Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HJR95 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R3714 JCG-D
2	2	By: Tepper H.J.R. No. 95
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7	7	A JOINT RESOLUTION
8	8	proposing a constitutional amendment to limit the time that a
9	9	person may serve as a member of the Texas Legislature, a statewide
10	10	elected officer in the executive branch, or a state employee in the
11	11	legislative or executive branch of state government.
12	12	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
14	14	adding Section 7a to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 7a. (a) A person is not eligible to be elected to the
16	16	house of representatives if, before the date of the election, the
17	17	person has served as a member of the house for eight whole regular
18	18	sessions of the legislature.
19	19	(b) A person is not eligible to be elected to the senate if,
20	20	before the date of the election, the person has served as a member
21	21	of the senate for eight whole regular sessions of the legislature.
22	22	This subsection does not prohibit a person who has served as a
23	23	member of the senate for seven whole regular sessions of the
24	24	legislature from being elected to or serving a four-year term in the
25	25	senate even though at the end of that term the person will have
26	26	served for more than eight whole regular sessions.
27	27	(c) A person is not eligible to be elected to the house of
28	28	representatives or the senate if, before the date of election, the
29	29	person has served in either chamber of the legislature for 12 whole
30	30	regular sessions of the legislature. This section does not
31	31	prohibit a person who has served in either chamber of the
32	32	legislature for 11 whole regular sessions of the legislature from
33	33	being elected to or serving a four-year term in the senate even
34	34	though at the end of that term the person will have served for more
35	35	than 12 whole regular sessions.
36	36	(d) For purposes of this section, a person is considered to
37	37	have served for one whole regular session of the legislature for
38	38	every two years the person served in an elective office listed in
39	39	Section 1, Article IV, of this constitution or any other state
40	40	office elected by the voters at a statewide election other than a
41	41	judicial office. For purposes of this subsection, "year" means 12
42	42	consecutive months.
43	43	(e) Legislative service before the legislature convenes in
44	44	regular session in 2027 is not counted in determining whether a
45	45	person is disqualified from election to office under this section.
46	46	Service in an elective office listed in Section 1, Article IV, of
47	47	this constitution, or service in any other state office elected by
48	48	the voters at a statewide election other than a judicial office,
49	49	whose term of office is completed on or before January 1, 2027, is
50	50	not counted in determining whether a person is disqualified from
51	51	election to office under this section.
52	52	SECTION 2. Article IV, Texas Constitution, is amended by
53	53	adding Section 2a to read as follows:
54	54	Sec. 2a. (a) In this section, "year" means 12 consecutive
55	55	months.
56	56	(b) A person is not eligible to be elected to an elective
57	57	office listed in Section 1 of this article or to any other state
58	58	office elected by the voters at a statewide election, other than a
59	59	judicial office, if on or before the date the person will begin to
60	60	serve in that office the person will have served for a total of 16 or
61	61	more years in those offices.
62	62	(c) For purposes of this section, a person is considered to
63	63	have served for two years in an office described by Subsection (b)
64	64	of this section for each whole regular session the person served as
65	65	a representative or senator in the legislature.
66	66	(d) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from
67	67	continuing to serve in an office covered by this section after the
68	68	end of a term as a holdover under Section 17, Article XVI, of this
69	69	constitution until a successor is qualified.
70	70	(e) Service in office before January 1, 2027, does not count
71	71	for purposes of determining whether a person is disqualified from
72	72	office under this section.
73	73	SECTION 3. Article XVI, Texas Constitution, is amended by
74	74	adding Section 74 to read as follows:
75	75	Sec. 74. The legislature by general law shall prohibit any
76	76	state employee from serving for a total of more than 24 years in the
77	77	legislative or executive branch of state government.
78	78	SECTION 4. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
79	79	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 2025.
80	80	The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the
81	81	following proposition: "The constitutional amendment to limit the
82	82	time that a person may serve as a member of the Texas Legislature, a
83	83	statewide elected officer in the executive branch, or a state
84	84	employee in the legislative or executive branch of state
85	85	government."