SB985

Regular Session

Relating to the combination of certain election precincts.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

County Commissioners Courts • County Election Boards • County Executive Committees (Political Parties)

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: January 1, 2026 (Contracts and facility agreements must be updated prior to the March 2026 Primary Election cycle).
Agency Rulemaking: No state-level rulemaking is required. However, County Election Boards will begin issuing local consolidation recommendations in Q4 2025. You must monitor local Commissioners Court agendas during this period.

Immediate Action Plan

1. Audit Vendor Contracts: Identify all government contracts tied to "precinct counts" and initiate renegotiation discussions immediately.
2. Review Insurance Policies: Facility owners must confirm that General Liability policies cover high-traffic public events and that County indemnity clauses are robust.
3. Monitor Local Agendas: Assign government relations staff to track County Commissioners Court agendas in Q4 2025 for "Precinct Consolidation" items.
4. Update HR Guidance: Brief operational managers that voting leave requests in 2026 may require extended duration due to precinct reduction.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Government Vendors: If your Master Service Agreement (MSA) prices services or equipment rentals on a "per precinct" basis, you face immediate revenue erosion. You must renegotiate contracts to utilize "per voter," "per device," or "flat fee" pricing models before the 2026 cycle.
Facility Hosts: Review your Polling Place Agreements. Standard county leases often lack density caps. You must amend agreements to specify maximum occupancy limits to align with your building's fire code and insurance thresholds, as consolidated precincts may double or triple foot traffic.

Hiring/Training

General Employers (HR): Consolidated precincts inevitably lead to longer lines at fewer locations. Update your "Time Off to Vote" policies (Texas Election Code § 276.004) to anticipate longer employee absences on Election Day.
Facility Managers: If hosting a consolidated precinct, increase scheduled security and janitorial staff for Election Day to handle higher density.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Liability Documentation: Facility owners must document ADA compliance and parking capacity rigorously. With higher voter volume, the risk of slip-and-fall claims or accessibility lawsuits increases. Ensure the County’s Certificate of Insurance (COI) acknowledges the facility as a "Consolidated Precinct."

Fees & Costs

Vendor Revenue: Anticipate a reduction in orders for precinct-specific kits (signage, supply boxes) and temporary staffing requests.
Facility Overhead: Expect increased utility and maintenance costs for hosting sites due to higher throughput.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

"Suitable Polling Place": The statute allows consolidation if a "suitable" location cannot be secured. This term is undefined. Counties may use this subjectivity to terminate existing facility leases with little notice, claiming a site is no longer "suitable" in order to justify consolidation.
"Unreasonable Expenditures": The law permits consolidation to avoid "unreasonable expenditures." Vendors should expect counties to cite this statutory language during contract renewals to aggressively negotiate lower rates or reduced service tiers.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsElections Elections--administration Elections--primaries

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 985
89R904 MPF-F	By: Bettencourt; Paxton
	State Affairs
	3/5/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

During the 88th Legislative Session, the legislature passed S.B. 924. Unfortunately, due to an amendment added to the bill, unintended consequences have impacted elections throughout the state regarding combining election precincts.

S.B. 985 amends the election code to allow for county election precincts with fewer than 500 registered voters to be combined to avoid unreasonable expenditures for a general or special election or a primary election. This bill also allows for a county with a population of no less than 250,000 people to be combined as long as it results in county election precincts with more than 500 but less than 750 registered voters.

Lastly, S.B. 985 allows for a county with a population of less than 1.2 million that does not participate in countywide polling to combine precincts as long as the precinct does not contain more than 10,000 registered voters.

As proposed, S.B. 985 amends current law relating to the combination of certain election precincts.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 42.0051, Election Code, as follows:

Sec. 42.0051.� COMBINING CERTAIN PRECINCTS. (a) Authorizes a commissioners court for a general or special election, or for a primary election the county executive committee of a political party conducting a primary election, if changes in county election precinct boundaries to give effect to a redistricting plan result in county election precincts with fewer than 500 registered voters, to combine county election precincts notwithstanding Section 42.005 (Relationship to Districts and Justice and Commissioners Precincts) to avoid unreasonable expenditures for election equipment, supplies, and personnel. Deletes existing text providing that this section applies only to a county with a population of less than 1.2 million that does not participate in the countywide polling place program described by Section 43.007 (Countywide Polling Place Program).

(b) Authorizes county election precincts in a county with a population of not less than 250,000 to also be combined under Subsection (a) if the changes result in county election precincts with not fewer than 500 and not more than 750 registered voters.

(c) Provides that a combined precinct under Subsection (a) or (b) is subject to the maximum population prescribed for a precinct under Section 42.006.

(d) Redesignates existing Subsection (a-1) as Subsection (d). Authorizes the commissioners court of a county with a population of less than 1.2 million that does not participate in the countywide polling place program described by Section 43.007, in a general or special election for which use of county election precincts is required, to, on the recommendation of the county election board, combine county election precincts notwithstanding Section 42.005 certain conditions are met.

(e) Redesignates existing Subsection (c) as Subsection (e). Prohibits a combined precinct under Subsection (d), rather than under this section, from containing more than 10,000 registered voters.

(f) Redesignates existing Subsection (d) as Subsection (f) and makes no further changes.

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2025.

Senate Authors

Sen. Paul BettencourtRepublican · Primary Author

Joint Authors

Angela Paxton (R)

Coauthors (2)

House Sponsors

Rep. Richard HayesRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Joint Sponsors

Cosponsors (8)

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 985

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the combination of certain election precincts.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 42.0051, Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 42.0051. COMBINING CERTAIN PRECINCTS. (a) If changes
	in county election precinct boundaries to give effect to a
	redistricting plan result in county election precincts with fewer
	than 3,000 registered voters, a commissioners court for a general
	or special election, or for a primary election the county executive
	committee of a political party conducting a primary election, may
	combine county election precincts notwithstanding Section 42.005
	to avoid unreasonable expenditures for election equipment,
	supplies, and personnel [~~This section applies only to a county with~~
	~~a population of less than 1.2 million that does not participate in~~
	~~the countywide polling place program described by Section 43.007~~].
	(b) A combined precinct under Subsection (a) is subject to
	the maximum population prescribed for a precinct under Section
	42.006.
	(c) [~~(a-1)~~] In a county that does not participate in the
	countywide polling place program described by Section 43.007, for a
	general or special election for which use of county election
	precincts is required, the commissioner's court [~~may,~~] on the
	recommendation of the county election board, or for a primary
	election for which use of county election precincts is required,
	the county executive committee of a political party conducting the
	primary election, may combine county election precincts
	notwithstanding Section 42.005 if:
	(1) the commissioners court cannot secure a suitable
	polling place location under Section 43.031; and
	(2) the location of the combined polling place
	adequately serves the voters of the combined precinct.
	(d) [~~(c)~~] A combined precinct under Subsection (c) [~~this~~
	~~section~~] may not contain more than 10,000 registered voters.
	(e) [~~(d)~~] A combined precinct may not be established if it:
	(1) results in a dilution of voting strength of a group
	covered by the federal Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1973c et
	seq.);
	(2) results in a dilution of representation of a group
	covered by the Voting Rights Act in any political or electoral
	process or procedure; or
	(3) results in discouraging participation by a group
	covered by the Voting Rights Act in any political or electoral
	process or procedure because of the location of a polling place or
	other factors.
	(f) For the purposes of appointing a presiding election judge
	and an alternate presiding judge to a county election precinct
	combined under this section, the combined precinct shall be
	considered a single precinct and the judges shall be appointed in
	accordance with the procedures provided under Chapter 32.
	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 5, 2025

TO:	Honorable Bryan Hughes, Chair, Senate Committee on State Affairs

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB985 by Bettencourt (Relating to the combination of certain election precincts.), As Introduced

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

Local Government Impact

There could be an impact on counties that choose to combine their election precincts to reduce expenditures for election equipment, supplies, and personnel.

Source Agencies:

LBB Staff:

JMc, WP, BC, CWi

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB985

What does Texas SB985 do?

SB985 grants County Commissioners Courts and political parties broad authority to consolidate election precincts to reduce costs or address facility shortages. While aimed at government efficiency, this law directly impacts election service vendors by reducing billable precinct units and commercial property owners hosting polling sites by significantly increasing voter density and liability exposure at remaining locations. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: January 1, 2026 (Contracts and facility agreements must be updated prior to the March 2026 Primary Election cycle).

Who authored SB985?

SB985 was authored by Texas Senator Paul Bettencourt during the Regular Session.

When was SB985 signed into law?

SB985 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 24, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB985?

SB985 is enforced by County Commissioners Courts, County Election Boards and County Executive Committees (Political Parties).

How urgent is compliance with SB985?

The compliance urgency for SB985 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB985?

The cost impact of SB985 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB985 address?

SB985 addresses topics including elections, elections--administration and elections--primaries.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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