Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HJR73 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	By: Meza H.J.R. No. 73
2	2
3	3
4	4	A JOINT RESOLUTION
5	5	proposing a constitutional amendment to reserve to the people the
6	6	powers of initiative and referendum; authorizing new fees.
7	7	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
9	9	amending Section 1 and adding Sections 1A, 1B, and 1C to read as
10	10	follows:
11	11	Sec. 1. Subject to Sections 1A and 1B of this article, the
12	12	[The] Legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate
13	13	and House of Representatives, which together shall be styled "The
14	14	Legislature of the State of Texas."
15	15	Sec. 1A. (a) The people reserve to themselves the power to
16	16	propose statutory and constitutional measures by petition for
17	17	submission to the electorate and to have those measures enacted as
18	18	provided by this section. This power is known as the initiative.
19	19	(b) A proposed statutory or constitutional measure and a
20	20	good faith filing fee established by the secretary of state to
21	21	reasonably cover administrative costs must be submitted to the
22	22	Texas Legislative Council. A proposed measure may not contain more
23	23	than one subject. The Texas Legislative Council shall advise the
24	24	petitioner as to proper form and language and, with the consent of
25	25	the petitioner, may redraft the text of the measure as necessary or
26	26	desirable to achieve its purposes. If the Texas Legislative
27	27	Council determines that any provision of a proposed statutory
28	28	measure would be invalid under this constitution, or if the measure
29	29	requires funding but does not contain a new source of revenue, the
30	30	Texas Legislative Council shall return the measure to the
31	31	petitioner accompanied by written reasons for that determination.
32	32	A measure determined to be unconstitutional or that does not
33	33	include the required source of revenue may not be forwarded to other
34	34	state officers under Subsection (c) of this section.
35	35	(c) If the Texas Legislative Council determines that the
36	36	proposed measure authorizes or requires the expenditure or
37	37	diversion of any state funds, the Texas Legislative Council shall
38	38	forward the measure to the comptroller of public accounts for the
39	39	preparation of a fiscal note. Otherwise, the Texas Legislative
40	40	Council shall forward the measure to the secretary of state.
41	41	(d) After receipt of a proposed measure from the Texas
42	42	Legislative Council, the comptroller shall prepare and sign the
43	43	fiscal note, attach it to the measure, and forward the measure to
44	44	the secretary of state. In the fiscal note, the comptroller shall
45	45	outline the fiscal implications and probable cost of the measure
46	46	each year for the first five years after its effective date and
47	47	include a statement as to whether there will be costs involved
48	48	thereafter.
49	49	(e) Not later than the 15th day after receipt of a proposed
50	50	measure from the Texas Legislative Council or comptroller, the
51	51	secretary of state shall issue to the petitioner approved copies of
52	52	an initiative petition proposing the measure in the number
53	53	requested. The secretary may charge for each copy a reasonable fee
54	54	to cover the cost of reproduction. The secretary shall prescribe
55	55	standards of form and design for a petition. Each part of a
56	56	petition must include the full text of the proposed measure.
57	57	(f) An initiative petition that proposes a measure must be
58	58	signed by a number of registered voters equal to at least five
59	59	percent of the total number of votes received by all candidates for
60	60	governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election in each
61	61	of the state senate districts as well as statewide.
62	62	(g) To be certified as valid, the petition containing the
63	63	required number of signatures must be filed with the secretary of
64	64	state not later than the second anniversary of the date the approved
65	65	copies are issued by the secretary. Not later than the 60th day
66	66	after the date a petition is filed, the secretary shall review the
67	67	petition and determine whether it is valid. The secretary may use
68	68	any reasonable statistical sampling method as the basis for
69	69	verification. If the secretary determines that the petition does
70	70	not contain the required number of signatures, the petitioners have
71	71	60 days after the date of that determination to obtain additional
72	72	signatures. On determining that the petition complies with this
73	73	section, the secretary shall certify it as valid.
74	74	(h) If a certified petition proposes a statutory measure,
75	75	the secretary of state shall submit the question of approval or
76	76	disapproval of the measure to the voters of the state at an election
77	77	to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
78	78	of an even-numbered year that occurs on or after the 150th day after
79	79	the date the petition is submitted to the secretary of state for
80	80	certification. If the measure is approved by a majority of those
81	81	voting on the question, the statutory change proposed by the
82	82	measure takes effect according to its terms.
83	83	(i) Except as provided by Section 1C of this article, a
84	84	statutory measure proposed by petition that becomes law may be
85	85	amended or repealed only by another statutory measure proposed
86	86	under this section.
87	87	(j) If a certified petition proposes a constitutional
88	88	measure, the secretary of state shall submit the question of
89	89	approval or disapproval of the measure to the voters at an election
90	90	to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
91	91	of an even-numbered year that occurs on or after the 150th day after
92	92	the date the petition is submitted to the secretary of state for
93	93	certification. If the measure is approved by a majority of those
94	94	voting on the question, the amendment proposed by the measure
95	95	becomes a part of the constitution.
96	96	(k) The secretary of state shall prepare the ballot
97	97	proposition for a measure proposed by initiative. The proposition
98	98	must be descriptive but not argumentative or prejudicial. The
99	99	provisions of this constitution and of law that apply to
100	100	publication of constitutional amendments proposed under Section 1,
101	101	Article XVII, of this constitution apply to the publication of
102	102	measures proposed under this section.
103	103	(l) A person circulating a petition for signatures under
104	104	this section may receive compensation for that activity.
105	105	(m) This section is self-executing, but laws may be enacted
106	106	to facilitate its operation. However, no law may be enacted to
107	107	hamper, restrict, or impair the exercise of the power of
108	108	initiative.
109	109	(n) To the extent of any conflict between two proposed
110	110	statutory measures approved at the same election, the measure
111	111	receiving the greatest number of votes in favor of the measure
112	112	controls. To the extent of any conflict between two proposed
113	113	constitutional measures approved at the same election, the measure
114	114	receiving the greatest number of votes in favor of the measure
115	115	controls.
116	116	Sec. 1B. (a) The people reserve to themselves the power by
117	117	petition and election to repeal statutes enacted by the legislature
118	118	as provided by this section. This power is known as the referendum.
119	119	(b) The referendum power extends, as provided by this
120	120	section, to any bill enacted during a regular or special session of
121	121	the legislature. It extends to each bill in its entirety and not to
122	122	a part of the bill.
123	123	(c) A written request for a petition proposing the repeal of
124	124	a bill enacted by the legislature must be submitted to the secretary
125	125	of state in a form prescribed by the secretary with a good faith
126	126	filing fee established by the secretary of state to reasonably
127	127	cover administrative costs. The request must be filed not later
128	128	than the 180th day after the date of final adjournment of the
129	129	session in which the bill is enacted.
130	130	(d) The secretary of state shall prepare and issue, in the
131	131	number requested, approved copies of a petition proposing repeal of
132	132	the bill. The secretary may charge for each copy a reasonable fee
133	133	to cover the cost of reproduction. The petition must include a
134	134	citation of the bill, citations of any laws amended or repealed by
135	135	the bill, and a statement, not argumentative or prejudicial,
136	136	briefly describing the effect of the bill.
137	137	(e) To be certified as valid, a referendum petition must be
138	138	filed with the secretary of state not later than the 180th day after
139	139	the date of its issuance and must be signed by a number of
140	140	registered voters equal to at least five percent of the total number
141	141	of votes received by all candidates for president in the most recent
142	142	presidential general election in each of the state senate districts
143	143	as well as statewide.
144	144	(f) Not later than the 60th day after the date a petition is
145	145	filed, the secretary of state shall review the petition and
146	146	determine whether it is valid. The secretary may use any reasonable
147	147	statistical sampling method as the basis for verification. If the
148	148	secretary determines that the petition does not contain the
149	149	required number of signatures, the petitioners have 60 days after
150	150	the date of that determination to obtain additional signatures. On
151	151	determining that the petition complies with this section, the
152	152	secretary shall certify it as valid and shall submit the proposal to
153	153	the voters at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the
154	154	first Monday in November of an even-numbered year that occurs on or
155	155	after the 45th day after the date the petition is submitted. The
156	156	ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
157	157	proposition: "Repeal of .B. No. , which (brief statement of effect
158	158	of bill)."
159	159	(g) The provisions of this constitution and of law that
160	160	apply to publication of constitutional amendments proposed under
161	161	Section 1, Article XVII, of this constitution apply to the
162	162	publication of a referendum proposal.
163	163	(h) If a referendum proposal is approved by a majority of
164	164	those voting on the question, the repeal is effective immediately
165	165	on official declaration of the result of the election, whether or
166	166	not the bill repealed took effect before the date of the election.
167	167	(i) A person circulating a petition for signatures under
168	168	this section may receive compensation for that activity.
169	169	(j) This section is self-executing, but laws may be enacted
170	170	to facilitate its operation. However, no law may be enacted to
171	171	hamper, restrict, or impair the exercise of the power of
172	172	referendum.
173	173	Sec. 1C. The legislature may consider any measure approved
174	174	at an election held under Section 1A of this article or any
175	175	referendum proposal approved under Section 1B of this article. If,
176	176	on consideration, the measure or proposal is disapproved by
177	177	two-thirds of the membership of each house and by the governor, the
178	178	measure or proposal is repealed.
179	179	SECTION 2. Article XVII, Texas Constitution, is amended by
180	180	adding Section 1A to read as follows:
181	181	Sec. 1A. In addition to the mode of amendment provided by
182	182	Section 1 of this article, the constitution may be amended by the
183	183	initiative procedure authorized by Section 1A, Article III, of this
184	184	constitution.
185	185	SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
186	186	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 5, 2019.
187	187	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
188	188	proposition: "The constitutional amendment reserving to the people
189	189	the powers of initiative and referendum."