The people of the City reserve the power of direct legislation
by initiative, and in the exercise of such power may propose any ordinance,
not in conflict with this Charter, the State Constitution, or the
State Laws except an ordinance appropriating money or authorizing
the levy of taxes, or ordinances repealing ordinances appropriating
money or levying taxes. Any initiated ordinance may be submitted to
the Council by a petition signed by qualified voters of the City equal
in number to at least thirty per cent (30%) of the qualified voters
of the City, but in no event less than 300 petitioners.
The people reserve the power to approve or reject at the polls
any legislation enacted by the Council which is subject to the initiative
process under this Charter, except an ordinance which authorizes the
issuance of either tax or revenue bonds, whether original or refunding
bonds. Prior to the effective date of any ordinance which is subject
to referendum, or within thirty (30) days after the effective date
of any ordinance which is subject to referendum, a petition signed
by qualified voters of the City equal in number to at least thirty
per cent (30%) of the qualified voters of the City, but in no event
less than 300 such petitioners, may be filed with the Office of the
City Secretary requesting that any such ordinance be either repealed
or submitted to a vote of the people. When such a petition has been
certified as sufficient by the Office of the City Secretary, the ordinance
specified in the petition shall not go into effect, or further action
thereunder shall be suspended if it shall have gone into effect, until
and unless it is approved by the voters as herein provided.
Initiative petition papers shall contain the full text of the
proposed legislation in the form of an ordinance including a descriptive
caption. The signatures to the initiative or referendum petitions
need not all be appended to one paper, but each signer shall sign
his name in ink or indelible pencil and shall add to his signature
his place of residence by street and number. One of the signers of
each separate petition shall make an affidavit, that he and he only,
personally circulated such petition and that each signature appended
thereto was made in his presence and is the genuine signature of the
person whose name it purports to be.
Within thirty (30) days after an initiative or referendum petition is filed, the Office of the City Secretary shall determine whether the same is signed by the requisite number of qualified voters. The Office of the City Secretary shall declare void any petition paper which does not have an affidavit attached thereto as required in Section
3 of this Article. In examining the petition, the Office of the City Secretary shall write the letters “D.V.” in red ink opposite the names of signers found not qualified to vote.
After completing examination of the petition the Office of the
City Secretary shall certify the result thereof to the Council at
its next regular meeting, stating the number of persons found on the
petition who are qualified to vote and number of persons found on
the petition who are not qualified to vote. If the certificate of
the Office of the City Secretary shall show an initiative or referendum
petition to be insufficient, the Office shall notify the person filing
the petition, and it may be amended within fifteen days from the date
of such notice by filing a supplementary petition and certify as to
its sufficiency. If the amended petition is found to be insufficient
the Office of the City Secretary shall return the petition to the
person filing the same, without prejudice, to the filing of a new
petition for the same purpose.
When the Council receives an authorized initiative petition
certified by the Office of the City Secretary to be sufficient, the
Council shall either (a) pass the initiated ordinance without amendment
within twenty-one days after the date of the certification to the
Council; or (b) submit said initiated ordinance without amendment
to a vote of the qualified voters of the City at a regular or special
election to be held within sixty (60) days after the date of the certification
to the Council; or (c) at such election, submit to a vote of the qualified
voters of the City said initiated ordinance without amendment, and
an alternative ordinance on the same subject proposed by the Council.
When the Council receives an authorized referendum petition
certified by the office of the City Secretary to be sufficient, the
Council shall reconsider the referred ordinance, and if upon such
reconsideration such ordinance is not repealed, it shall be submitted
to the voters at the next regular or special election. Special elections
on initiated or referred ordinances shall not be held more frequently
than once each six months, and no ordinance on the same subject as
an initiated ordinance which has been defeated at any election may
be initiated by the voters within two years from the date of such
election.
(Amended 5/1/2021)
The ballot used in voting upon an initiated or referred ordinance
shall state the caption of the ordinance and below the caption shall
set forth on separate lines the words, “For the Ordinance”
and “Against the Ordinance.”
Where an initiated ordinance and an alternative ordinance proposed
by the Council are submitted, the ballot shall state the captions
of each ordinance, clearly designating them “Ordinance No. 1”
and “Ordinance No. 2” respectively, and shall set forth
below the captions on separate lines the words “For Ordinance
No. 1,” “For Ordinance No. 2,” and “Against
Both Ordinances.” Where an initiated ordinance and an alternative
ordinance are submitted, each voter shall vote “For” only
one ordinance or “Against Both Ordinances,” and a vote
for one ordinance shall be counted as a vote against the other ordinance.
Any number of ordinances may be voted on at the same election
in accordance with the provisions of this Article. If a majority of
the votes cast is in favor of a submitted ordinance, it shall thereupon
be effective as an ordinance of the City. An ordinance so adopted
may be repealed or amended at any time after the expiration of two
years by favorable vote of four members of the Council. A referred
ordinance which is not approved by a majority of the votes cast shall
be deemed thereupon repealed.
If an authorized initiative petition or referendum petition
be signed by qualified voters of the City equal in number to at least
ten percent (10%) but less than thirty percent (30%) of the qualified
voters of the City, and such ordinance is not adopted by the Council,
then such ordinance, without amendment or alteration, shall be submitted
by the Council to the qualified voters of the City at the next City
Regular Election.
(Amended 5/1/2021)
The people of the City reserve the power to recall any member
of the Council or the Mayor and may exercise such power by filing
with the Office of the City Secretary a petition, signed by qualified
voters of the City equal in number to at least thirty percent (30%)
of the qualified voters of the City, but in no event less than 300
such petitioners, demanding the removal of the Mayor or a Councilmember.
The petition shall be signed and verified in the manner required for
an initiative petition, shall contain a general statement of the grounds
for which the removal is sought, and one of the signers of each petition
paper shall make an affidavit that the statements therein made are
true.
Within twenty (20) days after a recall petition is filed, the
Office of the City Secretary shall examine the same. The provisions
regulating examination, certification and amendment of initiative
petitions shall apply to recall petitions. If the petition is certified
by the Office of the City Secretary to be sufficient and the Councilmember
or the Mayor whose removal is sought does not resign within five days
after the certification to the Council, the Council shall order and
hold a recall election within not less than thirty (30) nor more than
sixty (60) days from such certification.
Ballots used at recall elections shall conform to the following
requirements:
a. With respect
to each person whose removal is sought, the question shall be submitted
“Shall (name of the Mayor or the Councilmember) be removed from
the Office of The Mayor or from the Council?”
b. Immediately
below each question there shall be printed the two following propositions,
one above the other; in the order indicated:
“For the recall of (name of the Mayor or Councilmember.)”
“Against the recall of (name of the Mayor or Councilmember.)”
If a majority of the votes cast at a recall election shall be
against removal of the Mayor or the Councilmember named on the ballot,
he shall continue in Office. If the majority of the votes cast at
such election be for the removal of the Mayor or the Councilmember
named on the ballot, the Council shall immediately declare his Office
vacant and such vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the provisions
of this Charter for the filling of vacancies. A Councilmember or the
Mayor thus removed shall not be a candidate to succeed himself in
an election called to fill the vacancy thereby created, and further
shall not be eligible to hold Office in the City of Katy within a
period of two years from the date of his recall.
No recall petition shall be filed against the Mayor or a Councilmember
within six months after he takes Office, and neither the Mayor nor
a Councilmember shall be subjected to more than one recall election
during a term of Office.
In case all the requirements of this Charter shall have been
met, and the City Council shall fail or refuse to receive the recall
petition, or order such recall election, or discharge any other duties
imposed upon said City Council by the provisions of this Charter with
reference to such recall, then, the County Judge of either Fort Bend,
Harris or Waller County, Texas, shall discharge any of such duties
herein provided to be discharged by the person performing the duties
of City Secretary or by the City Council.