Bill Text: TX SJR6 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Proposing a constitutional amendment to provide qualifications for and limit the time that a person may serve in certain offices.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-18 - Co-author authorized [SJR6 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-SJR6-Introduced.html

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84R2075 BEF-D
By: Huffines S.J.R. No. 6

A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment to provide qualifications for
and limit the time that a person may serve in certain offices.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 7a to read as follows:
Sec. 7a. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this
section, a person is not eligible to be elected to the house of
representatives if at the time of election the person has
previously been elected as a member of the house of representatives
to six full terms.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this section, a
person is not eligible to be elected to the senate if at the time of
election the person has previously been elected as a member of the
senate to three or more full four-year or full two-year terms
totaling 12 or more years.
(c) The following are not counted in determining whether a
person is disqualified from election to office under Subsection (a)
or (b) of this section:
(1) election to an unexpired term; or
(2) election to a full term before 2016.
(d) A person who would otherwise be disqualified from
holding an office under Subsection (a) or (b) of this section, as
applicable, may be elected to a new term in that office if at the
time of election two or more regular legislative sessions have
passed since the person last held that office. The limitations of
Subsection (a) or (b) of this section, as applicable, apply to the
new term of office beginning on the date the new term of office
begins. A person who qualifies for election to a new term of office
under this subsection receives no benefits of seniority in the
senate or house of representatives, as applicable, based on service
in that office before the new term of office begins.
SECTION 2. Section 9, Article III, Texas Constitution, is
amended by adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (b-3) to read as
follows:
(b-1) A member of the House of Representatives is not
eligible to be elected as Speaker unless at the time of election the
member has served at least one full two-year term as a member of the
House of Representatives.
(b-2) A member of the House of Representatives is not
eligible to be elected as Speaker if at the time of election the
member has previously served as Speaker for 72 or more calendar
months regardless of whether the months the member served as
Speaker were concurrent.
(b-3) Service as Speaker before January 1, 2016, is not
counted in determining whether a member is disqualified from
election as Speaker under Subsection (b-2) of this section.
SECTION 3. Article III, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 9a to read as follows:
Sec. 9a. (a) A member of the senate or house of
representatives is not eligible to be designated as chair of a
standing committee if at the time of designation the member has
previously served as chair of that standing committee for 72 or more
calendar months regardless of whether the months the member served
as chair were concurrent.
(b) Service as chair of a standing committee before January
1, 2016, is not counted in determining whether a member is
disqualified from designation as chair of that standing committee
under this section.
SECTION 4. Article IV, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 2a to read as follows:
Sec. 2a. (a) A person is not eligible for election or
appointment to an elective office listed in Section 1 of this
article, Sections 2 and 4 of Article V, Section 30(b) of Article
XVI, or to any other state office elected by the voters at a
statewide election if the person has previously been elected to
that office for two full terms.
(b) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from
continuing to serve in an office covered by this section after the
end of a term as a holdover under Section 17, Article XVI, of this
constitution until a successor is qualified.
(c) The following are not counted in determining whether a
person is disqualified from election to office under this section:
(1) election or appointment to or assumption of an
unexpired term; or
(2) election to a full term before 2016.
SECTION 5. Article XVI, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 29 to read as follows:
Sec. 29. (a) In this section, "local elective office"
means every district office or office of a political subdivision of
this state that is filled by popular election.
(b) A person is not eligible for election or appointment to
a local elective office if on the date the term begins the person
has served in that office during any part of each of eight or more
calendar years.
(c) For purposes of this section, service in more than one
elective position on a governing body is considered service in the
same office. This subsection does not apply to ex officio service
on a governing body.
(d) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from
continuing to serve in an office covered by this section after the
end of a term as a holdover under Section 17 of this article until a
successor is qualified.
(e) For purposes of this section, a calendar year begins
January 1 and ends December 31.
(f) Service in office before January 1, 2016, does not count
for purposes of determining whether a person is disqualified from
election to office under this section.
(g) This section does not prohibit the legislature by
general law or a political subdivision of this state by charter,
ordinance, order, or other appropriate means from imposing a more
restrictive limit on the time or number of terms that a person may
serve in an elective office.
(h) This section does not apply to an office for which
another provision of this constitution imposes a limit on the time
or number of terms that a person may serve in the office.
SECTION 6. Article XVI, Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 29a to read as follows:
Sec. 29a. (a) A person is not eligible for appointment to an
office that is filled by appointment of the governor with the advice
and consent of the senate and whose duties include serving as the
head of a state agency if at the time of appointment the person has
previously served in that office for a cumulative period of four or
more years.
(b) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from
continuing to serve in an office covered by this section after the
end of a term as a holdover under Section 17 of this article until a
successor is qualified.
(c) Service in office before January 1, 2016, is not counted
in determining whether a person is disqualified from appointment to
office under this section.
(d) This section does not prohibit the legislature by
general law from imposing a more restrictive limit on the time or
number of terms that a person may serve in an office.
(e) This section does not apply to an office for which
another provision of this constitution or general law imposes a
more restrictive limit on the time or number of terms that a person
may serve in the office.
SECTION 7. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 3, 2015.
The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment to provide
qualifications for and limit the time that a person may serve in
certain offices."