(a)
General
Authority
(1)
Initiative:
The qualified voters of the City shall have power to propose
ordinances to the Council, and, if the Council fails to adopt an ordinance
so proposed without any change in substance, to adopt or reject it
at a City election, provided that such power shall not extend to the
budget or capital program or any ordinance relating to zoning, appropriation
of money, levy of taxes, issuance of bonds and notes, borrowing of
money or salaries of City officers or employees. Such initiative power
may be used to enact a new ordinance or to repeal or to amend sections
of any existing ordinances.
(2)
Referendum:
The qualified voters of the City shall have power to require
reconsideration by the Council of any adopted ordinance, and, if the
Council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, to approve or
reject it at a City election, provided that such power shall not extend
to the budget or capital program or any emergency ordinance or ordinance
relating to zoning, appropriation of money or levy of taxes, issuance
of bonds and notes or borrowing of money.
(3)
Recall:
The qualified voters shall have the power to recall any elected
official of the City. Such power shall be exercised by filing with
the City Secretary a petition, signed by currently qualified voters
of the City equal in number to at least twenty (20) percent of the
total number of qualified voters registered to vote at the last regular
City election, demanding the removal of such elected official. The
recall petition must specifically state each ground or grounds upon
which such petition for removal is predicated as to give the officer
sought to be removed notice of the matters and things with which he
is charged. The provisions regulating commencement, certification,
amendment, withdrawal of initiative and referendum petitions and submission
to voters shall apply to recall petitions.
(b)
Ballots:
Ballots used at recall elections shall conform to the following
requirements:
(1)
With
respect to each person whose removal is sought, the question shall
be submitted:
“Shall (Name of person) be removed from the office of
(Name of office) by recall?”
(2)
Immediately
to the left of each such question there shall be printed the following
words, one above the other, in the order indicated:
“YES”
“NO”
(c)
Voting:
In voting said ballot, the voter shall indicate his or her vote
in favor of recall or against recall by marking the ballot in the
way ordinarily prescribed for ballot propositions.
Any five (5) qualified voters may commence initiative or referendum
proceedings by filing with the City Secretary an affidavit stating
they will constitute the Petitioners’ Committee and be responsible
for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form, stating
their names and addresses and specifying the address to which all
notices to the committee are to be sent, and setting out in full the
proposed initiative ordinance or citing the ordinance sought to be
reconsidered.
Promptly after the affidavit of the petitioners’ committee
is filed, the City Secretary shall issue the appropriate petition
blanks to the Petitioners’ Committee.
(a)
Number
of Signatures:
Initiative and referendum petitions must
be signed by qualified voters of the City equal in number to at least
twenty (20) percent of the total number of qualified voters registered
to vote at the last regular City election.
(b)
Form
and Content:
All papers of a petition shall be uniform
in size and style and shall be assembled as one instrument for filing.
Each signature shall be executed in ink and shall be followed by the
signer’s printed name, the signer’s voter registration
number, the county of registration, the signer’s residence address
and date of signing. Petitions shall contain or have attached thereto
throughout their circulation the full text of the ordinance proposed
or sought to be reconsidered.
(c)
Affidavit
of Circulator.
Each paper of a petition shall have attached
to it, when filed, an affidavit executed by the circulator thereof
stating that he personally circulated the paper, the number of signatures
thereon, that all the signatures were affixed in his presence, that
he believes them to be the genuine signatures of the persons whose
names they purport to be and that each signer had an opportunity,
before signing, to read the full text of the ordinance proposed or
sought to be reconsidered.
(d)
Time
for Filing Petitions:
Referendum petitions must be filed
within sixty (60) days after adoption by the Council of the ordinance
sought to be reconsidered. Initiative petitions must be filed within
sixty (60) days after issuance of the appropriate petition blanks
to the Petitioners’ Committee; additional time as specified
in 7.33 shall be allowed for amending petitions. All petitions shall
be filed with the City Secretary.
(a)
Certificate
of Secretary; Amendment:
(1)
Upon
the filing of a petition, the City Secretary shall review the petition
to determine the existence of the requisite number of signatures of
qualified voters and whether the form of the petition complies with
the provisions of this Charter. The City Secretary shall also review
the petition to determine the genuineness of the signatures and the
factual sufficiency of the petition upon a written complaint submitted
under oath by a citizen of the City to the City Secretary. The Council
may provide, by ordinance, the punishment and penalties for contempt
for failure or refusal to obey any subpoena or request for production
of evidence issued by the City Secretary.
(2)
Within
ten (10) days after the petition is filed, the City Secretary shall
complete a certificate as to its sufficiency, specifying, if it is
insufficient, the particulars wherein it is defective and shall promptly
send a copy of the certificate to the Petitioners’ Committee
by registered mail.
(3)
A petition certified insufficient for lack of the required number of valid signatures or due to inadequate form or content may be amended once if the Petitioners’ Committee files a notice of intention to amend it with the City Secretary within five (5) days after receiving the copy of this certificate and files a supplementary petition upon additional papers within ten (10) days after receiving the copy of such certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of 7.32 and within five (5) days after it is filed the City Secretary, shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition as amended and promptly send a copy of such certificate to the Petitioners’ Committee by registered mail as in the case of an original petition.
(4)
If a petition or amended petition is certified sufficient, or if a petition or amended petition is certified insufficient and the Petitioners’ Committee does not elect to amend as provided in this subsection (a) or request Council review under subsection (b) of this section within the time required, the City Secretary shall promptly present this certificate to the Council and the certificate shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.
(b)
Council
Review:
If a petition has been certified insufficient
and the Petitioners’ Committee does not file notice of intention
to amend it or if an amended petition has been certified insufficient,
the Committee may, within five (5) days after receiving the copy of
such certificate, file a request that it be reviewed by the Council.
The Council shall review the certificate at its next meeting following
the filing of such request and approve or disapprove it, and the Council’s
determination shall then be a final determination as to the sufficiency
of the petition.
(c)
Court
Review; New Petition:
A final determination as to the
sufficiency of a petition shall be subject to court review, provided
such petition is presented to the court within ten (10) days of the
final determination by the City Secretary or the Council if Council
review was requested. A final determination of insufficiency, even
if sustained upon court review, shall not prejudice the filing of
a new petition for the same purpose.
When a referendum petition is filed with the City Secretary,
the ordinance sought to be reconsidered shall be suspended from taking
effect. Such suspension shall terminate when:
(a)
Action
by Council:
When an initiative or referendum petition
has been finally determined sufficient, the Council shall promptly
consider the proposed initiative ordinance in the manner prescribed
for enacting ordinances or reconsider the referred ordinance by voting
its repeal. If the Council fails to adopt a proposed initiative ordinance
without any change in substance within sixty (60) days or fails to
repeal the referred ordinance within thirty (30) days after the date
the petition was finally determined sufficient, it shall submit the
proposed or referred ordinance to the voters of the City.
(b)
Submission
to Voters:
The vote of the City on a proposed or referred
ordinance shall be held on the next election date authorized by the
Texas Election Code that is at least thirty-two (32) days after the
date of the final Council vote thereon. Copies of the proposed or
referred ordinance shall be made available at the polls and shall
be published at least once in the official newspaper of the City within
fifteen (15) days before the date of the election.
(c)
Withdrawal
of Petitions:
An initiative or referendum petition may
be withdrawn at any time prior to the fifteenth day preceding the
day scheduled for a vote of the City by filing with the City Secretary
a request for withdrawal signed by at least four (4) members of the
Petitioner’s Committee. Upon the filing of such request, the
petition shall have no further force or effect and all proceedings
thereon shall be terminated.
(d)
Withdrawal
Signatures:
No signature shall be withdrawn from any
petition after such petition has been filed with the City Secretary.
(a)
Initiative:
If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a proposed
initiative ordinance vote in its favor, it shall be considered adopted
upon certification of the election results and shall be treated in
all respects in the same manner as ordinances of the same kind adopted
by the Council. If conflicting ordinances are approved at the same
election, the one receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes
shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
(b)
Referendum:
If a majority of the qualified electors voting on a referred
ordinance vote against it, it shall be considered repealed upon certification
of the election results.
If a majority of the votes cast at a recall election shall be
against removal of the elected official named on the ballot, he shall
continue in office. If the majority of the votes cast at the election
be for the removal of the elected official named on the ballot, the
Council shall immediately declare his office vacant and such vacancy
shall be filled in accordance with provision 2.08 of this charter
for the filling of vacancies.
No recall petition shall be filed against an elected official
within six (6) months after he takes office.
The elected official whose removal is sought may, within five
(5) days after such recall petition has been presented to the Council,
request that a public hearing be held to permit him to present facts
pertinent to the charges specified in the recall petition. In this
event, the Council shall order such public hearings to be held, not
less than five (5) days nor more than fifteen (15) days after receiving
such request for a public hearing.
In case all of the requirements of this Charter shall have been
met and the Council shall fail or refuse to receive the initiative,
referendum or recall petition, or order such initiative, referendum
or recall election, or discharge other duties imposed upon said Council
by the provisions of this Charter with reference to such initiative,
referendum or recall, then the County Judge of Ellis County, Texas,
shall discharge any such duties herein provided to be discharged by
the City Secretary or by the Council. In addition, any qualified voter
in the City may seek judicial relief in the district court of Ellis
County, Texas, to have any of the provisions of this Charter pertaining
to initiative, referendum or recall carried out by the proper official.
