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300 such petitioners, may be filed with the Office of the City Secretary requesting that any such ordinance be either repealed or submitted to a vote of the people.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.