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R E S O L U T I O N
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BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of |
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Texas, That, in accordance with Sections 9(b) and 11, Article III, |
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Texas Constitution, the House of Representatives of the 85th |
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Legislature shall elect a speaker of the house from its own |
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membership as follows: |
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SECTION 1. NOMINATIONS. (a) The secretary of state shall |
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call for nominations from the floor for the election of speaker of |
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the house of representatives and shall recognize every member who |
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desires to make a nomination. The order in which members desiring |
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to make a nomination shall proceed shall be determined by lot. |
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(b) Each member recognized for this purpose shall |
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immediately advance to the front microphone and make the nomination |
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in a nominating speech not to exceed five minutes in length. |
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(c) After all nominations have been made, the secretary of |
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state shall declare nominations to be closed. |
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SECTION 2. SECONDS. (a) A person is not considered a |
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nominee unless the nomination is seconded by at least one member. |
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(b) One seconding speech shall be allowed for each |
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nomination in the order in which nominations were made, then other |
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seconding speeches shall be allowed in rotation in the same order. |
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(c) No more than three seconding speeches shall be allowed |
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for each nominee. |
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(d) A seconding speech may not exceed four minutes in |
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length. |
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SECTION 3. VOTING PROCEDURES: VOTING MACHINE. (a) If |
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after the close of all seconding speeches only one nominee remains |
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for election to the speaker, the secretary of state shall recognize |
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a motion to elect that nominee by acclamation. If no motion is made |
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or five or more members make a written request for a record vote, |
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the members shall record their votes from their desks on the voting |
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machine with the yeas and nays taken as in other record votes of the |
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house. |
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(b) If there are two or three nominees for speaker, the |
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members shall record their votes from their desks on the voting |
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machine with a different colored light on the machine indicating a |
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vote for each nominee. If the nominees cannot agree on the color |
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that will indicate a vote for each nominee, the presiding officer |
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shall draw lots to determine the color for each nominee. |
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(c) Before the close of voting on the voting machine, the |
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presiding officer shall provide several warnings to the members |
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that the voting period is about to close. |
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(d) A verification of a vote taken by voting machine shall |
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be by roll call vote, with the members seated and the house at |
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order, beginning with the members recorded as voting for the |
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nominee with the most votes. During verification, a member may not |
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change a vote unless it was erroneously recorded, and any member not |
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having voted for a nominee may not cast a vote. |
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(e) If there are three nominees for speaker, a member who |
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does not cast a vote for a nominee but who was recorded as present at |
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the initial roll call shall be recorded as "present, not voting" in |
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the record of the vote. |
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SECTION 4. VOTING PROCEDURES: ROLL CALL VOTE. (a) If |
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there are more than three nominees for speaker, the election shall |
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be held in the manner provided for a roll call vote of the members |
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with the chief clerk calling the members' names in alphabetical |
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order. When the chief clerk reads aloud the name of a member, the |
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member shall vote by stating the name of one of the nominees or |
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state that the member is present, not voting. The chief clerk shall |
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repeat the member's vote aloud and record the vote on a tally sheet. |
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(b) After all members have announced their votes, the chief |
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clerk shall prepare a report containing the total votes received by |
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each nominee and the total number of members who are present, not |
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voting. The chief clerk shall provide a copy of the report to the |
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secretary of state. |
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(c) A verification of a vote taken by roll call consists |
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solely of ensuring that an announced vote was tallied correctly. |
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SECTION 5. RECORD VOTE. All votes taken shall be record |
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votes with the vote of each member entered in the House Journal. |
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SECTION 6. RESULTS; RUNOFF. (a) The secretary of state |
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shall announce the results of the election. If a nominee receives a |
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majority of the votes cast, the secretary of state shall declare |
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that nominee to be elected to the office of speaker of the house of |
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representatives. |
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(b) If no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast, the |
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two nominees receiving the largest number of votes in the initial |
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vote shall be in a runoff conducted by voting machine as provided by |
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Section 3 of this resolution. The secretary of state shall announce |
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the results of the runoff and declare the nominee receiving a |
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majority of the votes cast to be elected. |
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SECTION 7. TIE VOTES. (a) If in the initial vote no nominee |
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receives a majority of the votes cast and it is not possible to |
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determine the two nominees receiving the largest number of votes |
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cast because of a tie vote, additional rounds of voting shall occur |
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among the same nominees, other than a nominee who withdraws, until a |
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nominee receives a majority of the votes cast or, if no nominee |
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receives a majority of the votes cast, until it is possible to |
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determine the two nominees who receive the largest number of votes |
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cast. |
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(b) If in a runoff between two nominees no nominee receives |
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a majority of the votes cast because of a tie vote, additional |
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rounds of runoff voting shall occur between the same two nominees |
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until one of the nominees in the runoff receives a majority of the |
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votes cast. |
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SECTION 8. OATH. After the election, the secretary of state |
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shall direct the administration of the oath of office to the |
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speaker-elect. The speaker shall take the chair immediately after |
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taking the oath of office. |