BILL ANALYSIS S.B. 95 By: West, Royce (Hilderbran) February 22, 1995 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Current law does not allow a general-law municipality to hold recall elections. Instead, these municipalities are required to conduct a procedure with members of the governing body serving as a forum of justice. Citizen participation ends after the initial petition is filed, leaving ultimate resolution of an official's fitness for public service in the hands of a few office holders. PURPOSE As proposed, S.B. 95 sets forth the procedure for the recall of an elected official in a general-law municipality. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Title 2B, Local Government Code, by adding Chapter 27, as follows: CHAPTER 27. RECALL OF ELECTED OFFICIAL IN GENERAL-LAW MUNICIPALITY SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 27.001. APPLICATION. Provides that an elected officer of a general-law municipality may be recalled from office. Sec. 27.002. LIMITATIONS ON RECALL. Prohibits a recall petition from being filed within specified time frames. SUBCHAPTER B. RECALL PETITION Sec. 27.021. VALIDITY OF PETITION. Sets forth requirements for a petition to be considered valid. Sec. 27.022. FILING DEADLINE. Requires a recall petition to be filed within 90 days of the initial date of circulation of the petition. Sec. 27.023. SIGNATURES REQUIRED. (a) Sets forth requirements for the minimum number of signatures to appear on a recall petition. (b) Sets forth requirements for signatures to be considered valid. Sec. 27.024. FORM AND CONTENT OF PETITION. (a) Authorizes a recall petition to propose the recall of only one officer. (b) Sets forth the required language for a statement to appear at the top of each page of the petition. (c) Requires the initial date of circulation of the petition to appear on each page. (d) Requires the pages of the petition to be duplicates, with the exception of signatures and information to be affixed by the signers and circulators. (e) Provides that the petition may consist of multiple parts. (f) Requires the part of the petition in which signatures appear to contain the affidavit required by Section 27.026. (g) Requires the statement and date to appear, at the time of signing, on the page on which each signature is affixed. Sec. 27.025. METHOD OF ACQUIRING SIGNATURE. Sets forth requirements for the method of acquiring signatures. Sec. 27.026. AFFIDAVIT OF CIRCULATOR. (a) Requires a recall petition to include an affidavit of the person who circulated it. Sets forth requirements for the affidavit. (b) Requires the printed name and residence address of the circulator and the date of execution of the affidavit to be included in the affidavit. SUBCHAPTER C. FILING AND DETERMINATION OF VALIDITY Sec. 27.041. AUTHORITY WITH WHOM PETITION FILED. (a) Requires a recall petition to be filed with the clerk or secretary of the governing body of the municipality, or, if the municipality has no clerk or secretary, with the municipality's mayor. (b) Requires all parts of the petition to be filed on the same date. Sec. 27.042. COVER LETTER. Requires a cover letter to accompany a recall petition. Sets forth the requirements for the cover letter. Sec. 27.043. REVIEW OF PETITION. (a) Requires the authority with whom the petition is filed to review the petition to determine its validity. (b) Requires the review to be completed as soon as practicable after the filing date. Sec. 27.044. ACTION ON PETITION. (a) Requires the authority to order an election on the question of recalling the officer if the petition is valid and filed within the proper dates. Sets forth requirements for this election. (b) Requires the authority to promptly reject the petition and return it along with written reasons for the rejection to the filers if the petition is invalid or not filed within the proper dates. (c) Authorizes a rejected petition to be refiled before the deadline. Sec. 27.045. NOTICE TO OFFICER. (a) Requires the authority to whom the petition is filed to deliver the determination to the officer sought to be recalled within five days of making the determination. (b) Requires the notice to include the date of the election if a recall election is ordered. SUBCHAPTER D. RECALL ELECTION Sec. 27.061. ELECTION ORDER; DATE. (a) Requires a recall election to be ordered within four days after a determination is made. (b) Requires the recall election to be held on the first uniform election date that occurs at least 45 days after the date the election is ordered. (c) Prohibits the holding of a recall election if the election date occurs on a date on which the officer who is the subject of the recall no longer holds the office. Sec. 27.062. FORM OF BALLOT. Sets forth the required language for the receall election ballot. Sec. 27.063. CONDUCT OF ELECTION. Requires a recall election to be conducted and the results canvassed, tabulated, and reported in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law for a general election for the office subject to recall. SUBCHAPTER E. EFFECT OF RECALL ELECTION Sec. 27.081. VOTE NECESSARY FOR RECALL. Requires the officer to be recalled and a vacancy to occur if the majority of votes received in a recall election vote "for." Sec. 27.082. FILLING VACANCY AFTER RECALL. Provides that a vacancy in office resulting from a recall election is filled as generally provided by law for a vacancy in that office. Sec. 27.083. INELIGIBILITY OF RECALLED OFFICER. Prohibits a recalled officer from being appointed to fill a vacancy in the office from which the recall is made during the term of the recall. Sec. 27.084. INELIGIBILITY OF RESIGNED OFFICER. Prohibits an officer who resigns when the petition is circulated from being appointed to fill a vacancy in the office from which the recall is demanded during the term from which the officer resigns. SECTION 2. Repealer: Section 21.002, Local Government Code (Removal of Mayor or Alderman in General-Law Municipality). SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1995. SECTION 4. Emergency clause. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION S.B. 95 was considered by the committee in a public hearing on February 27, 1995. It was left pending. The bill was considered on March 6, 1995. The following people testified in favor of the bill: Rep. Hilderbran; and Susan Horton, representing the Texas Municipal League. The bill was reported favorably, without amendments, with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed by a record vote of 7 ayes, 0 nays, 1 pnv, and 1 absent.