By: Geren, Eiland H.R. No. 32
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of
  Texas, That, in accordance with Sections 9(b) and 11, Article III,
  Texas Constitution, the House of Representatives of the 80th
  Legislature shall elect a speaker of the house from its own
  membership as follows:
         SECTION 1.  NOMINATIONS.  (a)  The secretary of state shall
  call for nominations from the floor for the election of speaker of
  the house of representatives and shall recognize every member who
  desires to make a nomination. The order in which members desiring to
  make a nomination shall proceed shall be determined by lot.
         (b)  Each member recognized for this purpose shall
  immediately advance to the front microphone and make the nomination
  in a nominating speech not to exceed five minutes in length.
         (c)  After all nominations have been made, the secretary of
  state shall declare nominations to be closed.
         SECTION 2.  SECONDS.  (a)  A person is not considered a
  nominee unless the nomination is seconded by at least one member.
         (b)  One seconding speech shall be allowed for each
  nomination in the order in which nominations were made, then other
  seconding speeches shall be allowed in rotation in the same order.
         (c)  No more than five seconding speeches shall be allowed
  for each nominee.
         (d)  A seconding speech may not exceed three minutes in
  length.
         SECTION 3.  VOTING.  (a)  The secretary of state shall direct
  the chief clerk to distribute to each member, at the member's desk,
  a ballot to be used in the election of the speaker. The ballot shall
  be a blank sheet of paper sized 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches.
         (b)  Each member shall complete the member's ballot by:
               (1)  writing the name of the nominee for whom the member
  votes;
               (2)  printing only the member's district number on the
  ballot; and
               (3)  folding the ballot.
               (c)  The chief clerk shall designate a voting area near
  the reading clerk's desk and shall provide a voting box for the
  marked ballots. Upon completing the member's ballot, the member
  shall proceed to the voting area and deposit the member's folded
  ballot in the voting box. As each member deposits the member's
  ballot in the voting box, the chief clerk shall record, on a roster
  of the members elected to the 80th Legislature, that the member has
  deposited the member's ballot in the voting box. When it appears
  that all ballots have been deposited in the box, the secretary of
  state shall ask if all ballots have been cast and provide those
  members who have not cast their ballots a final opportunity to
  deposit their ballots in the voting box.
         (d)  After all ballots have been cast and placed in the
  voting box, the chief clerk shall sign the roster indicating which
  members cast ballots and deliver the roster to the
  sergeant-at-arms.  The ballots shall then be counted by the
  sergeant-at-arms and the secretary of state on the house floor. The
  sergeant-at-arms and secretary of state shall prepare and sign a
  tally sheet indicating the total votes received by each nominee.
  The secretary of state shall announce only the total votes cast for
  each nominee, as reflected on the tally sheet. Immediately after
  the results are announced, the sergeant-at-arms and secretary of
  state shall securely seal the ballots and the chief clerk's roster
  in an envelope, sign the outside of the envelope, and deliver the
  envelope to the chief clerk. The envelope containing the ballots
  shall be kept sealed and secure by the chief clerk until the 140th
  day of the Regular Session of the 80th Legislature, at which time
  the envelope shall be presented to the journal clerk, who shall
  record each member's vote for speaker in the journal.
         SECTION 4.  RESULTS; RUNOFF.  (a)  The secretary of state
  shall announce the results of the election. If a nominee receives a
  majority of the votes cast, the secretary of state shall declare
  that nominee to be elected to the office of speaker of the house of
  representatives. For purposes of determining a majority of the
  votes cast for speaker under this resolution, only a ballot
  indicating the name of a single nominee is considered a vote cast.
         (b)  If no nominee has received a majority of the votes cast,
  the two nominees receiving the largest number of votes in the first
  ballot shall be in a runoff election conducted in accordance with
  the voting procedures for the first ballot. The secretary of state
  shall announce the results of the runoff election and declare the
  nominee receiving a majority of the votes cast to be elected.
         SECTION 5.  TIE VOTES.  (a)  If in the first ballot no nominee
  receives a majority of the votes cast and it is not possible to
  determine the two nominees receiving the largest number of votes
  cast because of a tie vote, additional rounds of balloting shall
  occur in the same manner as the first ballot among the same
  nominees, other than a nominee who withdraws, until a nominee
  receives a majority of the votes cast, or if no nominee receives a
  majority of the votes cast, until it is possible to determine the
  two nominees who receive the largest number of votes cast.
         (b)  If in a runoff between two nominees no nominee receives
  a majority of the votes cast because of a tie vote, additional
  rounds of runoff balloting shall occur in the same manner as the
  first runoff between the same two nominees until one of the nominees
  in the runoff receives a majority of the votes cast.
         SECTION 6.  OATH.  After the election, the secretary of state
  shall direct the administration of the oath of office to the
  speaker-elect.  The speaker shall take the chair immediately after
  taking the oath of office.