(a)
The
power of 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, salaries of city
officers or employees, or matters related to administration of municipal
employees, annexation, or municipal boundary adjustments, or in any
instance where a court of proper jurisdiction determines that the
initiated ordinance has been removed from the field of initiative.
Subject to this subsection, such initiative power may be used to enact
a new ordinance or to amend sections of any existing ordinances.
(b)
The
power of 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 ordinance relating to zoning, appropriation of money, levy
of taxes, issuance of bonds and notes, borrowing of money, salaries
of city officers or employees, or matters related to administration
of municipal employees, annexation, or municipal boundary adjustments,
or in any instance where a court of proper jurisdiction determines
that the referred ordinance has been removed from the field of referendum.
Additionally, the power shall not extend to emergency measures or
ordinances passed on the ground of urgent public need for the preservation
of peace, health, safety or property if approved by a vote of not
less than 2/3 (two-thirds) of the entire council.
(c)
Business
day defined.
As used in this charter, business day shall
mean every day except Saturdays, Sundays, and official municipal holidays.
(a)
Petitioners’
Committee.
Any fifteen (15) 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. The affidavit must designate one person
to be designated chair and spokesperson for the committee.
(b)
Verification
by city secretary.
Promptly after the affidavit of the
Petitioners’ Committee is filed, the city secretary shall verify
that the applicants are qualified voters, and if they are, 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 8.04 shall be allowed for amending petitions. All petitions shall
be filed with the city secretary.
(a)
Review
by city secretary.
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. 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.
(b)
Certificate
of city secretary.
Within ten (10) business days after
the petition is filed, the city secretary, with advice from the city
Attorney, 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.
(c)
Amendment
by petitioner.
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) business days after receiving the copy of such certificate and files a supplementary petition upon additional papers within ten (10) business days after receiving the copy of such certificate. Such supplementary petition shall comply with the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of 8.03 and within five (5) business 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.
(d)
Submission
to city council.
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 subsection (c) 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.
The city council shall have the right to amend the initiative
ordinance to comply with state or federal law, and may make other
nonsubstantive changes to the ordinance.
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 (except as permitted by Section 8.05) 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. 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 signatures.
No signature shall be withdrawn from any
petition after such petition has been certified by the city secretary
as sufficient. Until that time a person who has signed the petition
can withdraw it by sending written notification to 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.
Referendum and initiative ordinances adopted or repealed by
the electors may be amended or repealed by the city council as in
the case of other ordinances, but not until six (6) months after such
ordinances shall become effective.
