Any elected City official, whether elected to office by qualified voters or appointed by the City Council to fill a vacancy, must be subject to recall and removal from office by the qualified voters of the City on grounds of incompetence, misconduct, or malfeasance in office.
(a) 
Before the question of recall of such officer may be submitted to the qualified voters of the City, a petition demanding such question to be so submitted must first be filed with the person performing duties of City Secretary, which said petition must be signed by 30% of the number of registered voters recorded at the last regular City election.
(b) 
Each signer of such recall petition must personally sign his or her name in ink or indelible pencil, and must write after his or her name his or her place of residence, giving the name of the street and number, or place of residence, and must also write the day, the month, and the year his or her signature was affixed.
The recall petition mentioned above must be addressed to the City Council of the City, must be distinctly and specifically pointed to the grounds upon which such petition for removal is predicated, and, if there be more than one ground, said petition must specifically state each ground with such certainty as to give the officer sought to be removed notice of the matters and things with which the officer is charged. The signature must be verified by oath in the following form.
I, __________ (printed name), being first duly sworn, on oath depose and say that I am one of the signers of the above petition, and that the statements made therein are true, and that each signature appearing thereto was made in my presence on the day and date it purports to have been made, and I solemnly swear that the same is the genuine signature of the person it purports to be.
_______________________________________
Signature
Sworn and subscribed before me on __________ (date).
_______________________________________
Notary Public in and for the State of Texas
(a) 
The petition may consist of one or more copies, or subscription lists, circulated separately, and the signatures thereto may be upon the paper or papers containing the form of petition, or upon other paper attached thereto.
(b) 
Verifications provided for in the next preceding section of this Article may be made by one or more petitioners, and the several parts of copies of the petition may be filed separately and by different persons, but no signatures to such petition remain effective, nor may they be counted, if affixed more than 45 days before the filing of such petition or petitions with the person performing the duties of City Secretary.
(c) 
All papers comprising a recall petition must be filed with the person performing the duties of City Secretary on the same day, and the said person performing the duties of City Secretary must immediately notify, in writing, the officer so sought to be removed, by mailing such notice to the officer’s City address.
Within 21 days after the date of the filing of the papers constituting the recall petition, the person performing the duties of City Secretary must present such petition to the City Council of the City.
The officer whose removal is sought may, within seven days after such recall petition has been presented to the City Council, request that a public hearing be held to permit him or her to present the facts pertinent to the charges specified in the recall petition. In this event, the City Council must order such public hearing to be held, not less than five days nor more than 15 days after receiving such request for a public hearing.
If the officer whose removal is sought does not resign, then the City Council must order an election and set the date for holding such recall election. The date selected for the recall election must be in accordance with the Texas Election Code. If after the recall election date is established, the officer vacates his or her position, the election must be canceled.
Ballots used at recall elections must conform to the following requirements:
(1) 
With respect to each person whose removal is sought, the question must be submitted: “Do you vote to remove __________ (name of official) from the office of __________ (name of office) by recall?”
(2) 
Immediately below each such question there must be printed the following words and characters, one above the other, in the order indicated:
“Yes _____”
“No _____”
(a) 
If a majority of the votes cast at a recall election are “No” votes–that is against the recall of the person named on the ballot–the officer may continue in office for the remainder of the unexpired term, subject to recall as before.
(b) 
If a majority of the votes cast at such election are “Yes” votes–that is, vote in favor of recalling the person named on the ballot–the officer is, regardless of any technical defects in the recall petition, deemed removed from office and the vacancy must be filled as provided in this Charter.
No recall petition may be filed against any officer of the City within three months after the officer’s election, nor within three months after an election for such officer’s recall.
In the case that all of the requirements of this Article of the Charter have been met and the City Council fails or refuses to receive the recall petition, or order such recall election, or discharge any other duties imposed on the City Council by the provisions of this Charter with reference to such recall, then a District Judge of Collin County, Texas, may order by mandamus any duties required by law or this Charter to be discharged by the person performing the duties of City Secretary or by the City Council.
The qualified voters of the City have the power of direct legislation by initiative and referendum.
(a) 
Following a review by the City Attorney for enforceability and legality, qualified voters of the City may initiate legislation–other than legislation relating to annexation, disannexation and other matters related to city boundaries and extraterritorial jurisdiction; regulation of land or improvements; zoning; personnel; utility rates and utility service; budgeting; appropriating money or levying taxes; and any other matters where initiative is in conflict with state or federal law–by submitting a petition addressed to the City Council which requests the submission of a proposed ordinance or resolution to a vote of the qualified voters of the City.
(b) 
Said petition must be signed by ten percent of the number of registered voters recorded at the last regular City election. Each copy of the petition must have attached to it a copy of the proposed legislation.
(c) 
The petition must be signed in the same manner as recall petitions are signed, as provided in this Article, and must be verified by oath in the manner and form provided for recall petitions in this Article.
(d) 
The petition may consist of one or more copies as permitted for recall petitions. Such petition must be filed with the person performing the duties of City Secretary.
(e) 
Within 21 days after the filing of such petition, the person performing the duties of City Secretary must present said petition and proposed ordinance or resolution to the City Council.
(f) 
Within two regularly-scheduled City Council meetings after its presentation to and receipt by the City Council, it is the duty of the City Council to pass and adopt such ordinance or resolution without alteration as to meaning or effect in the opinion of the persons filing the petition, or to call a special election–to be held within 30 days if allowed under the Texas Election Code, or at the next date allowed under the Texas Election Code–at which the qualified voters of the City must vote on the question of adopting or rejecting the proposed legislation.
(g) 
However, if any other municipal election is to be held within 60 days after the filing of the petition, the question may be voted on at such election. Any election order so issued must comply fully with the Texas Election Code.
(h) 
Unless otherwise provided by law, any election for an initiative under this Charter must be held on the first authorized uniform election date that occurs after the 65th day after the petition was presented to the City Council.
(a) 
Qualified voters of the City may require that any ordinance or resolution–other than legislation relating to annexation, disannexation and other matters related to city boundaries and extraterritorial jurisdiction; regulation of land or improvements; zoning; personnel; utility rates and utility service; budgeting; appropriating money or levying taxes; and any other matters where initiative is in conflict with state or federal law–passed by the City Council be submitted to the voters of the City for approval or disapproval, by submitting a petition for this purpose within 30 days after final passage of said ordinance or resolution, or within 30 days after its publication.
(b) 
Said petition must be signed by 20% of the number of registered voters recorded at the last regular City election. Each copy of the petition must have attached to it a copy of the legislation in question.
(c) 
Said petition must be addressed, signed, and verified as required for recall petitions in this Article and must be submitted to the person performing the duties of City Secretary.
(d) 
Immediately upon the filing of such petition, the person performing the duties of City Secretary must present said petition to the City Council.
(e) 
Thereupon the City Council must immediately reconsider such ordinance or resolution and, if the City Council does not entirely repeal the same, must submit it to popular vote as provided in Section 6.13 of this Charter.
(f) 
Pending the holding of such election, each ordinance or resolution is suspended from taking effect and will not later take effect unless a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon at such election so vote.
(g) 
Unless otherwise provided by law, any election for a referendum under this Charter must be held on the first authorized uniform election date that occurs after the 65th day after the petition was presented to the City Council.
The City Council, upon its own motion and by the affirmative vote of a majority of the full membership of the City Council, may submit to popular vote at any election for adoption or rejection any proposed ordinance or resolution or measure, or may submit for repeal any existing ordinance, or resolution, or measure, in the same manner and with the same force and effect as provided in this Article for submission of petition, and may at its discretion call a special election for this purpose.
The ballots used when voting upon such proposed or referred ordinance or resolution must set forth their nature sufficiently to identify them and must also set forth upon separate lines the words:
“For the Ordinance” or “Against the Ordinance” or
“For the Resolution” or “Against the Resolution”
The person performing the duties of City Secretary of the City must publish at least twice in the official newspaper of the City the proposed or referred ordinance or resolution within 15 days before the date of the election, and must give such other notices and do such other things relative to such election as are required by law in municipal elections and by the ordinance or resolution calling said election. Notwithstanding the foregoing and to the extent state law provides for an applicable alternate method for publication, the City may forgo newspaper publication and publish the ordinance or resolution in accordance with the applicable state law.
(Ordinance 764-2018, sec. 2.7 (prop. E), adopted 2/13/18, approved at election of 5/5/18)
If a majority of the qualified voters vote in favor of any proposed ordinance, resolution or measure, it is effective immediately unless expressly stated otherwise in the ordinance, resolution or measure.
If the provisions of two or more proposed ordinances or resolutions approved at the same election are inconsistent, the ordinance or resolution receiving the highest number of votes prevails.
No ordinance or resolution that may have been passed by the City Council upon a petition or adopted by popular vote under the provisions of this Article may be repealed or amended except: (1) in response to a referendum petition or by submission as provided by Section 6.15 of this Charter; or (2) by the City Council, but only after the expiration of two years after the passage of the ordinance or resolution by popular vote.
The City Council may pass ordinances or resolutions providing other and further regulations for carrying out the provisions of this Article consistent herewith.
Nothing contained in this Article may be construed to be in conflict with any of the provisions of this Charter, pertaining to ordinances granting franchises once valuable rights have accrued.
In the case that all of the requirements of this Charter have been met and the City Council fails or refuses to receive the initiative or referendum petition, or order such initiative or referendum election, or discharge any other duties imposed on the City Council by the provisions of this Charter with reference to such initiative or referendum, then a District Judge of Collin County, Texas, may order by mandamus any duties required by law or this Charter to be discharged by the person performing the duties of City Secretary or by the City Council.