H.R. No. 2936
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of
  Texas, 80th Legislature, That from this date forward, the practice
  of a speaker collecting from the members of this house written
  pledges to support the candidacy of that speaker for election as
  speaker in a future legislature is abolished and prohibited; and
         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED That, in accordance with Sections 9(b)
  and 11, Article III, Texas Constitution, the House of
  Representatives of the 81st Legislature should 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.
         (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 PROCEDURES.  (a)  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.
         (b)  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 the ballot shall be deposited in the
  voting box.
         (c)  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.
         (d)  A verification of a vote taken consists solely of
  ensuring that a marked ballot was tallied correctly.
         (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 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 marked
  for a single nominee is considered a vote cast.
         (b)  If no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast, the
  two nominees receiving the largest number of votes in the initial
  vote shall be in a runoff conducted in accordance with the voting
  procedures for the initial vote. The secretary of state shall
  announce the results of the runoff and declare the nominee
  receiving a majority of the votes cast to be elected.
         SECTION 5.  TIE VOTES.  (a)  If in the initial vote 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, an additional round of voting shall
  occur among the same nominees, other than a nominee who withdraws.  
  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.  If no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast, the
  two nominees who receive the largest number of votes cast shall be
  in a runoff conducted in the manner provided by Section 4(b) of this
  resolution.
         (b)  If in a runoff between two nominees no nominee receives
  a majority of the votes cast because of a tie vote, an additional
  round of runoff voting shall occur between the same two nominees.
         (c)  If the additional round of voting under Subsection (a)
  or (b) fails to resolve the tie vote, the secretary of state shall
  again call for nominations from the floor for the election of
  speaker and proceed with the election of a speaker in the manner
  provided by this resolution from among the new nominees.
         SECTION 6.  OATH.  (a)  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.
         (b)  After the speaker takes the oath of office, the chief
  clerk shall destroy all paper ballots used in the election of the
  speaker.
 
  Merritt
  Harless
 
  ______________________________
  Speaker of the House     
 
         I certify that H.R. No. 2936 was adopted by the House on May
  28, 2007, by a non-record vote.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House