Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SJR25 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R302 SGM-D
2	2	By: Johnson S.J.R. No. 25
3	3
4	4
5	5	A JOINT RESOLUTION
6	6	proposing a constitutional amendment to reserve to the people the
7	7	powers of initiative and referendum.
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	amending Section 1 and adding Sections 1A and 1B to read as 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	filing fee of $2,000, which is refundable if the proposed measure is
21	21	placed on the ballot, must be submitted to the secretary of state.
22	22	A proposed measure must be accompanied by the names and other
23	23	relevant information, as determined by the secretary of state, of
24	24	two voters who represent the petitioners. A proposed measure may
25	25	not contain more than one subject. After the secretary of state
26	26	validates the signatures on the petition in accordance with
27	27	Subsection (g), the secretary of state shall forward the petition
28	28	to the Texas Legislative Council. The Texas Legislative Council
29	29	shall advise the petitioner as to proper form and language and, with
30	30	the consent of the petitioner, may redraft the text of the measure
31	31	as necessary or desirable to achieve its purposes. If the Texas
32	32	Legislative Council determines that any provision of a proposed
33	33	statutory measure would be invalid under this constitution, the
34	34	Texas Legislative Council shall return the measure to the
35	35	petitioner accompanied by written reasons for the determination of
36	36	unconstitutionality. A measure determined to be unconstitutional
37	37	may not be forwarded to other state officers under Subsection (c) of
38	38	this section.
39	39	(c) If the Texas Legislative Council determines that the
40	40	proposed measure authorizes or requires the expenditure or
41	41	diversion of any state funds, the Texas Legislative Council shall
42	42	forward the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for the
43	43	preparation of a fiscal note. Otherwise, the Texas Legislative
44	44	Council shall forward the measure to the secretary of state.
45	45	(d) After receipt of a proposed measure from the Texas
46	46	Legislative Council, the Legislative Budget Board shall prepare and
47	47	sign the fiscal note, attach it to the measure, and forward the
48	48	measure to the secretary of state. In the fiscal note, the
49	49	Legislative Budget Board shall outline the fiscal implications and
50	50	probable cost of the measure each year for the first five years
51	51	after its effective date and a statement as to whether there will be
52	52	costs involved thereafter.
53	53	(e) After receipt of a proposed measure from the Texas
54	54	Legislative Council or Legislative Budget Board, the secretary of
55	55	state shall issue to the petitioner approved copies of an
56	56	initiative petition proposing the measure in the number requested
57	57	not later than the 15th day after receiving the proposed measure
58	58	from the Texas Legislative Council or Legislative Budget Board.
59	59	The secretary of state may charge for each copy a reasonable fee to
60	60	cover the cost of reproduction. The secretary of state shall
61	61	prescribe standards of form and design for a petition. Each part of
62	62	a petition must include the full text of the proposed measure.
63	63	(f) An initiative petition that proposes a statutory
64	64	measure must be signed by a number of registered voters equal to at
65	65	least five percent of the total number of votes received by all
66	66	candidates for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general
67	67	election in each Texas Senate district as well as statewide. An
68	68	initiative petition that proposes a constitutional measure must be
69	69	signed by a number of registered voters equal to at least six
70	70	percent of the total number of votes received by all candidates for
71	71	governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election in each
72	72	Texas Senate district as well as statewide. A signer may withdraw a
73	73	signature from a petition before the petition is filed following
74	74	the procedures provided by general law for the withdrawal of a
75	75	petition signature.
76	76	(g) To be certified as valid, a petition containing the
77	77	required number of signatures must be filed with the secretary of
78	78	state not later than the 365th day after the date the approved
79	79	copies are issued by the secretary of state. The secretary of state
80	80	shall review the petition to determine whether it is valid. The
81	81	secretary of state may use any reasonable statistical sampling
82	82	method as the basis for verification. The secretary of state shall
83	83	prescribe rules for the withdrawal of a petition, except that a
84	84	petition may not be withdrawn after the petition is filed with the
85	85	secretary of state. If the secretary of state determines that the
86	86	petition does not contain the required number of signatures, the
87	87	petitioners have 60 days after the date of that determination to
88	88	obtain additional signatures. The secretary of state shall
89	89	determine the validity of a petition not later than the 60th day
90	90	after the petition is filed. On determining that the petition
91	91	complies with this section, the secretary of state shall certify it
92	92	as valid and submit the proposed measure to the Texas Legislative
93	93	Council.
94	94	(h) If a certified petition proposes a statutory measure,
95	95	the secretary of state shall submit the question of approval or
96	96	disapproval of the measure to the voters of the state at an election
97	97	to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
98	98	that occurs on or after the 180th day after the date the petition is
99	99	submitted to the secretary of state for certification. If the
100	100	measure is approved by a majority of those voting on the question,
101	101	the statutory change proposed by the measure takes effect according
102	102	to its terms.
103	103	(i) If a statutory measure proposed by petition becomes law,
104	104	it may be amended or repealed within five years after it takes
105	105	effect only on the record vote of two-thirds of the members elected
106	106	to each house.
107	107	(j) If a certified petition proposes a constitutional
108	108	measure, the secretary of state shall submit the question of
109	109	approval or disapproval of the measure to the voters at an election
110	110	to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
111	111	that occurs on or after the 180th day after the date the petition is
112	112	submitted to the secretary of state for certification. If the
113	113	measure is approved by a 60 percent majority of those voting on the
114	114	question, the amendment proposed by the measure becomes a part of
115	115	the constitution.
116	116	(k) The secretary of state shall prepare the ballot
117	117	proposition for a measure proposed by initiative. The proposition
118	118	must be descriptive but not argumentative or prejudicial. The
119	119	provisions of this constitution and of law that apply to
120	120	publication of constitutional amendments proposed under Section 1,
121	121	Article XVII, of this constitution apply to the publication of
122	122	measures proposed under this section.
123	123	(l) A reference in this section to the Texas Legislative
124	124	Council or Legislative Budget Board includes the entity's successor
125	125	in function.
126	126	(m) This section is self-executing, but laws may be enacted
127	127	to facilitate its operation. However, no law may be enacted to
128	128	hamper, restrict, or impair the exercise of the power of
129	129	initiative.
130	130	Sec. 1B. (a) The people reserve to themselves the power by
131	131	petition and election to repeal statutes enacted by the legislature
132	132	as provided by this section. This power is known as the referendum.
133	133	(b) The referendum power extends, as provided by this
134	134	section, to any bill enacted during a regular or special session of
135	135	the legislature, including a bill relating to the composition of
136	136	districts for the election of members of a governmental body. It
137	137	extends to each bill in its entirety and not to a part of the bill.
138	138	(c) A written request for a petition proposing the repeal of
139	139	a bill enacted by the legislature must be submitted to the secretary
140	140	of state in a form prescribed by the secretary of state with a
141	141	filing fee of $2,000, which is refundable if the referendum is
142	142	placed on the ballot. The request must be filed not later than the
143	143	180th day after the date of final adjournment of the session in
144	144	which the bill is enacted.
145	145	(d) The secretary of state shall prepare and issue, in the
146	146	number requested, approved copies of a petition proposing repeal of
147	147	the bill. The secretary of state may charge for each copy a
148	148	reasonable fee to cover the cost of reproduction. The petition must
149	149	include a citation of the bill, citations of any laws amended or
150	150	repealed by the bill, and a statement, not argumentative or
151	151	prejudicial, briefly describing the effect of the bill.
152	152	(e) To be certified as valid, a referendum petition must be
153	153	filed with the secretary of state not later than the 180th day after
154	154	the date of its issuance and must be signed by a number of
155	155	registered voters equal to at least five percent of the total number
156	156	of votes received by all candidates for governor in the most recent
157	157	gubernatorial general election in each Texas Senate district as
158	158	well as statewide.
159	159	(f) The secretary of state shall review the petition to
160	160	determine whether it is valid. The secretary of state may use any
161	161	reasonable statistical sampling method as the basis for
162	162	verification. On determining that the petition complies with this
163	163	section, the secretary of state shall certify it as valid and shall
164	164	submit the proposal to the voters at an election to be held on the
165	165	first Tuesday after the first Monday in November that occurs on or
166	166	after the 45th day after the date the petition is submitted. The
167	167	ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
168	168	proposition: "Repeal of __B. No. ____, which (brief statement of
169	169	effect of bill)."
170	170	(g) The provisions of this constitution and of law that
171	171	apply to publication of constitutional amendments proposed under
172	172	Section 1, Article XVII, of this constitution apply to the
173	173	publication of a referendum proposal.
174	174	(h) If a referendum proposal is approved by a majority of
175	175	those voting on the question, the repeal is effective immediately
176	176	on official declaration of the result of the election, whether or
177	177	not the bill repealed took effect before the date of the election.
178	178	(i) This section is self-executing, but laws may be enacted
179	179	to facilitate its operation. However, no law may be enacted to
180	180	hamper, restrict, or impair the exercise of the power of
181	181	referendum.
182	182	SECTION 2. Article XVII, Texas Constitution, is amended by
183	183	adding Section 1A to read as follows:
184	184	Sec. 1A. In addition to the mode of amendment provided by
185	185	Section 1 of this article, the constitution may be amended by the
186	186	initiative procedure authorized by Section 1A, Article III, of this
187	187	constitution.
188	188	SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
189	189	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 7, 2023.
190	190	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
191	191	proposition: "The constitutional amendment reserving to the people
192	192	the powers of initiative and referendum."