2025 · Regular session · House bill
HB766
HB766 requires a candidate applying for a place on the ballot for political-party precinct chair to provide an email address, a telephone number, or both, in addition to the existing ballot-application requirements.
Official caption: Relating to the ballot application requirements for the election of a precinct chair.
Official report lists House author(s): Cortez. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- HB766 requires a candidate applying for a place on the ballot for political-party precinct chair to provide an email address, a telephone number, or both, in addition to the existing ballot-application requirements.
- The contact information supplied under this new requirement is confidential and is not public information under the Texas Public Information Act, notwithstanding the specified election-law disclosure provisions.
- The change took effect September 1, 2025.
What does it do?
HB766 requires a candidate applying for a place on the ballot for political-party precinct chair to provide an email address, a telephone number, or both, in addition to the existing ballot-application requirements. The email must be one used for campaign correspondence; the phone number must be one where the candidate can be reached. It does not require both forms of contact. Final law
The contact information supplied under this new requirement is confidential and is not public information under the Texas Public Information Act, notwithstanding the specified election-law disclosure provisions. That protects the newly required contact details; it does not make the entire candidate application confidential or prohibit candidates from voluntarily publicizing their own contact information.
The change took effect September 1, 2025. It concerns precinct-chair ballot applications, not every candidate for public office or voter-registration form. Official history
What changed along the way?
The introduced bill required email or phone information but did not include the confidentiality provision. The House committee substitute added that protection. The engrossed, Senate committee and enrolled versions preserved the substitute’s operative text unchanged.
The official amendment index lists no floor amendments; the meaningful change came through the House committee substitute. The House passed the bill May 6 and the Senate May 25. It became law without the governor’s signature on June 22—not through a signed approval and not a veto.
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
Party officials handling applications gain a usable way to contact precinct-chair candidates. Candidates retain a choice between phone and email and gain confidentiality for the information supplied under this provision.
Candidates must include the required contact detail, and those handling applications must keep the protected information out of public disclosures. Members of the public cannot use the Public Information Act to obtain these particular details, although other application information remains governed by existing law.
The latest fiscal note anticipated no state fiscal impact and no significant local-government fiscal impact. The act does not create a fee or a new appropriation.
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.