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From the 2005 Regular Session of the Texas Legislature

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See caveat and source notes at the 79th Regular Session page)

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	H.B. No. 56



AN
ACT



relating to the offense
of tampering with a direct recording electronic voting
machine; providing criminal penalties.


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


SECTION 1.  Chapter
33, Penal Code, is amended by adding Section 33.05
to read as follows:


Sec. 33.05.  TAMPERING
WITH DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINE.  (a)
 In this section:


	(1)  "Direct recording
electronic voting machine" has the meaning assigned
by Section 121.003, Election Code.


	(2)  "Measure" has
the meaning assigned by Section 1.005, Election Code.


(b)  A person commits
an offense if the person knowingly accesses a computer,
computer network, computer program, computer software,
or computer system that is a part of a voting system
that uses direct recording electronic voting machines
and by means of that access:


	(1)  prevents a person
from lawfully casting a vote;


	(2)  changes a lawfully
cast vote;


	(3)  prevents a lawfully
cast vote from being counted; or


	(4)  causes a vote
that was not lawfully cast to be counted.


(c)  An offense under
this section does not require that the votes as affected
by the person's actions described by Subsection (b)
actually be the votes used in the official determination
of the outcome of the election.


(d)  An offense under
this section is a felony of the first degree.


(e)  Notwithstanding
Section 15.01(d), an offense under Section 15.01(a)
is a felony of the third degree if the offense the
actor intends to commit is an offense under this section.


SECTION 2.  (a)  The
change in law made by this Act applies only to an offense
committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
 For purposes of this section, an offense is committed
before the effective date of this Act if any element
of the offense occurs before the effective date.


(b)  An offense committed
before the effective date of this Act is covered by
the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.


SECTION 3.  This Act
takes effect September 1, 2005.




______________________________	______________________________


    President of the
Senate	Speaker of the House     


I certify that H.B.
No. 56 was passed by the House on April 19, 2005, by
a non-record vote; and that the House concurred in
Senate amendments to H.B. No. 56 on May 23, 2005, by
a non-record vote.



______________________________




Chief
Clerk of the House   



I certify that H.B.
No. 56 was passed by the Senate, with amendments, on
May 19, 2005, by the following vote:  Yeas 29, Nays
0.



______________________________




Secretary
of the Senate   



APPROVED: __________________


                 Date
      


          __________________


               Governor