| 1 | 1 | | 88R2349 JRJ-D |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Schofield H.B. No. 1150 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | relating to the form of a constitutional amendment on a ballot. |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 274.001, Election Code, is amended to |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | read as follows: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | Sec. 274.001. FORM OF AMENDMENT ON BALLOT. (a) The [If |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | the] legislature shall [fails to] prescribe the wording of a [the] |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | proposition submitting a proposed constitutional amendment[, the |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | secretary of state shall prescribe it]. If the legislature fails to |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | prescribe specific wording for a proposition to appear on a ballot, |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | the secretary of state must print the entirety of the text of the |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | legislative action proposing the amendment on the ballot. |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | (b) The proposition [prescribed by the secretary of state] |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | must describe the proposed amendment in plain language [terms] that |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | clearly expresses the [express its] scope and character of the |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | proposed amendment. |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | (c) The governor shall include the proposition in the form |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | prescribed under Subsection (a) in the proclamation ordering the |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | election at which the constitutional amendment will be submitted. |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to a |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | ballot proposition for a constitutional amendment proposed by the |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | legislature on or after the effective date of this Act. A ballot |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | proposition for a constitutional amendment proposed by the |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | legislature before the effective date of this Act is governed by the |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
|---|