(a) The
voters shall have power at their option to propose ordinances, which
are legislative in nature and not withdrawn from the initiatory field
by law or judicial decision, exclusive of ordinances granting franchises
and privileges, and to adopt the same at the polls, such power being
known as the initiative. A petition meeting the requirements hereinafter
provided and requesting the city council to pass an ordinance therein
set forth shall be termed an initiative petition and shall be acted
upon as hereinafter provided.
(b) Signatures
to initiative petitions need not all be on one paper but the circulator
of each such paper shall make an affidavit that the signatures appended
thereto were made in his presence and are genuine signatures of the
persons whose names they purport to be. Such petition shall be signed
in ink or indelible pencil and each signer shall place after his name
the date when his signature was made and his place of residence by
street and number or other description sufficient to identify the
place. All such petition papers pertaining to any one measure shall
have written or printed thereon the names and addresses of at least
five (5) qualified voters who shall be officially regarded as filing
the petition, and who shall constitute a committee of the petitioners
for the purpose hereinafter named. All petition papers relating to
the same measure shall be assembled and filed in the office of the
city secretary as one instrument.
(c) An
initiative petition to be sufficient shall be signed by qualified
and registered voters equal in number to at least fifty (50) per cent
of those who voted in the last regular municipal election, but in
no event shall such number be less than seven thousand five hundred
(7,500). Within ten (10) days after the filing of a petition, the
secretary shall ascertain whether it be signed as provided in this
section and shall attach thereto a certificate showing the result
of the secretary’s examination. If, by the city secretary’s
certificate, of which notice in writing shall be given to two (2)
or more of the committee of the petitioners, the petition is shown
to be insufficient, it may be amended within ten (10) days of the
date of such certificate by filing supplementary petition papers.
Within ten (10) days after such an amendment, the secretary shall
make examination of the amended petition; and if the secretary’s
certificate shall show the same still to be insufficient, the secretary
shall file the petition and notify each member of the committee of
that fact. The final finding of the insufficiency of a petition shall
not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
(d) If
an initiative petition be found sufficient, the secretary shall so
certify and shall submit the measure to the city council at its next
meeting, and the council shall at once read and refer it to an appropriate
committee, which may be a committee of the whole. Provisions shall
be made for public hearings upon the proposed measure before the committee
to which it is referred. Thereafter the committee shall report the
measure to the city council with its recommendation thereon not later
than sixty (60) days after the date upon which such measure was submitted
to the city council by the city secretary. Upon receiving the measure
from the committee, the city council shall at once proceed to consider
it and shall take final action thereon within thirty (30) days from
the date of such committee report.
(e) If
the city council shall fail to pass a proposed measure, or shall pass
it in a form different from that set forth in the petition therefor,
the committee of the petitioners may require that it may be submitted
to a vote of the qualified voters either in its original form or with
any change or addition presented in writing at a public hearing before
the committee to which it was referred, or during its consideration
by the city council. If the committee of the petitioners require the
submission of the measure to a vote of the qualified voters, they
shall certify that fact to the secretary and file in his office a
certified copy of the measure in the form in which it is to be submitted,
within ten (10) days after final action on such measure by the city
council.
(f) Upon
receipt of the certificate and certified copy of the proposed measure,
as provided in the foregoing subsection, the secretary shall certify
the fact to the city council at its next regular meeting. If any municipal
election is to be held not more than six (6) months or less than thirty
(30) days after the receipt of the secretary’s certificate by
the city council, the proposed measure shall be submitted to a vote
of the qualified voters at the first such election. When no municipal
election is to be held within the time aforesaid, the city council
may provide for submitting the measure to the voters at a special
election to be held not less than thirty (30) days after the date
when provision is made therefor by the council. When no other provision
is made as to the time of submitting a measure proposed by initiative
petition to the electors, it shall be submitted at the first municipal
election held after the expiration of the period of six (6) months
mentioned in this section. Any such measure approved by a majority
of the qualified voters voting thereon shall be considered adopted
and shall take effect at the time indicated therein.
(g) When
a measure proposed by initiative petition is passed by the city council,
but not in its original form, and is required by the committee of
the petitioners to be submitted to a vote of the qualified voters,
the measure as passed by the city council shall not take effect until
after such vote, and, if the measure so submitted be approved by a
majority of the qualified voters voting thereon, the measure as passed
by the city council shall be deemed repealed.
(Char. art. VIII, sec. 1; Ordinance 85-28, sec. 4, adopted 4/9/85)
(a) The
qualified voters shall have power at their option to approve or reject
at the polls any ordinance, legislative in nature and not withdrawn
from the initiatory field by law or judicial decision, passed by the
city council or submitted by such council to a vote of the qualified
voters, such power being known as the referendum. Measures submitted
to the city council by initiative petition and passed by the council
without change, or passed in an amended form and not required by the
committee of petitioners to be submitted to a vote of the qualified
voters, shall be subject to the referendum in the same manner as other
measures.
(b) No
ordinance shall go into effect until thirty (30) days after its passage
by the city council unless it be declared an emergency measure on
the ground of urgent public need for the preservation of peace, health,
safety or property, the facts showing such urgency being specifically
stated in the ordinance itself or unless necessary for the issuance
of bonds and other obligations or to levy taxes. No ordinance granting
any public utility franchise, or amending or repealing any measure
adopted by the qualified voters at the polls, or adopted by the city
council in compliance with an initiative petition, shall be regarded
as an emergency measure.
(c) If
within thirty (30) days after final passage of a measure by the city
council a petition signed by qualified and registered voters of the
city equal in number to at least fifty (50) per cent of those who
voted in the last regular municipal election, but in no case by less
than seven thousand five hundred (7,500), be filed with the city secretary
requesting that such measures or any part thereof be either repealed
or submitted to a vote of the qualified voters, the measure shall
not, unless it be an emergency measure or a measure that is not legally
subject to referendum, become operative until the steps indicated
therein have been taken.
(d) The
signatures to a referendum petition need not all be on one paper but
the circulator of each separate paper shall make affidavit that the
signatures appended thereto were made in his presence and are the
genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be.
Such petitions shall be signed in ink or indelible pencil and each
signer shall place after his name the date when his signature was
made and his place of residence by street number, or other description
sufficient to identify the place. All such papers pertaining to any
one measure shall have written or printed thereon the names and addresses
of at least five (5) qualified voters who shall be officially regarded
as filing the petition and shall constitute a committee of the petitioners
for the purposes hereinafter named. All such papers relating to the
same measure shall be assembled and filed in the office of the city
secretary as one instrument. A referendum petition need not contain
the text of the measure designated therein and of which repeal is
sought as a whole, but when the repeal of part of a measure is sought
such part shall be set forth in the petition.
(e) Within
ten (10) days after the filing of a referendum petition the secretary
shall ascertain whether it be signed as provided in section 1(c) [86(c)] of this article and shall attach to the petition a certificate
showing the result of such examination and shall give notice thereof
to the committee of the petitioners. If by the secretary’s certificate
the petition is shown to be insufficient, it may be amended within
ten (10) days from the date of such certificate by filing supplementary
petition papers with additional signatures. The secretary shall within
ten (10) days after such amendment make like examination of the amended
petition and certify the result thereof.
(f) If
a referendum petition, or amended petition, be found sufficient, the
secretary shall certify that fact to the city council at its next
regular meeting, and, unless the measure or part thereof specified
in the petition be an emergency measure, it shall not go into effect
unless approved by the qualified voters as hereinafter provided. Upon
receipt of the secretary’s certificate of sufficiency, the city
council shall proceed to reconsider the measure, and its final vote
upon such reconsideration shall be upon the question, “Shall
the measure (or part of the measure) as specified in the referendum
petition be repealed?” If upon such reconsideration the measure,
or part thereof, be not repealed, it shall be submitted to the qualified
voters at the next municipal election held not less than thirty (30)
days after such final vote of the city council by a four-fifths vote its members
may submit the measure to the qualified voters at a special election
to be held not sooner than the time aforesaid. If when submitted to
the qualified voters any such measure, or part thereof, be not approved
by a majority of those voting thereon, it shall be deemed repealed.
(g) Measures
proposed by the initiative petition, or required by referendum petition
or by the city council to be submitted to the qualified voters, shall
be submitted pursuant to the election laws of the State of Texas.
(h) Any
number of measures may be voted on at the same election and may be
submitted on the same ballot, but the ballot used for voting on measures
shall be for that purpose only.
(i) Measures
passed as emergency measures shall be subject to referendum, but they
shall not be suspended from going into operation while referendum
proceedings are pending. If, when submitted to a vote of the qualified
voters, an emergency measure be not approved by a majority of those
voting thereon, it shall be considered repealed as regards any further
action thereunder, and all rights and privileges conferred by it shall
thereafter be null and void; but any such measure so repealed shall
be deemed sufficient authority for any payment made or expense incurred
in accordance therewith prior to the vote thereon.
(j) If
two (2) or more measures adopted or approved at the same election
conflict in respect to any of their provisions, they shall go into
effect in respect of such of their provisions as are not in conflict
and the one receiving the highest affirmative vote shall prevail insofar
as their provisions conflict. Except as otherwise provided in this
Charter, measures adopted or approved by the qualified voters shall
be subject to amendment or repeal by the city council as in the case
of other measures.
(Char. art. VIII, sec. 2; Ordinance 85-28, sec. 4, adopted 4/9/85; Ordinance 97-19, sec. 2, adopted 5/6/97)