CHAPTER 274. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
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.