Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HJR87 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Zwiener H.J.R. No. 87
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6	6	A JOINT RESOLUTION
7	7	proposing a constitutional amendment to reserve to the people the
8	8	powers of initiative and referendum.
9	9	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
11	11	amending Section 1 and adding Sections 1A and 1B to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 1. Subject to Sections 1A and 1B of this article, the
13	13	[The] Legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate
14	14	and House of Representatives, which together shall be styled "The
15	15	Legislature of the State of Texas."
16	16	Sec. 1A. (a) The people reserve to themselves the power to
17	17	propose statutory and constitutional measures by petition for
18	18	submission to the electorate and to have those measures enacted as
19	19	provided by this section. This power is known as the initiative.
20	20	(b) A proposed statutory or constitutional measure and a
21	21	filing fee of $2,000, which is refundable if the proposed measure
22	22	is placed on the ballot, must be submitted to the secretary of
23	23	state. A proposed measure must be accompanied by the names and other
24	24	relevant information, as determined by the secretary of state, of
25	25	two voters who represent the petitioners. A proposed measure may
26	26	not contain more than one subject. After the secretary of state
27	27	validates the signatures on the petition in accordance with
28	28	Subsection (g), the secretary of state shall forward the petition
29	29	to the Texas Legislative Council. The Texas Legislative Council
30	30	shall advise the petitioner as to proper form and language and,
31	31	with the consent of the petitioner, may redraft the text of the
32	32	measure as necessary or desirable to achieve its purposes. If the
33	33	Texas Legislative Council determines that any provision of a
34	34	proposed statutory measure would be invalid under this
35	35	constitution, the Texas Legislative Council shall return the
36	36	measure to the petitioner accompanied by written reasons for the
37	37	determination of unconstitutionality. A measure determined to be
38	38	unconstitutional may not be forwarded to other state officers under
39	39	Subsection (c) of this section.
40	40	(c) If the Texas Legislative Council determines that the
41	41	proposed measure authorizes or requires the expenditure or
42	42	diversion of any state funds, the Texas Legislative Council shall
43	43	forward the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for the
44	44	preparation of a fiscal note. Otherwise, the Texas Legislative
45	45	Council shall forward the measure to the secretary of state.
46	46	(d) After receipt of a proposed measure from the Texas
47	47	Legislative Council, the Legislative Budget Board shall prepare and
48	48	sign the fiscal note, attach it to the measure, and forward the
49	49	measure to the secretary of state. In the fiscal note, the
50	50	Legislative Budget Board shall outline the fiscal implications and
51	51	probable cost of the measure each year for the first five years
52	52	after its effective date and a statement as to whether there will be
53	53	costs involved thereafter.
54	54	(e) After receipt of a proposed measure from the Texas
55	55	Legislative Council or Legislative Budget Board, the secretary of
56	56	state shall issue to the petitioner approved copies of an
57	57	initiative petition proposing the measure in the number requested
58	58	not later than the 15th day after receiving the proposed measure
59	59	from the Texas Legislative Council or Legislative Budget Board.
60	60	The secretary of state may charge for each copy a reasonable fee to
61	61	cover the cost of reproduction. The secretary of state shall
62	62	prescribe standards of form and design for a petition. Each part of
63	63	a petition must include the full text of the proposed measure.
64	64	(f) An initiative petition that proposes a statutory
65	65	measure must be signed by a number of registered voters equal to at
66	66	least five percent of the total number of votes received by all
67	67	candidates for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general
68	68	election in each Texas Senate district as well as statewide. An
69	69	initiative petition that proposes a constitutional measure must be
70	70	signed by a number of registered voters equal to at least six
71	71	percent of the total number of votes received by all candidates for
72	72	governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election in each
73	73	Texas Senate district as well as statewide. A signer may withdraw a
74	74	signature from a petition before the petition is filed following
75	75	the procedures provided by general law for the withdrawal of a
76	76	petition signature.
77	77	(g) To be certified as valid, a petition containing the
78	78	required number of signatures must be filed with the secretary of
79	79	state not later than the 365th day after the date the approved
80	80	copies are issued by the secretary of state. The secretary of state
81	81	shall review the petition to determine whether it is valid. The
82	82	secretary of state may use any reasonable statistical sampling
83	83	method as the basis for verification. The secretary of state shall
84	84	prescribe rules for the withdrawal of a petition, except that a
85	85	petition may not be withdrawn after the petition is filed with the
86	86	secretary of state. If the secretary of state determines that the
87	87	petition does not contain the required number of signatures, the
88	88	petitioners have 60 days after the date of that determination to
89	89	obtain additional signatures. The secretary of state shall
90	90	determine the validity of a petition not later than the 60th day
91	91	after the petition is filed. On determining that the petition
92	92	complies with this section, the secretary of state shall certify it
93	93	as valid and submit the proposed measure to the Texas Legislative
94	94	Council.
95	95	(h) If a certified petition proposes a statutory measure,
96	96	the secretary of state shall submit the question of approval or
97	97	disapproval of the measure to the voters of the state at an election
98	98	to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
99	99	that occurs on or after the 180th day after the date the petition is
100	100	submitted to the secretary of state for certification. If the
101	101	measure is approved by a majority of those voting on the question,
102	102	the statutory change proposed by the measure takes effect
103	103	according to its terms.
104	104	(i) If a statutory measure proposed by petition becomes law,
105	105	it may be amended or repealed within five years after it takes
106	106	effect only on the record vote of two-thirds of the members elected
107	107	to each house.
108	108	(j) If a certified petition proposes a constitutional
109	109	measure, the secretary of state shall submit the question of
110	110	approval or disapproval of the measure to the voters at an election
111	111	to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
112	112	that occurs on or after the 180th day after the date the petition is
113	113	submitted to the secretary of state for certification. If the
114	114	measure is approved by a 60 percent majority of those voting on the
115	115	question, the amendment proposed by the measure becomes a part of
116	116	the constitution.
117	117	(k) The secretary of state shall prepare the ballot
118	118	proposition for a measure proposed by initiative. The proposition
119	119	must be descriptive but not argumentative or prejudicial. The
120	120	provisions of this constitution and of law that apply to
121	121	publication of constitutional amendments proposed under Section 1,
122	122	Article XVII, of this constitution apply to the publication of
123	123	measures proposed under this section.
124	124	(l) A reference in this section to the Texas Legislative
125	125	Council or Legislative Budget Board includes the entity's successor
126	126	in function.
127	127	(m) This section is self-executing, but laws may be enacted
128	128	to facilitate its operation. However, no law may be enacted to
129	129	hamper, restrict, or impair the exercise of the power of
130	130	initiative.
131	131	Sec. 1B. (a) The people reserve to themselves the power by
132	132	petition and election to repeal statutes enacted by the legislature
133	133	as provided by this section. This power is known as the referendum.
134	134	(b) The referendum power extends, as provided by this
135	135	section, to any bill enacted during a regular or special session of
136	136	the legislature, including a bill relating to the composition of
137	137	districts for the election of members of a governmental body. It
138	138	extends to each bill in its entirety and not to a part of the bill.
139	139	(c) A written request for a petition proposing the repeal of
140	140	a bill enacted by the legislature must be submitted to the secretary
141	141	of state in a form prescribed by the secretary of state with a
142	142	filing fee of $2,000, which is refundable if the referendum is
143	143	placed on the ballot. The request must be filed not later than the
144	144	180th day after the date of final adjournment of the session in
145	145	which the bill is enacted.
146	146	(d) The secretary of state shall prepare and issue, in the
147	147	number requested, approved copies of a petition proposing repeal of
148	148	the bill. The secretary of state may charge for each copy a
149	149	reasonable fee to cover the cost of reproduction. The petition must
150	150	include a citation of the bill, citations of any laws amended or
151	151	repealed by the bill, and a statement, not argumentative or
152	152	prejudicial, briefly describing the effect of the bill.
153	153	(e) To be certified as valid, a referendum petition must be
154	154	filed with the secretary of state not later than the 180th day after
155	155	the date of its issuance and must be signed by a number of
156	156	registered voters equal to at least five percent of the total
157	157	number of votes received by all candidates for governor in the most
158	158	recent gubernatorial general election in each Texas Senate district
159	159	as well as statewide.
160	160	(f) The secretary of state shall review the petition to
161	161	determine whether it is valid. The secretary of state may use any
162	162	reasonable statistical sampling method as the basis for
163	163	verification. On determining that the petition complies with this
164	164	section, the secretary of state shall certify it as valid and shall
165	165	submit the proposal to the voters at an election to be held on the
166	166	first Tuesday after the first Monday in November that occurs on or
167	167	after the 45th day after the date the petition is submitted. The
168	168	ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
169	169	proposition: "Repeal of __.B. No.____, which (brief statement of
170	170	effect of bill)."
171	171	(g) The provisions of this constitution and of law that
172	172	apply to publication of constitutional amendments proposed under
173	173	Section 1, Article XVII, of this constitution apply to the
174	174	publication of a referendum proposal.
175	175	(h) If a referendum proposal is approved by a majority of
176	176	those voting on the question, the repeal is effective immediately
177	177	on official declaration of the result of the election, whether or
178	178	not the bill repealed took effect before the date of the election.
179	179	(i) This section is self-executing, but laws may be enacted
180	180	to facilitate its operation. However, no law may be enacted to
181	181	hamper, restrict, or impair the exercise of the power of
182	182	referendum.
183	183	SECTION 2. Article XVII, Texas Constitution, is amended by
184	184	adding Section 1A to read as follows:
185	185	Sec. 1A. In addition to the mode of amendment provided by
186	186	Section 1 of this article, the constitution may be amended by the
187	187	initiative procedure authorized by Section 1A, Article III, of this
188	188	constitution.
189	189	SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
190	190	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 2025.
191	191	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
192	192	proposition: "The constitutional amendment reserving to the people
193	193	the powers of initiative and referendum."