Texas Legislative Power to Mandate Municipal Spending Amendment, HJR 73 (2017)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Texas Legislative Power to Mandate Municipal Spending Amendment
Flag of Texas.png
Election date
November 7, 2017
Topic
County and municipal governance and State and local government budgets, spending and finance
Status
Not on the ballot
Type
Constitutional amendment		Origin
State legislature

The Texas Legislative Power to Mandate Municipal Spending Amendment, also known as HJR 73, was not on the ballot in Texas as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 7, 2017.

The measure would have provided that a municipal government did not need to follow a state law enacted on or after January 1, 2018, that required the municipal government to make expenditures unless the state legislature paid or reimbursed the municipal government for the costs.[1]

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title would have been as follows:[1]

“ The constitutional amendment to restrict the power of the legislature from mandating unfunded requirements on a municipality or county.[2] ”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article 3, Texas Constitution

The measure would have added a Section 68 Article 3 of the Texas Constitution. The following text would have been added:[1]

Sec. 68. A law enacted by the legislature on or after January 1, 2018, that requires a municipality or county to establish, expand, or modify a duty or activity that requires the expenditure of revenue by the municipality or county is not effective unless the legislature appropriates or otherwise provides, from a source other than the revenue of the municipality or county, for the payment or reimbursement of the costs incurred for the biennium by the municipality or county in complying with the requirement.[2]

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Texas Constitution

In Texas, a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Texas State Legislature during one legislative session is required to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. Texas is one of 16 states that require a two-thirds supermajority vote in both chambers.

Rep. DeWayne Burns (R-58) filed the amendment in the state legislature as House Joint Resolution 73 on February 16, 2017. The Texas House of Representatives passed the amendment 95 to 38 with 17 not voting on May 10, 2017. The measure was referred to the Senate Business & Commerce Committee, but did not receive a recommendation to approve or defeat from the committee.[3]

House vote

May 10, 2017[3]

Texas HJR 73 House Vote
ResultVotesPercentage
Approveda Yes 95 71.43%
No3828.57%
Partisan breakdown of House votes
Party Affiliation Yes No Abstain Total
Democrat 43 3 9 55
Republican 52 35 8 95
Total 95 38 17 150

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Texas Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 73," accessed May 10, 2017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Texas Legislature, "HJR 73 Overview," accessed May 10, 2017
v • e
2017 ballot measures
I&R States
Non I&R States
Political topics
Other
Flag of Texas
v • e
State of Texas
Austin (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Texas_Legislative_Power_to_Mandate_Municipal_Spending_Amendment,_HJR_73_(2017)&oldid=6802234"