Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SJR6 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R2075 BEF-D
2	2	By: Huffines S.J.R. No. 6
3	3
4	4
5	5	A JOINT RESOLUTION
6	6	proposing a constitutional amendment to provide qualifications for
7	7	and limit the time that a person may serve in certain offices.
8	8	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
10	10	adding Section 7a to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 7a. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this
12	12	section, a person is not eligible to be elected to the house of
13	13	representatives if at the time of election the person has
14	14	previously been elected as a member of the house of representatives
15	15	to six full terms.
16	16	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this section, a
17	17	person is not eligible to be elected to the senate if at the time of
18	18	election the person has previously been elected as a member of the
19	19	senate to three or more full four-year or full two-year terms
20	20	totaling 12 or more years.
21	21	(c) The following are not counted in determining whether a
22	22	person is disqualified from election to office under Subsection (a)
23	23	or (b) of this section:
24	24	(1) election to an unexpired term; or
25	25	(2) election to a full term before 2016.
26	26	(d) A person who would otherwise be disqualified from
27	27	holding an office under Subsection (a) or (b) of this section, as
28	28	applicable, may be elected to a new term in that office if at the
29	29	time of election two or more regular legislative sessions have
30	30	passed since the person last held that office. The limitations of
31	31	Subsection (a) or (b) of this section, as applicable, apply to the
32	32	new term of office beginning on the date the new term of office
33	33	begins. A person who qualifies for election to a new term of office
34	34	under this subsection receives no benefits of seniority in the
35	35	senate or house of representatives, as applicable, based on service
36	36	in that office before the new term of office begins.
37	37	SECTION 2. Section 9, Article III, Texas Constitution, is
38	38	amended by adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (b-3) to read as
39	39	follows:
40	40	(b-1) A member of the House of Representatives is not
41	41	eligible to be elected as Speaker unless at the time of election the
42	42	member has served at least one full two-year term as a member of the
43	43	House of Representatives.
44	44	(b-2) A member of the House of Representatives is not
45	45	eligible to be elected as Speaker if at the time of election the
46	46	member has previously served as Speaker for 72 or more calendar
47	47	months regardless of whether the months the member served as
48	48	Speaker were concurrent.
49	49	(b-3) Service as Speaker before January 1, 2016, is not
50	50	counted in determining whether a member is disqualified from
51	51	election as Speaker under Subsection (b-2) of this section.
52	52	SECTION 3. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
53	53	adding Section 9a to read as follows:
54	54	Sec. 9a. (a) A member of the senate or house of
55	55	representatives is not eligible to be designated as chair of a
56	56	standing committee if at the time of designation the member has
57	57	previously served as chair of that standing committee for 72 or more
58	58	calendar months regardless of whether the months the member served
59	59	as chair were concurrent.
60	60	(b) Service as chair of a standing committee before January
61	61	1, 2016, is not counted in determining whether a member is
62	62	disqualified from designation as chair of that standing committee
63	63	under this section.
64	64	SECTION 4. Article IV, Texas Constitution, is amended by
65	65	adding Section 2a to read as follows:
66	66	Sec. 2a. (a) A person is not eligible for election or
67	67	appointment to an elective office listed in Section 1 of this
68	68	article, Sections 2 and 4 of Article V, Section 30(b) of Article
69	69	XVI, or to any other state office elected by the voters at a
70	70	statewide election if the person has previously been elected to
71	71	that office for two full terms.
72	72	(b) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from
73	73	continuing to serve in an office covered by this section after the
74	74	end of a term as a holdover under Section 17, Article XVI, of this
75	75	constitution until a successor is qualified.
76	76	(c) The following are not counted in determining whether a
77	77	person is disqualified from election to office under this section:
78	78	(1) election or appointment to or assumption of an
79	79	unexpired term; or
80	80	(2) election to a full term before 2016.
81	81	SECTION 5. Article XVI, Texas Constitution, is amended by
82	82	adding Section 29 to read as follows:
83	83	Sec. 29. (a) In this section, "local elective office"
84	84	means every district office or office of a political subdivision of
85	85	this state that is filled by popular election.
86	86	(b) A person is not eligible for election or appointment to
87	87	a local elective office if on the date the term begins the person
88	88	has served in that office during any part of each of eight or more
89	89	calendar years.
90	90	(c) For purposes of this section, service in more than one
91	91	elective position on a governing body is considered service in the
92	92	same office. This subsection does not apply to ex officio service
93	93	on a governing body.
94	94	(d) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from
95	95	continuing to serve in an office covered by this section after the
96	96	end of a term as a holdover under Section 17 of this article until a
97	97	successor is qualified.
98	98	(e) For purposes of this section, a calendar year begins
99	99	January 1 and ends December 31.
100	100	(f) Service in office before January 1, 2016, does not count
101	101	for purposes of determining whether a person is disqualified from
102	102	election to office under this section.
103	103	(g) This section does not prohibit the legislature by
104	104	general law or a political subdivision of this state by charter,
105	105	ordinance, order, or other appropriate means from imposing a more
106	106	restrictive limit on the time or number of terms that a person may
107	107	serve in an elective office.
108	108	(h) This section does not apply to an office for which
109	109	another provision of this constitution imposes a limit on the time
110	110	or number of terms that a person may serve in the office.
111	111	SECTION 6. Article XVI, Texas Constitution, is amended by
112	112	adding Section 29a to read as follows:
113	113	Sec. 29a. (a) A person is not eligible for appointment to an
114	114	office that is filled by appointment of the governor with the advice
115	115	and consent of the senate and whose duties include serving as the
116	116	head of a state agency if at the time of appointment the person has
117	117	previously served in that office for a cumulative period of four or
118	118	more years.
119	119	(b) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from
120	120	continuing to serve in an office covered by this section after the
121	121	end of a term as a holdover under Section 17 of this article until a
122	122	successor is qualified.
123	123	(c) Service in office before January 1, 2016, is not counted
124	124	in determining whether a person is disqualified from appointment to
125	125	office under this section.
126	126	(d) This section does not prohibit the legislature by
127	127	general law from imposing a more restrictive limit on the time or
128	128	number of terms that a person may serve in an office.
129	129	(e) This section does not apply to an office for which
130	130	another provision of this constitution or general law imposes a
131	131	more restrictive limit on the time or number of terms that a person
132	132	may serve in the office.
133	133	SECTION 7. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
134	134	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 3, 2015.
135	135	The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the
136	136	proposition: "The constitutional amendment to provide
137	137	qualifications for and limit the time that a person may serve in
138	138	certain offices."