Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SJR14 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R951 LRM-D
2	2	By: Johnson, et al. S.J.R. No. 14
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7	7	A JOINT RESOLUTION
8	8	proposing a constitutional amendment to reserve to the people the
9	9	powers of initiative and referendum.
10	10	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
12	12	amending Section 1 and adding Sections 1A and 1B to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 1. Subject to Sections 1A and 1B of this article, the
14	14	[The] Legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate
15	15	and House of Representatives, which together shall be styled "The
16	16	Legislature of the State of Texas."
17	17	Sec. 1A. (a) The people reserve to themselves the power to
18	18	propose statutory and constitutional measures by petition for
19	19	submission to the electorate and to have those measures enacted as
20	20	provided by this section. This power is known as the initiative.
21	21	(b) A proposed statutory or constitutional measure and a
22	22	filing fee of $2,000, which is refundable if the proposed measure is
23	23	placed on the ballot, must be submitted to the secretary of state.
24	24	A proposed measure must be accompanied by the names and other
25	25	relevant information, as determined by the secretary of state, of
26	26	two voters who represent the petitioners. A proposed measure may
27	27	not contain more than one subject. After the secretary of state
28	28	validates the signatures on the petition in accordance with
29	29	Subsection (g), the secretary of state shall forward the petition
30	30	to the Texas Legislative Council. The Texas Legislative Council
31	31	shall advise the petitioner as to proper form and language and, with
32	32	the consent of the petitioner, may redraft the text of the measure
33	33	as necessary or desirable to achieve its purposes. If the Texas
34	34	Legislative Council determines that any provision of a proposed
35	35	statutory measure would be invalid under this constitution, the
36	36	Texas Legislative Council shall return the measure to the
37	37	petitioner accompanied by written reasons for the determination of
38	38	unconstitutionality. A measure determined to be unconstitutional
39	39	may not be forwarded to other state officers under Subsection (c) of
40	40	this section.
41	41	(c) If the Texas Legislative Council determines that the
42	42	proposed measure authorizes or requires the expenditure or
43	43	diversion of any state funds, the Texas Legislative Council shall
44	44	forward the measure to the Legislative Budget Board for the
45	45	preparation of a fiscal note. Otherwise, the Texas Legislative
46	46	Council shall forward the measure to the secretary of state.
47	47	(d) After receipt of a proposed measure from the Texas
48	48	Legislative Council, the Legislative Budget Board shall prepare and
49	49	sign the fiscal note, attach it to the measure, and forward the
50	50	measure to the secretary of state. In the fiscal note, the
51	51	Legislative Budget Board shall outline the fiscal implications and
52	52	probable cost of the measure each year for the first five years
53	53	after its effective date and a statement as to whether there will be
54	54	costs involved thereafter.
55	55	(e) After receipt of a proposed measure from the Texas
56	56	Legislative Council or Legislative Budget Board, the secretary of
57	57	state shall issue to the petitioner approved copies of an
58	58	initiative petition proposing the measure in the number requested
59	59	not later than the 15th day after receiving the proposed measure
60	60	from the Texas Legislative Council or Legislative Budget Board.
61	61	The secretary of state may charge for each copy a reasonable fee to
62	62	cover the cost of reproduction. The secretary of state shall
63	63	prescribe standards of form and design for a petition. Each part of
64	64	a petition must include the full text of the proposed measure.
65	65	(f) An initiative petition that proposes a statutory
66	66	measure must be signed by a number of registered voters equal to at
67	67	least five percent of the total number of votes received by all
68	68	candidates for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general
69	69	election in each Texas Senate district as well as statewide. An
70	70	initiative petition that proposes a constitutional measure must be
71	71	signed by a number of registered voters equal to at least six
72	72	percent of the total number of votes received by all candidates for
73	73	governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election in each
74	74	Texas Senate district as well as statewide. A signer may withdraw a
75	75	signature from a petition before the petition is filed following
76	76	the procedures provided by general law for the withdrawal of a
77	77	petition signature.
78	78	(g) To be certified as valid, a petition containing the
79	79	required number of signatures must be filed with the secretary of
80	80	state not later than the 365th day after the date the approved
81	81	copies are issued by the secretary of state. The secretary of state
82	82	shall review the petition to determine whether it is valid. The
83	83	secretary of state may use any reasonable statistical sampling
84	84	method as the basis for verification. The secretary of state shall
85	85	prescribe rules for the withdrawal of a petition, except that a
86	86	petition may not be withdrawn after the petition is filed with the
87	87	secretary of state. If the secretary of state determines that the
88	88	petition does not contain the required number of signatures, the
89	89	petitioners have 60 days after the date of that determination to
90	90	obtain additional signatures. The secretary of state shall
91	91	determine the validity of a petition not later than the 60th day
92	92	after the petition is filed. On determining that the petition
93	93	complies with this section, the secretary of state shall certify it
94	94	as valid and submit the proposed measure to the Texas Legislative
95	95	Council.
96	96	(h) If a certified petition proposes a statutory measure,
97	97	the secretary of state shall submit the question of approval or
98	98	disapproval of the measure to the voters of the state at an election
99	99	to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
100	100	that occurs on or after the 180th day after the date the petition is
101	101	submitted to the secretary of state for certification. If the
102	102	measure is approved by a majority of those voting on the question,
103	103	the statutory change proposed by the measure takes effect according
104	104	to its terms.
105	105	(i) If a statutory measure proposed by petition becomes law,
106	106	it may be amended or repealed within five years after it takes
107	107	effect only on the record vote of two-thirds of the members elected
108	108	to each house.
109	109	(j) If a certified petition proposes a constitutional
110	110	measure, the secretary of state shall submit the question of
111	111	approval or disapproval of the measure to the voters at an election
112	112	to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
113	113	that occurs on or after the 180th day after the date the petition is
114	114	submitted to the secretary of state for certification. If the
115	115	measure is approved by a 60 percent majority of those voting on the
116	116	question, the amendment proposed by the measure becomes a part of
117	117	the constitution.
118	118	(k) The secretary of state shall prepare the ballot
119	119	proposition for a measure proposed by initiative. The proposition
120	120	must be descriptive but not argumentative or prejudicial. The
121	121	provisions of this constitution and of law that apply to
122	122	publication of constitutional amendments proposed under Section 1,
123	123	Article XVII, of this constitution apply to the publication of
124	124	measures proposed under this section.
125	125	(l) A reference in this section to the Texas Legislative
126	126	Council or Legislative Budget Board includes the entity's successor
127	127	in function.
128	128	(m) This section is self-executing, but laws may be enacted
129	129	to facilitate its operation. However, no law may be enacted to
130	130	hamper, restrict, or impair the exercise of the power of
131	131	initiative.
132	132	Sec. 1B. (a) The people reserve to themselves the power by
133	133	petition and election to repeal statutes enacted by the legislature
134	134	as provided by this section. This power is known as the referendum.
135	135	(b) The referendum power extends, as provided by this
136	136	section, to any bill enacted during a regular or special session of
137	137	the legislature, including a bill relating to the composition of
138	138	districts for the election of members of a governmental body. It
139	139	extends to each bill in its entirety and not to a part of the bill.
140	140	(c) A written request for a petition proposing the repeal of
141	141	a bill enacted by the legislature must be submitted to the secretary
142	142	of state in a form prescribed by the secretary of state with a
143	143	filing fee of $2,000, which is refundable if the referendum is
144	144	placed on the ballot. The request must be filed not later than the
145	145	180th day after the date of final adjournment of the session in
146	146	which the bill is enacted.
147	147	(d) The secretary of state shall prepare and issue, in the
148	148	number requested, approved copies of a petition proposing repeal of
149	149	the bill. The secretary of state may charge for each copy a
150	150	reasonable fee to cover the cost of reproduction. The petition must
151	151	include a citation of the bill, citations of any laws amended or
152	152	repealed by the bill, and a statement, not argumentative or
153	153	prejudicial, briefly describing the effect of the bill.
154	154	(e) To be certified as valid, a referendum petition must be
155	155	filed with the secretary of state not later than the 180th day after
156	156	the date of its issuance and must be signed by a number of
157	157	registered voters equal to at least five percent of the total number
158	158	of votes received by all candidates for governor in the most recent
159	159	gubernatorial general election in each Texas Senate district as
160	160	well as statewide.
161	161	(f) The secretary of state shall review the petition to
162	162	determine whether it is valid. The secretary of state may use any
163	163	reasonable statistical sampling method as the basis for
164	164	verification. On determining that the petition complies with this
165	165	section, the secretary of state shall certify it as valid and shall
166	166	submit the proposal to the voters at an election to be held on the
167	167	first Tuesday after the first Monday in November that occurs on or
168	168	after the 45th day after the date the petition is submitted. The
169	169	ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
170	170	proposition: "Repeal of __B. No. ____, which (brief statement of
171	171	effect of bill)."
172	172	(g) The provisions of this constitution and of law that
173	173	apply to publication of constitutional amendments proposed under
174	174	Section 1, Article XVII, of this constitution apply to the
175	175	publication of a referendum proposal.
176	176	(h) If a referendum proposal is approved by a majority of
177	177	those voting on the question, the repeal is effective immediately
178	178	on official declaration of the result of the election, whether or
179	179	not the bill repealed took effect before the date of the election.
180	180	(i) This section is self-executing, but laws may be enacted
181	181	to facilitate its operation. However, no law may be enacted to
182	182	hamper, restrict, or impair the exercise of the power of
183	183	referendum.
184	184	SECTION 2. Article XVII, Texas Constitution, is amended by
185	185	adding Section 1A to read as follows:
186	186	Sec. 1A. In addition to the mode of amendment provided by
187	187	Section 1 of this article, the constitution may be amended by the
188	188	initiative procedure authorized by Section 1A, Article III, of this
189	189	constitution.
190	190	SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
191	191	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 2025.
192	192	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
193	193	proposition: "The constitutional amendment reserving to the people
194	194	the powers of initiative and referendum."