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By: Laubenberg H.B. No. 3541
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the petition requirements for elections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 277.001, Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 277.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
applies to a petition authorized or required to be filed under a law
outside this code in connection with an election, not including
[except] a petition for a local option election held under the
Alcoholic Beverage Code, without regard to whether the law
governing the election specifically references this chapter,
including local option elections under
(1) Chapters 43, 78, 143, and 146, Agriculture Code;
(2) Chapters 215, 231, 344, and 363, Local Government
Code; and
(3) Chapter 2001, Occupations Code.
SECTION 2. Section 277.002(e), Election Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) A petition signature is invalid if the signer signed the
petition earlier than the 180th day before the date the petition is
filed. In regard to a petition to which this chapter applies, the
petition must be filed with the appropriate authority not more than
180 days after it is issued, notwithstanding a conflicting law or
ordinance providing for the petition.
SECTION 3. Chapter 277, Election Code, is amended by adding
Section 277.005 to read as follows:
Sec. 277.005. NUMBER OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED.
Notwithstanding other law or ordinance, the number of signatures
required to initiate an election may not exceed the number equal to
15 percent of the registered voters in the territory conducting the
election who voted in the most recent gubernatorial election.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.