Bill would let courts disqualify prosecutors who refuse to pursue election offenses; opponents call it vague and dangerous to prosecutorial discretion

Senator Hagen Boothe (author) presented the committee substitute to Senate Bill 2743, saying the bill would authorize a district court to disqualify local county and district attorneys who refuse to prosecute election offenses and direct that the Texas attorney general be appointed to prosecute those cases.

"SB 2743 would authorize a district court to disqualify local county and district attorneys who refuse to prosecute election offenses and appoint the Texas attorney general to prosecute on behalf of the state," the author said as the committee substitute was described. The substitute would allow a judge in an adjacent county to rule on a petition for removal by a resident and require appointment of the attorney general to represent the state.

Veronica Worms of the Texas Civil Rights Project testified against the bill, saying it "would allow any private person to challenge a local district attorney's ability to participate in an election offense case" and calling the proposal "an attack on prosecutorial discretion" that is "bad for democracy." Worms warned the bill's standard — "consistently refuses or declines to prosecute" — is ambiguous and could be abused because it does not define how many decisions or what conduct would trigger removal.

Ed Johnson of the Harris County ballot security department recounted his experience presenting voter-registration irregularities to county prosecutors and said many matters were not pursued, arguing for a mechanism to compel enforcement. Amber Platt, associate deputy attorney general for criminal justice at the Office of the Attorney General, attended as a resource witness. Public testimony closed and the committee left SB 2743 pending.

No committee vote was recorded at the hearing.