The bill, H.B. No. 98, aims to enhance the prosecution of certain election offenses in Texas by introducing new provisions regarding the disqualification of district or county attorneys. Specifically, it amends Article 2A.105 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to include a new subsection (d), which mandates that a judge must declare an attorney disqualified from prosecuting election law violations if it is shown that the attorney has a policy or practice of consistently refusing to prosecute such violations. This change is intended to ensure that election laws are enforced more rigorously.

Additionally, the bill amends Section 273.021 of the Election Code by adding a new subsection (d) that allows the attorney general to prosecute election law offenses when a district or county attorney is disqualified under the new provisions. The bill clarifies that these changes will only apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date of the Act, which is set for September 1, 2025, while offenses committed prior to this date will be governed by the existing law.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Election Code 273.021 (Election Code 273)