85R13895 ATP-F     By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 44     (Schofield)     Substitute the following for S.B. No. 44:  No.       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to requirements relating to an application for a place on   the ballot.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 141.032(c), Election Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (c)  If an application is accompanied by a petition, the   petition is considered part of the application, and the review   shall be completed as soon as practicable after the date the   application is received by the authority. However, the petition is   not considered part of the application for purposes of determining   compliance with the requirements applicable to each document, and a   deficiency in the requirements for one document may not be remedied   by the contents of the other document. Unless the petition is   challenged, the authority is only required to review the petition   for facial compliance with the applicable requirements as to form,   content, and procedure.          SECTION 2.  Section 141.034, Election Code, is amended by   amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as   follows:          (a)  An application for a place on the ballot may not be   challenged for compliance with the applicable requirements as to   form, content, and procedure after the day before any ballot to be   voted early by mail is mailed to an address in the authority's   jurisdiction [the beginning of early voting by personal appearance]   for the election for which the application is made.          (c)  A challenge must state with specificity how the   application does not comply with the applicable requirements as to   form, content, and procedure. The authority's review of the   challenge is limited to the specific items challenged and any   response filed with the authority by the challenged candidate.          SECTION 3.  Section 172.021, Election Code, is amended by   adding Subsections (e) and (g) to read as follows:          (e)  A candidate for an office specified by Section   172.024(a)(8), (10), or (12), or for justice of the peace in a   county with a population of more than 1.5 million, who chooses to   pay the filing fee must also accompany the application with a   petition for a place on the primary ballot as a candidate for   judicial office that complies with the requirements prescribed for   the petition authorized by Subsection (b), except that the minimum   number of signatures that must appear on the petition required by   this subsection is 250. If the candidate chooses to file the   petition authorized by Subsection (b) in lieu of the filing fee, the   minimum number of signatures required for that petition is   increased by 250. Signatures on a petition filed under this   subsection or Subsection (b) by a candidate covered by this   subsection may not be obtained on the grounds of a county courthouse   or courthouse annex.          (g)  A candidate for the office of chief justice or justice,   supreme court, or presiding judge or judge, court of criminal   appeals, who chooses to pay the filing fee must also accompany the   application with a petition that complies with the requirements   prescribed for a petition authorized by Subsection (b), except that   the minimum number of signatures that must appear on the petition   required by this subsection is 50 from each court of appeals   district.          SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.