CHAPTER 274. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS - Texas Statutes

ELECTION CODE

TITLE 16. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

CHAPTER 274. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

SUBCHAPTER A. AMENDMENT ON BALLOT

Sec. 274.001. FORM OF AMENDMENT ON BALLOT. (a) If the

legislature fails to prescribe the wording of the proposition

submitting a proposed constitutional amendment, the secretary of

state shall prescribe it.

(b) The proposition prescribed by the secretary of state must

describe the proposed amendment in terms that clearly express its

scope and character.

(c) The governor shall include the proposition in the

proclamation ordering the election at which the constitutional

amendment will be submitted.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 274.002. DRAWING FOR BALLOT ORDER. (a) If more than one

proposed constitutional amendment is to be submitted in an

election, the order of the propositions submitting the amendments

shall be determined by a drawing as provided by this section.

(b) The secretary of state shall conduct the drawing at a time

and place designated by the secretary. The drawing is open to the

public.

(c) The secretary of state shall post on the bulletin board for

posting notice of a meeting of a state governmental body a notice

of the date, hour, and place of the drawing. The notice must

remain posted continuously for 72 hours immediately preceding the

scheduled time of the drawing.

(d) The propositions submitting the proposed amendments are

numbered consecutively, beginning with No. 1, in the order drawn.

(e) Each proposition must appear on the official ballot with its

assigned number in the serial order of its number.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 274.003. CERTIFYING AMENDMENT FOR PLACEMENT ON BALLOT. (a)

For each proposed constitutional amendment, the secretary of

state shall certify in writing for placement on the ballot:

(1) the wording of the proposition submitting the amendment; and

(2) the proposition's number.

(b) Not later than the 50th day before election day, the

secretary of state shall deliver the certification to the

authority responsible for having the official ballot prepared in

each county.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

SUBCHAPTER B. PUBLISHING NOTICE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT

Sec. 274.021. NOTICE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT REQUIRED. Notice of

each proposed constitutional amendment shall be published as

required by the constitution in accordance with this subchapter.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 274.022. CONTRACT FOR PUBLICATION. (a) The secretary of

state shall contract in writing for the publication of notice of

a proposed constitutional amendment with:

(1) each eligible newspaper; or

(2) a statewide association of daily and weekly newspapers in

this state.

(b) A contract with a statewide association must provide for

publication in each eligible newspaper in this state.

(c) In this subchapter, "eligible newspaper" means a newspaper

that meets the requirements prescribed by law for the publication

of official notices of officers and departments of the state

government.

(d) In this subchapter, "contractor" means a newspaper or

statewide association with which the secretary of state contracts

under this section.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 274.023. TEXT OF NOTICE. (a) The secretary of state shall

prepare the text of the notice of each proposed constitutional

amendment in the form specified by the contract.

(b) The secretary of state shall deliver the text to each

contractor by the deadline specified in the contract.

(c) If the contractor is a statewide association, the

association shall deliver to each eligible newspaper the

materials and instructions necessary for a correct and uniform

publication of the notice.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 274.024. REPORT ON NOTICE PUBLICATION TO SECRETARY OF

STATE. (a) A contractor shall file with the secretary of state

a report on the publication of the notice of a proposed

constitutional amendment.

(b) The report must include:

(1) duplicate originals of an affidavit of publication executed

by:

(A) the owner, editor, or publisher, if the contractor is a

newspaper; or

(B) the general manager of the association, if the contractor is

a statewide association; and

(2) a tear sheet of the published notice for each publication

date or, if the contractor is a statewide association, a tear

sheet of the published notice from each newspaper for each

publication date.

(c) The affidavit of publication must contain a statement that

the publication of the notice was made in accordance with law and

any other statement required by the secretary of state relating

to the publication. The affidavit must be made on an officially

prescribed form.

(d) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (b), a report

filed by a newspaper must include:

(1) the name of the newspaper in which the notice was published;

(2) the number of column inches used for the notice;

(3) the newspaper's published national rate for advertising per

column inch;

(4) the cost of publishing the notice; and

(5) any other information requested by the secretary of state

relating to the publication of the notice.

(e) If the contractor is a statewide association, the report

must include the information required by Subsection (d) with

respect to each newspaper in which the notice was published.

(f) The report must be filed not later than the 30th day after

the date of the last publication of the notice.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 274.025. ACTION ON REPORT BY SECRETARY OF STATE. (a) On

receipt of a report filed under Section 274.024, the secretary of

state shall review the report to determine if:

(1) the affidavit is properly executed; and

(2) the publication of the notice was made in accordance with

law.

(b) If the affidavit is properly executed and the publication

was made in accordance with law, the secretary of state shall

approve the report. Otherwise, the secretary may not approve the

report.

(c) If a contractor's report is not approved, the contractor is

not entitled to payment by the state for the publication. The

secretary of state for good cause may permit a contractor to

amend a report as necessary for approval.

(d) If a report is approved, the secretary of state shall

deliver one of the affidavits of publication to the comptroller

of public accounts and retain the other for two years after the

date the report is approved. The secretary shall enter the amount

to be paid to the contractor on the affidavit delivered to the

comptroller.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 274.026. STATE PAYMENT FOR PUBLICATION. On receipt of an

approved affidavit of publication from the secretary of state,

the comptroller of public accounts shall issue a warrant payable

to the contractor in the amount specified by the secretary.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 274.027. AMOUNT OF STATE PAYMENT. The amount paid by the

state for publication of notice of a proposed constitutional

amendment under this subchapter is as follows:

(1) for a contractor that is a newspaper, the amount is

computed:

(A) at 85 percent of the newspaper's published national rate for

advertising per column inch if the text of the notice furnished

to the newspaper by the secretary of state is in the form of a

camera-ready paste-up proof, a matrix, or a printing plate; or

(B) at the newspaper's published national rate for advertising

per column inch if the text of the notice is not in the form

prescribed by Paragraph (A); or

(2) for a contractor that is a statewide association, the amount

is equal to the sum of the costs of publication in each

newspaper, computed at the newspaper's published national rate

for advertising per column inch.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 274.028. COMMISSION RETAINED BY ASSOCIATION. If the

secretary of state contracts with a statewide association for

publication of the notice of a proposed constitutional amendment,

the contract must provide that the association retain a

commission out of the amount paid by the state under the

contract. The commission must be a stipulated percentage of the

state payment that is uniformly applied against each newspaper.

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.