Texas Senate bill by Sen. Bettencourt amends Election Code to address voter registrar compliance

Passed bill authored by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt seeks to amend the Election Code to address failures by voter registrars to comply with registration laws and to regulate the withholding and distribution of funds accordingly, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the Senate, zero Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 11 Democrats opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the House, 24 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted in favor, while 33 Democrats voted against it.

Paul Bettencourt introduced the bill in the Texas Senate on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, ahead of the official start of the 89th regular legislative session on Jan. 14, 2025.

Bettencourt graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS.

Bettencourt, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2015 to represent the state’s 7th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Dan Patrick.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the failure of a voter registrar to comply with voter registration laws’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Election Code to address the failure of a voter registrar to comply with voter registration laws. It allows the Texas secretary of state to withhold funds from a registrar who fails to timely perform duties such as approving, changing, or canceling voter registrations, scheduling required hearings, resolving challenges, or sending necessary notices. However, the secretary of state must distribute funds if the registrar completes the duties within 30 days after funds are withheld. The effective date of this legislation is Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton (Republican – District 4), Sen. Charles Perry (Republican – District 28), and Sen. Bob Hall (Republican – District 2), along with five other authors.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Friday, May 30, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.