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Capitol Watch: Interim charges for House committees
By State Representative Larry Phillips
Feb 7, 2010

This week I will continue discussing the interim charges for House committees.  The charges are good indicators of what legislation the legislature will take up during the next session. Interim charges are the issues that the Speaker asks committees to study during the time between regular legislative sessions in order to make recommendations for legislation for the following legislative session.

Legislators rely on public input when crafting legislation, and it is important that they hear from people during the interim.  This week I will review the charges for the Committee on Elections, which has jurisdiction on matters pertaining to:  the right of suffrage in Texas; primary, special, and general elections; revision, modification, amendment, or change of the Election Code; the secretary of state in relation to elections; campaign finance; and the duties and conduct of candidates for public office and of persons with an interest in influencing public policy.

House Committee on Elections

• Study ways the state can enhance military and overseas voters' ability to obtain and return balloting materials and reduce burdens on those voters' exercise of their right to vote. (Joint Interim Charge with House Committee on Defense and Veterans' Affairs)
• Examine the use of central polling places and compare voter turnout and the number of rejected provisional ballots in counties that use central polling places with similar counties that do not.
• Examine the prevalence of fraud in Texas elections. Study new laws in other states regarding voter identification and recommend statutory changes necessary to ensure that only eligible voters can vote in Texas elections.
• Review the Texas campaign finance law in judicial races in light of the recent United States Supreme Court decision Caperton v. Massey. (Joint Interim Charge with House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence)
• Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction: the following state agencies: the Office of the Secretary of State and the Texas Ethics Commission  

The House Committee on Elections can be reached at (512) 463-0772.  For more information on these charges or any other matter of state government, please contact my office by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by emailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us.    My district office phone number is (903) 891-7297.