HB766

Regular Session

Relating to the ballot application requirements for the election of a precinct chair.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-06-22

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Secretary of State (Form prescription) • County Party Chairs (Application acceptance and verification)

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: June 22, 2025 (Legislation passed with supermajority, superseding the standard September 1 date).
Compliance Deadline: June 22, 2025. Any application accepted on or after this date must use the new criteria.
Agency Rulemaking: The Texas Secretary of State must prescribe a new official application form. Monitor the SOS Elections Division website for the updated "Application for Place on the Ballot" immediately.

Immediate Action Plan

1. Update Internal Guides: If your Government Relations team distributes "How to Run for Office" guides to employees, update the section on Precinct Chairs to mention the mandatory contact info and the recommendation to use a non-work email.
2. Patch Data Systems: Ensure candidate databases have a "Confidential" flag for these specific fields.
3. Secure New Forms: Download the updated application form from the Secretary of State’s office immediately upon release.
4. Audit Privacy Insurance: Verify that your organization's liability policy covers the wrongful release of confidential election data.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Election Software Vendors: If your organization or political party utilizes third-party software to manage candidate filings or generate public voter guides, you must amend the scope of work. The software must be updated to segregate the candidate’s email and phone number from public-facing data fields to ensure they do not auto-populate into public directories.

Hiring/Training

Intake Officer Training: Staff accepting filings must be trained to verify the presence of at least one contact method (email or phone). Applications missing this data are legally incomplete and must be rejected.
Privacy Protocols: Staff must be trained *not* to read this specific contact information aloud during public drawing of ballot positions or other public meetings.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Public Information Act (PIA) Redaction: This data is explicitly exempt from disclosure under Chapter 552. You must update your PIA response templates. If a request for candidate filings is received, the email and phone number provided under this statute must be redacted prior to release.
Form Management: Destroy previous versions of the Precinct Chair application form. Use only the version revised post-June 2025.

Fees & Costs

No Fee Changes: There are no new filing fees.
Liability Risk: While operational costs are low, failure to redact this confidential information exposes the filing authority to liability for violating the candidate's statutory privacy rights.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

"Campaign" vs. "Corporate" Email: The statute requires an email for "campaign correspondence."
*Risk:* Employees running for office may default to using their corporate email addresses.
*Advisory:* This creates a nexus between corporate resources and political activity. Corporate General Counsels should advise employees to create dedicated personal email addresses (e.g., `CandidateName@gmail.com`) for these filings to avoid internal discovery issues or accusations of corporate in-kind contributions.
Verification Standards: The law does not explicitly require the filing authority to test the validity of the phone number or email provided. Unless the Secretary of State issues a rule to the contrary, filing authorities should accept the data "on its face" and are not required to verify connectivity.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsElections Elections--general Elections--political Parties Email & Electronic Communications

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 766

By: Cortez

Elections

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that in the 2020-2022 election cycle, the Bexar County Democratic Party received 444 filed applications for precinct chairs, while nearly 20 percent of those applications had no contact information aside from a mailing address. The current application for a place on the general primary ballot for a precinct or county chair, as prescribed by the secretary of state, indicates that providing either an email address or phone number is optional. The bill author has also informed the committee that this leads to local authorities encountering difficulties in contacting applicants who choose not to provide this contact information. C.S.H.B. 766 seeks to address this issue by requiring precinct chair applicants to include their email address, phone number, or both on their application.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 766 amends the Election Code to require an application for a place on the ballot as a candidate for precinct chair, in addition to complying with general application requirements, to include the following information:

·an email address at which the candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate's campaign;

·a telephone number at which the candidate can be reached; or

·both the email address and telephone number.

The bill establishes that this information is confidential and does not constitute public information for purposes of state public information law.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 766 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced establishing that information provided under the bill's provisions is confidential and does not constitute public information for purposes of state public information law.

House Authors

Rep. Philip CortezDemocrat · Primary Author

Coauthors (2)

Senate Sponsor

Sen. Judith ZaffiriniDemocrat · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

H.B. No. 766

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the ballot application requirements for the election of
	a precinct chair.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 172.021, Election Code, is amended by
	adding Subsections (h) and (i) to read as follows:
	(h) An application for a place on the ballot as a candidate
	for precinct chair must, in addition to complying with Section
	141.031, include:
	(1) an e-mail address at which the candidate receives
	correspondence relating to the candidate's campaign;
	(2) a telephone number at which the candidate can be
	reached; or
	(3) an e-mail address and a telephone number described
	by Subdivisions (1) and (2).
	(i) Notwithstanding Sections 141.035, 172.0221, and
	172.028, information provided under Subsection (h) is confidential
	and does not constitute public information for purposes of Chapter
	552, Government Code.
	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


April 7, 2025

TO:	Honorable Matt Shaheen, Chair, House Committee on Elections

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	HB766 by Cortez (Relating to the ballot application requirements for the election of a precinct chair.), As Introduced

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

LBB Staff:

JMc, FV, BC, CWi

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HB766

What does Texas HB766 do?

HB766 mandates that all candidates for precinct chair must provide an email address, a telephone number, or both on their ballot application, effective June 22, 2025. Crucially, the law classifies this specific contact information as confidential, requiring immediate updates to data intake workflows and public information request (PIR) protocols to prevent statutory privacy violations. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 22, 2025 (Legislation passed with supermajority, superseding the standard September 1 date).

Who authored HB766?

HB766 was authored by Texas Representative Philip Cortez during the Regular Session.

When was HB766 signed into law?

HB766 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 22, 2025.

Which agencies enforce HB766?

HB766 is enforced by Texas Secretary of State (Form prescription) and County Party Chairs (Application acceptance and verification).

How urgent is compliance with HB766?

The compliance urgency for HB766 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of HB766?

The cost impact of HB766 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does HB766 address?

HB766 addresses topics including elections, elections--general, elections--political parties and email & electronic communications.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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