85R4306 ATP-D
By: Bettencourt S.B. No. 488
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requirements for certain petitions requesting an
election and ballot propositions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 52.072, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) A proposition must substantially submit the question
with such definiteness and certainty that the voters are not
misled.
SECTION 2. Section 253.094(b), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A corporation or labor organization, other than a
religious organization, may not make a political contribution in
connection with a recall election, including the circulation and
submission of a petition to call an election.
SECTION 3. Chapter 273, Election Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter F to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. BALLOT PROPOSITION LANGUAGE ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS
Sec. 273.101. REVIEW BY SECRETARY OF STATE. (a) Not later
than the seventh day after the date on which a home-rule city
publishes in the election order or by other means ballot
proposition language proposing an amendment to the city charter or
to another city law as requested by petition, a registered voter
eligible to vote in the election may submit the proposition for
review by the secretary of state.
(b) The secretary of state shall review the proposition not
later than the seventh day after the date the secretary receives the
submission to determine whether the proposition is misleading or
inaccurate.
(c) If the secretary of state determines that the
proposition is misleading or inaccurate, the city shall draft a
proposition to cure the defects and give notice of the new
proposition using the method of giving notice prescribed for notice
of an election under Section 4.003.
Sec. 273.102. MANDAMUS ACTIONS. (a) In an action in a
district court seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the city's
governing body to comply with the requirement that a ballot
proposition must substantially submit the question with such
definiteness and certainty that the voters are not misled, the
district court shall make its determination without delay and may
order the city to use ballot proposition language drafted by the
court.
(b) The court may award a plaintiff who substantially
prevails in a mandamus action described by Subsection (a) the
party's reasonable attorney's fees, expenses, and court costs.
Sec. 273.103. MANDATORY SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY OF STATE.
Following a final nonappealable judgment containing a finding by a
court that a ballot proposition drafted by a city failed to
substantially submit the question with such definiteness and
certainty that the voters are not misled, the city shall submit to
the secretary of state for approval any proposition to be voted on
at an election held by the city before the fourth anniversary of the
court's finding.
Sec. 273.104. CITY REQUIRED TO PAY FOR LEGAL SERVICES.
Notwithstanding a home-rule city charter provision to the contrary,
a city may not accept legal services relating to a proceeding under
this subchapter without paying fair market value for those
services.
SECTION 4. Sections 277.001, 277.002, 277.0021, 277.0022,
277.0023, 277.0024, and 277.003, Election Code, are redesignated as
Subchapter A, Chapter 277, Election Code, and a heading for
Subchapter A is added to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A. PROVISIONS RELATING TO SIGNATURES, VALIDITY, AND
VERIFICATION OF PETITIONS
SECTION 5. Section 277.001, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 277.001. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER [CHAPTER]. This
subchapter [chapter] applies to a petition authorized or required
to be filed under a law outside this code in connection with an
election.
SECTION 6. Section 277.002, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) A signature on a petition submitted to a home-rule city
is valid if the information provided with the signature as required
by this section and other applicable law legibly provides enough
information to demonstrate that the signer:
(1) is eligible to have signed the petition; and
(2) signed the petition on or after the 180th day
before the date the petition was filed.
SECTION 7. Subchapter A, Chapter 277, Election Code, is
amended by adding Section 277.005 to read as follows:
Sec. 277.005. PETITION FORM; USE BY CITY. (a) The
secretary of state shall prescribe a form, content, and procedure
for a petition.
(b) A home-rule city that uses a form that is different from
the official form prescribed under Subsection (a) may not
invalidate a petition because the petition does not contain
information that the petition form failed to provide for or to
require to be provided.
SECTION 8. Chapter 277, Election Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter B to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B. SUBMISSION OF CERTAIN CITY PETITIONS
Sec. 277.031. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
applies to a home-rule city that has a procedure requiring the
governing body of the city to hold an election on receipt of a
petition requesting the election that complies with the applicable
requirements.
Sec. 277.032. CONFLICTS WITH CITY CHARTER OR OTHER LAW. The
provisions of this subchapter apply notwithstanding any city
charter provision or other law.
Sec. 277.033. DETERMINATION OF VALIDITY; REQUIRED ACTION.
(a) The city secretary shall determine the validity of a petition
submitted under this subchapter, including by verifying the
petition signatures, not later than the 30th day after the date the
city receives the petition.
(b) If the city secretary determines that a petition
submitted under this subchapter meets the applicable requirements
or fails to make a determination within the time prescribed by
Subsection (a), the city shall hold the election on the next uniform
election date that allows sufficient time to comply with applicable
provisions of law, including Section 3.005.
Sec. 277.034. COLLECTOR REQUIREMENTS PROHIBITED. A city
may not restrict who may collect petition signatures.
SECTION 9. Sections 9.004(a) and (c), Local Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The governing body of a municipality on its own motion
may submit a proposed charter amendment to the municipality's
qualified voters for their approval at an election. The governing
body shall submit a proposed charter amendment to the voters for
their approval at an election if the submission is supported by a
petition signed by a number of registered [qualified] voters of the
municipality equal to at least five percent of the number of
registered [qualified] voters of the municipality on the date of
the most recent election held throughout the municipality or
20,000, whichever number is the smaller.
(c) Notice of the election shall be published in a newspaper
of general circulation published in the municipality. The notice
must:
(1) include a substantial copy of the proposed
amendment in which language sought to be deleted by the amendment is
bracketed and stricken through and language sought to be added by
the amendment is underlined;
(2) include an estimate of the anticipated fiscal
impact to the municipality if the proposed amendment is approved at
the election; and
(3) be published on the same day in each of two
successive weeks, with the first publication occurring before the
14th day before the date of the election.
SECTION 10. Section 277.004, Election Code, is repealed.
SECTION 11. Not later than January 1, 2018, the secretary of
state shall adopt a petition form as required by Section 277.005,
Election Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 12. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
to a petition submitted on or after January 1, 2018.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.