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89(R) SB 506 - Enrolled version - Bill Text
S.B. No. 506
AN ACT
relating to requirements for certain ballot propositions and to
related procedures and provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 52.072, Election Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g)
A proposition must substantially submit the question
with such definiteness, certainty, and facial neutrality that the
voters are not misled.
SECTION 2. Chapter 233, Election Code, is amended by adding
Section 233.0115 to read as follows:
Sec.
233.0115.
BALLOT LANGUAGE MANDAMUS ACTION. If a court
orders a new election under Section 233.011, a person may seek from
the court a writ of mandamus to compel the governing body of a city
to comply with the requirement that a ballot proposition must
substantially submit the question with such definiteness,
certainty, and facial neutrality that the voters are not misled, as
provided by Section 273.102.
SECTION 3. Chapter 273, Election Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter F to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. BALLOT PROPOSITION LANGUAGE ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS
Sec.
273.101.
REVIEW BY SECRETARY OF STATE. (a)
Not later
than the seventh day after the date on which a home-rule city
publishes in the election order ballot proposition language
proposing an amendment to the city charter or a voter-initiated
initiative or referendum as requested by petition, a registered
voter eligible to vote in the election or an authorized
representative of a home-rule city may submit the proposition for
review by the secretary of state.
(b)
The secretary of state shall review the proposition not
later than the seventh day after the date the secretary receives the
submission to determine whether the proposition is misleading,
inaccurate, or prejudicial.
(c)
If the secretary of state determines that the
proposition is misleading, inaccurate, or prejudicial, the
secretary of state shall provide notice to the city of the secretary
of state's determination. Not later than the third day after
receiving notice from the secretary of state, the city shall draft a
proposition to cure the defects and give notice of the new
proposition using the method of giving notice prescribed for notice
of an election under Section 4.003.
(d)
A proposition drafted by a city under Subsection (c) to
cure the defects may be submitted to the secretary of state under
Subsection (a). If the secretary of state determines that the city
has drafted a proposition under Subsection (c) that is misleading,
inaccurate, or prejudicial, the secretary of state shall draft the
ballot proposition.
Sec.
273.102.
MANDAMUS ACTIONS. (a) In an action in a
court of competent jurisdiction seeking a writ of mandamus to
compel the city's governing body to comply with the requirement
that a ballot proposition must substantially submit the question
with such definiteness, certainty, and facial neutrality that the
voters are not misled, the court shall make its determination
without delay and may order the city to use ballot proposition
language drafted by the court.
(b)
Except as provided by Subsection (d), the court may
award a plaintiff or relator who substantially prevails in a
mandamus action described by Subsection (a) the party's reasonable
attorney's fees, expenses, and court costs.
(c)
Governmental immunity to suit is waived and abolished
only to the extent of the liability created by Subsection (b).
(d)
If, pursuant to Section
273.101, the secretary of state
determines that a proposition is not misleading, inaccurate, or
prejudicial, or drafts the ballot proposition language, a plaintiff
or relator who prevails in a mandamus action described by
Subsection (a) may not be awarded the party's reasonable attorney's
fees, expenses, or court costs.
Sec.
273.103.
MANDATORY SUBMISSION TO SECRETARY OF STATE.
Following a final nonappealable judgment containing a finding by a
court that a ballot proposition drafted by a city failed to
substantially submit the question with such definiteness,
certainty, and facial neutrality that the voters are not misled,
the city shall submit to the secretary of state for approval any
proposition to be voted on at an election held by the city before
the fourth anniversary of the court's finding.
Sec.
273.104.
CITY REQUIRED TO PAY FOR LEGAL SERVICES.
Notwithstanding a home-rule city charter provision to the contrary,
a city may not accept legal services relating to a proceeding under
this subchapter without paying fair market value for those
services.
SECTION 4. Chapter 277, Election Code, is amended by adding
Section 277.005 to read as follows:
Sec.
277.005.
OBSTRUCTION OF PETITION-INITIATED ELECTION
PROHIBITED. (a) A political subdivision may not propose a measure,
including a charter amendment, that will appear on the same ballot
as a petition-initiated measure if:
(1)
the two measures generally address the same
subject matter; or
(2)
a provision of a proposed measure would invalidate
or conflict with any portion of a petition-initiated measure.
(b)
A measure proposed by a political subdivision in
violation of this section is void if the measure is proposed not
earlier than the 180th day before the date the political
subdivision's secretary receives the petition under this chapter.
A political subdivision may be enjoined from proposing the measure.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a petition submitted on or after January 1, 2026.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
______________________________
______________________________
President of the Senate
Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 506 passed the Senate on
April 30, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 23, Nays 8; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 30, 2025, by the
following vote: Yeas 24, Nays 7.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 506 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 28, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 102,
Nays 37, one present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor