80R22942 DRH-D

By: Smith of Tarrant H.R. No. 2671

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 Section 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 presiding officer 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.

(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 10 minutes in length.

(c) After all nominations have been made, the presiding officer shall declare nominations to be closed.

SECTION 2. VOTING PROCEDURES. (a) If there is only one nominee for speaker, the members shall record their votes from their desks on the voting machine.

(b) If there is more than one nominee for speaker, the chief clerk shall prepare paper ballots containing the name of each nominee and a space for indicating that the member is present, not voting. The ballot shall be prepared to allow a member to mark the ballot in a manner that does not disclose the member's identity.

(c) The chief clerk shall designate a voting area for the members to mark their ballots and shall provide a voting box for the marked ballots. Each member shall be called individually by the reading clerk and shall proceed to the voting area when called. As a member arrives at the voting area, the chief clerk shall hand the member the member's ballot and allow the member to privately mark the ballot. After marking the ballot, the member shall fold the ballot and return it to the chief clerk. The chief clerk shall initial each marked ballot and deposit it in the voting box.

(d) After all members have voted, the chief clerk, journal clerk, and voting clerk shall publicly count the ballots on the house floor. A ballot may not be counted unless it bears the chief clerk's initials. The chief clerk shall prepare a tally sheet indicating the total votes received by each nominee and the total number of ballots counted as present, not voting.

(e) All votes taken shall be by secret ballot and only the results of the election, including the total number of votes cast for each nominee and the number of members present, not voting, shall be entered in the House Journal.

SECTION 3. RESULTS; ADDITIONAL VOTING ROUNDS. (a) The presiding officer shall announce the results of the election. If a nominee receives a majority of the votes cast, the presiding officer 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 marked for a single nominee is considered a vote cast.

(b) If no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast, an additional round of voting shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures for the initial vote except that the ballots shall be prepared to contain:

(1) the name of each nominee who received votes in the preceding round of voting, other than the nominee who received the fewest number of votes and each nominee who has withdrawn; and

(2) a space for indicating that the member is present, not voting.

(c) Following an additional round of voting under Subsection (b) of this section, the presiding officer shall announce the results and:

(1) if a nominee receives a majority of the votes cast, the presiding officer shall declare that nominee to be elected to the office of speaker of the house of representatives; or

(2) if no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast, additional rounds of voting shall occur in the manner provided by Subsection (b) of this section until a nominee receives a majority of the votes cast.

SECTION 4. TIE VOTES. If in a round of voting under this resolution no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast and it is not possible to determine which nominee received the fewest number of votes because of a tie vote, all nominees who received votes in that round of voting, other than a nominee who withdraws, shall be listed on the ballot in the subsequent round of voting.

SECTION 5. OATH. After the election, the presiding officer 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.