The qualified voters of the City of El Campo, in addition to the method of legislation hereinbefore provided, shall have the power of direct legislation by the initiative and referendum.
Qualified voters of the City of El Campo may initiate legislation 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. Said petition must be signed by qualified voters of the city equal in number to twenty percent (20%) of the number of votes cast at the last regular municipal election of the city, for at large councilmembers in a contested councilmember race, or 150, whichever is greater, and each copy of the petition shall have attached to it a copy of the proposed legislation. The petition shall be signed in the same manner as recall petitions are signed, as provided in Section 6.02 of this Charter, and shall be verified by oath in the manner and form provided for recall petitions in Section 6.03 of this Charter. The petition may consist of one or more copies as permitted for recall petitions in Section 6.04 of this Charter. Such petition shall be filed with the person performing the duties of City Secretary. Within five (5) days after the filing of such petition, the person performing the duties of City Secretary shall present said petition and proposed ordinance or resolution to the City Council. Upon presentation to City Council of the petition and draft of the proposed ordinance or resolution, it shall become the duty of the City Council, within ten (10) days after the receipt thereof, 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 thirty (30) days thereafter, at which the qualified voters of the City of El Campo shall vote on the question of adopting or rejecting the proposed legislation. However, if any other municipal election is to be held within sixty (60) days after the filing of the petition, the question may be voted on at such election.
Qualified voters of the City of El Campo may require that any ordinance or resolution, except those ordinances or resolutions annexing land, 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 thirty (30) days after final passage of said ordinance or resolution, or within thirty (30) days after its publication. Said petition shall be addressed, prepared, signed and verified as required for petitions initiating legislation as provided in Section 7.02 of this Charter and shall be submitted to the person performing the duties of City Secretary. Immediately upon the filing of such petition, the person performing the duties of City Secretary shall present said petition to the City Council. Thereupon the City Council shall immediately reconsider such ordinance or resolution and; if it does not entirely repeal the same, shall submit it to popular vote as provided in Section 6.07 of this Charter. Pending the holding of such election, such ordinance or resolution shall be suspended from taking effect and shall not later take effect unless a majority of the qualified voters voting thereon at such election shall vote in favor thereof.
The City Council, upon its own motion and by a majority vote of its members, 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, resolution or measure, in the same manner and with the same force and effect as provided in this article for submission on petition, and may in its discretion call a special election for this purpose.
The ballots used when voting upon such proposed and referred ordinances, resolutions or measures, shall set forth their nature sufficiently to identify them and shall also set forth upon separate lines the words:
“FOR the ORDINANCE,” and “AGAINST the ORDINANCE,” or “FOR the RESOLUTION,” and “AGAINST the RESOLUTION.”
The person performing the duties of City Secretary shall publish at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published in El Campo the proposed or referred ordinance or resolution within fifteen (15) days before the date of the election, and shall give such other notices and do such other things relative to such election as are required in general municipal elections or by the ordinance or resolution calling said election.
If a majority of the qualified voters voting on any proposed ordinance or resolution or measure shall vote in favor thereof, it shall thereupon, or at any time fixed therein, become effective as a law or as a mandatory order to the City Council.
If the provisions of two (2) or more proposed ordinances or resolutions approved at the same election are inconsistent, the ordinance or resolution receiving the highest number of votes shall prevail.
No ordinance or resolution which may have been passed by the City Council upon a petition or adopted by popular vote under the provisions of this article shall be repealed or amended except by the City Council in response to a referendum, petition or by submission as provided in Section 7.04 of this Charter.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to be in conflict with any of the provisions of Article 13 of this Charter, pertaining to ordinances granting franchises when valuable rights shall have accrued thereunder.