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HB493 • 2025

Relating to ineligibility to serve as a poll watcher.

Relating to ineligibility to serve as a poll watcher.

Elections
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Shaheen | Capriglione | Metcalf
Last action
2025-06-20
Official status
06/20/2025 E Effective on 9/1/25
Effective date
2025-06-20

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Relating to ineligibility to serve as a poll watcher.

Relating to ineligibility to serve as a poll watcher.

What This Bill Does

  • Relating to ineligibility to serve as a poll watcher.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-06-20 Texas Legislature Online

    Signed by the Governor

  2. 2025-06-20 Texas Legislature Online

    Effective on 9/1/25

  3. 2025-06-02 Texas Legislature Online

    Reported enrolled

  4. 2025-06-02 Texas Legislature Online

    Signed in the House

  5. 2025-06-02 Texas Legislature Online

    Signed in the Senate

  6. 2025-06-02 Texas Legislature Online

    Sent to the Governor

  7. 2025-06-01 Texas Legislature Online

    House adopts conference committee report

  8. 2025-06-01 Texas Legislature Online

    Record vote. RV#4145

  9. 2025-06-01 Texas Legislature Online

    Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal

  10. 2025-06-01 Texas Legislature Online

    Senate adopts conference committee report

  11. 2025-06-01 Texas Legislature Online

    Record vote

  12. 2025-06-01 Texas Legislature Online

    House adopts conf. comm. report-reported

  13. 2025-06-01 Texas Legislature Online

    Senate adopts conf. comm. report-reported

  14. 2025-05-31 Texas Legislature Online

    Conference committee report filed

  15. 2025-05-31 Texas Legislature Online

    Conf. Comm. Report distributed

  16. 2025-05-29 Texas Legislature Online

    Senate grants request for conference comm.

  17. 2025-05-29 Texas Legislature Online

    Senate appoints conferees

  18. 2025-05-29 Texas Legislature Online

    Senate grants request for conf comm-reported

  19. 2025-05-29 Texas Legislature Online

    Senate appoints conferees-reported

  20. 2025-05-28 Texas Legislature Online

    House refuses to concur in Senate amendments

  21. 2025-05-28 Texas Legislature Online

    House requests conference committee

  22. 2025-05-28 Texas Legislature Online

    House appoints conferees

  23. 2025-05-28 Texas Legislature Online

    House refuses to concur-reported

  24. 2025-05-28 Texas Legislature Online

    House requests conference committee-reported

  25. 2025-05-28 Texas Legislature Online

    House appoints conferees-reported

  26. 2025-05-27 Texas Legislature Online

    Senate Amendments distributed

  27. 2025-05-27 Texas Legislature Online

    Senate Amendments Analysis distributed

  28. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Co-sponsor authorized

  29. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Placed on intent calendar

  30. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Rules suspended-Regular order of business

  31. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Record vote

  32. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Read 2nd time

  33. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Amendment(s) offered. FA1 Miles

  34. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Amended

  35. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Vote recorded in Journal

  36. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Passed to 3rd reading as amended

  37. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Record vote

  38. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Three day rule suspended

  39. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Record vote

  40. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Read 3rd time

  41. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Passed

  42. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Record vote

  43. 2025-05-26 Texas Legislature Online

    Senate passage as amended reported

  44. 2025-05-23 Texas Legislature Online

    Reported favorably w/o amendments

  45. 2025-05-23 Texas Legislature Online

    Committee report printed and distributed

  46. 2025-05-22 Texas Legislature Online

    Scheduled for public hearing on . . .

  47. 2025-05-22 Texas Legislature Online

    Considered in public hearing

  48. 2025-05-22 Texas Legislature Online

    Testimony taken in committee

  49. 2025-05-22 Texas Legislature Online

    Vote taken in committee

  50. 2025-05-15 Texas Legislature Online

    Read first time

  51. 2025-05-15 Texas Legislature Online

    Referred to State Affairs

  52. 2025-05-14 Texas Legislature Online

    Received from the House

  53. 2025-05-13 Texas Legislature Online

    Read 3rd time

  54. 2025-05-13 Texas Legislature Online

    Passed

  55. 2025-05-13 Texas Legislature Online

    Record vote. RV#2292

  56. 2025-05-13 Texas Legislature Online

    Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal

  57. 2025-05-13 Texas Legislature Online

    Reported engrossed

  58. 2025-05-12 Texas Legislature Online

    Read 2nd time

  59. 2025-05-12 Texas Legislature Online

    Point of order withdrawn. RUle 11, Section 2

  60. 2025-05-12 Texas Legislature Online

    Passed to engrossment

  61. 2025-05-12 Texas Legislature Online

    Record vote. RV#2226

  62. 2025-05-12 Texas Legislature Online

    Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal

  63. 2025-05-10 Texas Legislature Online

    Placed on General State Calendar

  64. 2025-05-08 Texas Legislature Online

    Considered in Calendars

  65. 2025-04-17 Texas Legislature Online

    Considered in Calendars

  66. 2025-03-31 Texas Legislature Online

    Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator

  67. 2025-03-31 Texas Legislature Online

    Committee report distributed

  68. 2025-03-31 Texas Legislature Online

    Committee report sent to Calendars

  69. 2025-03-27 Texas Legislature Online

    Considered in public hearing

  70. 2025-03-27 Texas Legislature Online

    Committee substitute considered in committee

  71. 2025-03-27 Texas Legislature Online

    Reported favorably as substituted

  72. 2025-03-20 Texas Legislature Online

    Scheduled for public hearing on . . .

  73. 2025-03-20 Texas Legislature Online

    Considered in public hearing

  74. 2025-03-20 Texas Legislature Online

    Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee

  75. 2025-03-20 Texas Legislature Online

    Left pending in committee

  76. 2025-02-28 Texas Legislature Online

    Read first time

  77. 2025-02-28 Texas Legislature Online

    Referred to Elections

  78. 2024-11-12 Texas Legislature Online

    Filed

Official Summary Text

Relating to ineligibility to serve as a poll watcher.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
89(R) HB 493 - Enrolled version - Bill Text

H.B. No. 493

AN ACT

relating to ineligibility to serve as a poll watcher.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 33.006(b), Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(b) A certificate of appointment must:

(1) be in writing and signed by the appointing

authority or, for an appointment for a write-in candidate under

Section 33.004, by each of the voters making the appointment;

(2) indicate the capacity in which the appointing

authority is acting;

(3) state the name, residence address, and voter

registration number of the appointee and be signed by the

appointee;

(4) identify the election and the precinct polling

place or other location at which the appointee is to serve;

(5) in an election on a measure, identify the measure

if more than one is to be voted on and state which side of the

measure the appointee represents; and

(6) contain an affidavit executed by the appointee

stating that the appointee
:

(A)
will not have possession of a device capable

of recording images or sound or that the appointee will disable or

deactivate the device while serving as a watcher
; and

(B)

has not been finally convicted of a felony of

the first or second degree or a felony offense in connection with

conduct directly attributable to an election
.

SECTION 2. Section 33.035, Election Code, is amended to

read as follows:

Sec. 33.035. INELIGIBILITY OF PERSON CONVICTED OF
CERTAIN

OFFENSES
[
ELECTION OFFENSE
]. A person is ineligible to serve as a

watcher in an election if the person has been finally convicted of
a

felony:

(1) of the first or second degree; or

(2)
[
an offense
] in connection with conduct directly

attributable to an election.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________

______________________________

President of the Senate

Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 493 was passed by the House on May 13,

2025, by the following vote: Yeas 86, Nays 52, 3 present, not

voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to

H.B. No. 493 on May 28, 2025, and requested the appointment of a

conference committee to consider the differences between the two

houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report

on H.B. No. 493 on June 1, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 90,

Nays 44, 2 present, not voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 493 was passed by the Senate, with

amendments, on May 26, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays

5; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference

committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and

that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.

493 on June 1, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 23, Nays 8.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

APPROVED: __________________

Date

__________________

Governor