify that S.B. No. 994 passed the House, with   amendment, on May 17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 93,   Nays 51, one present not voting.       ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House            Approved:     ______________________________                Date       ______________________________              Governor