| 1 | 1 | | 84R20441 SRS-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Laubenberg, Leach, Shaheen, H.B. No. 2762 |
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| 3 | 3 | | Turner of Collin |
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| 4 | 4 | | Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2762: |
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| 5 | 5 | | By: Schofield C.S.H.B. No. 2762 |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 10 | 10 | | relating to certain petitions prescribed by law outside the |
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| 11 | 11 | | Election Code. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Section 277.004, Election Code, is amended to |
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| 14 | 14 | | read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | Sec. 277.004. EFFECT OF CITY CHARTER OR ORDINANCE. Except |
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| 16 | 16 | | for the requirements under Sections 51.080 and 51.081, Local |
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| 17 | 17 | | Government Code, any [Any] requirements for the validity or |
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| 18 | 18 | | verification of petition signatures in addition to those prescribed |
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| 19 | 19 | | by this chapter that are prescribed by a home-rule city charter |
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| 20 | 20 | | provision or a city ordinance are effective only if the charter |
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| 21 | 21 | | provision or ordinance was in effect September 1, 1985. |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 51, Local Government Code, |
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| 23 | 23 | | is amended by adding Sections 51.080 and 51.081 to read as follows: |
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| 24 | 24 | | Sec. 51.080. TIME TO FILE PETITION. (a) A petition |
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| 25 | 25 | | regarding the repeal of an order, ordinance, or resolution must be |
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| 26 | 26 | | filed not later than the 90th day after the later of the date on |
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| 27 | 27 | | which the order, ordinance, or resolution: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (1) finally passed; or |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) was published. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (b) If the secretary of the municipality or other authority |
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| 31 | 31 | | responsible for verifying the signatures determines the petition |
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| 32 | 32 | | contains an insufficient number of valid signatures, the secretary |
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| 33 | 33 | | or other authority shall state all the grounds for invalidating a |
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| 34 | 34 | | signature. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (c) If a petition is invalidated and later refiled, the |
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| 36 | 36 | | secretary of the municipality or other authority responsible for |
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| 37 | 37 | | verifying the signatures may not invalidate a subsequent petition |
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| 38 | 38 | | on grounds that existed but were not raised during the initial |
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| 39 | 39 | | determination of the petition's validity. |
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| 40 | 40 | | (d) This section does not apply to a change in a provision of |
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| 41 | 41 | | the municipal charter. |
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| 42 | 42 | | Sec. 51.081. CONTENT OF PETITION. (a) A municipality must |
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| 43 | 43 | | make available on the official website, if any, of the municipality |
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| 44 | 44 | | a petition form that complies with state law and the municipality's |
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| 45 | 45 | | ordinances, orders, and other resolutions that apply to the filing |
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| 46 | 46 | | of a petition with the municipality. |
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| 47 | 47 | | (b) The secretary of the municipality or other authority |
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| 48 | 48 | | responsible for verifying the signatures may not invalidate a |
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| 49 | 49 | | petition because the petition did not contain information that the |
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| 50 | 50 | | municipality's petition form under Subsection (a) failed to provide |
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| 51 | 51 | | or to require to be provided. |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 53 | 53 | | a petition filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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| 54 | 54 | | petition filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by |
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| 55 | 55 | | the law in effect when the petition was filed, and the former law is |
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| 56 | 56 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 57 | 57 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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