City of Slaton, TX ARTICLE III [INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM; RECALL]

§ 1 Initiative and referendum.

[a] Any proposed ordinance may be submitted to the commission for adoption, and any ordinance or resolution passed by the commission may be submitted to the people for repeal. In either event, the ordinance or resolution proposed to be adopted or repealed shall be set out in a written or printed instrument which shall be filed with the person exercising the duties of city secretary, and at the time of the filing of such written or printed instrument, there shall be filed a statement signed by not less than five (5) qualified voters of the City of Slaton, stating that they have proposed such ordinance or resolution for adoption or repeal and such electors shall be regarded as the initiating or referring committee, as the case may be, for the purpose hereinafter provided.

[b] Before any such ordinance or resolution may be submitted to the commission for adoption or repeal, it shall be necessary that a petition signed by not less than twenty-five (25) per cent of the qualified voters within the City of Slaton, as determined by the number voting at the last regular municipal election, shall be presented to the commission, referring to such ordinance or resolution and requesting its adoption or repeal, as the case may be. All such petitions circulated for signatures shall be uniform in character and shall have attached to the same exact written or printed copy of the proposed ordinance or resolution sought to be adopted or repealed.

[c] Each signer of a petition shall sign his name in ink or indelible pencil, in his own handwriting, and shall place on the same, following his name, his place of residence by street and number. The signatures to any such petition need not all be attached to the same paper, but to each such paper there shall be attached an affidavit, by the circulator thereof, stating the number of signers to such part of the petition, and that each signature is genuine and that of the person whose name it purports to be and that it was made in the presence of the affiant.

[d] When signatures have been obtained in the number above provided for, and the petition and statement have been filed with the person exercising the duties of city secretary, such officer shall submit all papers pertaining to such ordinance or resolution, and its proposed initiation or reference to the commission at its next regular meeting and such officer shall mail to each of the members of such initiating or referring committee a notice of the time of the next regular meeting of the commission when such ordinance or resolution and its adoption or repeal shall be considered, or a time then set by such commission for its consideration, which hearing and consideration shall be open to the public, and the public shall be permitted to present arguments for or against such proposed ordinance or resolution.

[e] After such presentation of the petition and public hearing, the commission shall within thirty (30) days from the date of the submission of such petition, take final action upon the same, by either adopting or rejecting the ordinance thus initiated by petition, or by either repealing or refusing to repeal the ordinance or resolution thus sought to be referred, and in either event, the action of the committee [commission] shall be noted in its minutes.

[f] If the commission refuses to pass or to repeal the proposed ordinance or resolution or passes the same in an amended form from that presented in the petition, or repeals only a part of such ordinance or resolution, instead . of repealing the same in the manner set out in such petition of reference, then in either event, such initiating committee, or such referring committee, may require that such ordinance or resolution, either in its original or amended form, be submitted to a vote of the electors for adoption or repeal, as the case may be.

[g] When an ordinance or resolution proposed by petition is to be submitted to a vote of the electors for adoption or repeal, after the commission has acted upon the same, as provided for in the preceding paragraph, then such initiating or referring committee, as the case may be, upon a majority vote of such committee, shall certify their desire to have the same submitted for adoption or repeal, within twenty (20) days after the commission shall have taken action on the same, and shall file such certificate and statement with the person exercising the duties of the city secretary.

[h] After receipt of such certificate and the certified copy of the proposed ordinance or resolution, the person exercising the duties of the city secretary shall present such certificate and certified copy of the proposed ordinance or resolution to the commission at its next regular meeting. If any election is to be held at a date not more than ninety (90) days nor less than ten (10) days after such meeting of the commission, then such ordinance or resolution, proposed for adoption or repeal shall be submitted by the commission to a vote of the electors at such election to be held, but if no such election is to be held within such time, then the commission shall provide for submitting such proposed ordinance or resolution, for adoption or rejection, to the electors at a special election to be held not less than twenty (20) nor more than forty (40) days thereafter.

[i] The form of ballot for use in an election held for the adoption of any initiated ordinance shall state the title of the ordinance and contain a succinct statement of its nature and purpose and below such statement, on separate lines, there shall be printed the words: “FOR THE ORDINANCE–AGAINST THE ORDINANCE.” If a majority of the electors voting in such election shall vote in favor thereof, it shall thereupon become an ordinance of the city.

[j] The form of ballot for use in an election held for the repeal of any referred ordinance or resolution shall state the title of the ordinance or resolution and contain a succinct statement of the nature and purpose of the ordinance or resolution sought to be repealed, and below such statement in separate lines, there shall be printed the words: “FOR THE REPEAL OF THE ORDINANCE (OR RESOLUTION). AGAINST THE REPEAL OF THE ORDINANCE (OR RESOLUTION).” If a majority of the electors voting in such election shall vote in favor of the repeal of such ordinance or resolution, then the same shall be considered repealed.

[k] Providing however that nothing contained in this section shall affect the manner of calling elections to determine whether or not franchises shall be granted.

§ 2 Recall.

Any elective or appointive officer of the city shall be subject to recall and removal from office by the qualified electors of the city, and the procedure to effect such removal shall be as follows:

[1] A petition demanding that the question of removing such officer or officers be submitted to the electors, shall be filed with the person discharging the duties of city secretary. Such petition for the recall of any such elective officer or officers shall be signed by at least twenty (20) per cent of the qualified voters to be determined by the number of votes cast in the last regular municipal election; at least one-fifth (1/5) of whom shall certify that at the election at which the officer or officers was or were elected, if an elective office, they voted for the election of such officer or officers proposed to be recalled.

[2] Petitions for signatures for such recall shall be procured only from the person exercising the duties of city secretary, who shall keep a sufficient number of such blank petitions on file for distribution, and prior to the issuance of such petitions for signatures there shall be filed with such person an affidavit by one or more qualified electors, stating the name or names of the officer or officers sought to be removed. Such officer issuing such petitions for removal to an elector shall enter in a record to be kept, the name of the elector to whom issued, the date of such issuance and the number of such petitions issued and shall certify on such petitions for signatures the name of the elector to whom issued and the date of its issuance. No petition for signatures shall be accepted and taken into consideration in determining the necessary percentage of voters for removal unless it bears such certificate and be filed as herein provided.

[3] Each signer of a recall petition shall sign his name thereto in ink or indelible pencil and shall write thereon after his name, his place of residence by street and number. To each of said petitions there shall be attached an affidavit of the circulator thereof, stating the number of signers to such part of the petition and that each signature to same is genuine, was made in his presence and is that of the person whose name it purports to be.

[4] All papers comprising a recall petition shall be returned and filed with the person exercising the duties of city secretary within thirty (30) days after the filing of the affidavit hereinbefore provided for. The person exercising the duties of city secretary, upon the return of such petition, shall at once submit the same to the governing authority of the city and shall notify the officer or officers sought to be recalled of such action. If the official whose removal is sought does not resign within five (5) days after such notice is given, the governing authority of the city shall thereupon order and fix a day for holding a recall election, the date of which election shall not be less than fifteen (15) nor more than thirty (30) days from the time such petition was presented to the governing authority of the city.

[5] The ballot at such recall election shall conform to the following requirements: With respect to each person whose removal is sought the question shall be submitted: “Shall (name of person) be removed from the office of (naming the office) by recall;” immediately following each of such questions there shall be printed on the ballots in separate lines, in the order here set out the words: “For the recall of (naming the person),” “Against the recall of (naming the person).” Should a majority of the votes cast at such recall election be for the recall of the officer named on the ballot, he shall, regardless of any technical defects in the recall petition, be deemed removed from office, but should a majority of the votes cast at such recall election be against the recall of the officer named on the ballot, such officer shall continue in office for the remainder of his term, subject to recall as before.

[6] No recall petition shall be filed against any officer of the city within six (6) months after his election, nor within six (6) months after an election for such officer’s recall.

[7] In case the governing authority of the city shall fail or refuse to receive the recall petition, order such recall election, or discharge any other duties with reference to such recall, then the county judge of Lubbock County, Texas, shall discharge any of such duties herein provided to be discharged by the governing authority of said city.

[8] If, in such recall election, there shall, as a result of such election, remain one or more of such officers, who it [is] not recalled, then such officer or officers not recalled shall discharge the duties incumbent upon the governing authority of said city until the vacancy or vacancies created at such recall elections are filled by an election for the purpose, as hereinafter provided for, but if in any proposed recall election it is proposed and submitted to recall all elective officers, then there shall be placed on said ballot under the question of recall, the names of candidates to fill the vacancies proposed to be created by such election but the names of such officers proposed to be recalled shall not appear on the ballot as candidates.

[9] If at any recall election it is not proposed and submitted to recall all of such officers, but only one or more, fewer than all, and such election shall result in favor of the recall of one or more of such officers, proposed to be recalled, then it shall be the duty of such officer or officers not recalled and constituting the governing authority of the city, within five (5) days after such election is held, to meet, to canvass the returns, declare the result of the election and on the same date order an election to fill such vacancy or vacancies; which election shall be held not less than ten (10) nor more than twenty (20) days after the same shall have been ordered.