Senate Bill 690 kills right to petition city charter amendments
L-R: Americans for Prosperity exhibit in Austin, 2008
This Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., the Texas Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee will hear testimony on Senate Bill 690. This anti-democratic bill will — if passed — effectively kill your right to petition for city charter amendments by increasing signature requirements.
In Houston alone, the signature threshold would jump from 20,000 signatures to 100,000 — a five-fold increase! For other Texas cities, the signature requirement will at least double.State Sen. Mario Gallegos (D-Houston) sits on the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, and we believe he is one of two swing votes who could prevent this bill from making it to the senate floor.
Please call Sen. Gallegos' office today and encourage him to vote against Senate Bill 690. His Senate office number is: (512) 463-0106. His district office number is (713) 742-5000.
Some background on SB 690:On February 5, Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) introduced Senate Bill 690, which proposes doubling the threshold percentage of signatures required for citizen-initiated municipal charter amendments from five percent to 10 percent of registered voters.
The bill also eliminates the alternate minimum number of signatures — 20,000 — relied on by activists in larger Texas cities.
SB 690 does not fix any problem. The purpose of SB 690 is to further restrict citizen participation in local government. SB 690 effectively cancels a right Texans have enjoyed for decades — the right of citizens in home-rule cities to propose amendments to their charters, which is the overarching legal framework for their municipalities.
The hurdles for a successful petition to get a city charter amendment referendum are already very high. As a result, such elections rarely occur under today's requirements.
Members of the Texas Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee include: Chair: Sen. Royce West, Royce.West@senate.state.tx.us
This Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., the Texas Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee will hear testimony on Senate Bill 690. This anti-democratic bill will — if passed — effectively kill your right to petition for city charter amendments by increasing signature requirements.
In Houston alone, the signature threshold would jump from 20,000 signatures to 100,000 — a five-fold increase! For other Texas cities, the signature requirement will at least double.State Sen. Mario Gallegos (D-Houston) sits on the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, and we believe he is one of two swing votes who could prevent this bill from making it to the senate floor.
Please call Sen. Gallegos' office today and encourage him to vote against Senate Bill 690. His Senate office number is: (512) 463-0106. His district office number is (713) 742-5000.
Some background on SB 690:On February 5, Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) introduced Senate Bill 690, which proposes doubling the threshold percentage of signatures required for citizen-initiated municipal charter amendments from five percent to 10 percent of registered voters.
The bill also eliminates the alternate minimum number of signatures — 20,000 — relied on by activists in larger Texas cities.
SB 690 does not fix any problem. The purpose of SB 690 is to further restrict citizen participation in local government. SB 690 effectively cancels a right Texans have enjoyed for decades — the right of citizens in home-rule cities to propose amendments to their charters, which is the overarching legal framework for their municipalities.
The hurdles for a successful petition to get a city charter amendment referendum are already very high. As a result, such elections rarely occur under today's requirements.
Members of the Texas Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee include: Chair: Sen. Royce West, Royce.West@senate.state.tx.us
Vice Chair: Sen. Robert Nichols, Robert.Nichols@senate.state.tx.us
Member: Sen. Mario Gallegos, Jr., Mario.Gallegos@senate.state.tx.us
Member: Sen. Dan Patrick, Dan.Patrick@senate.state.tx.us
Member: Sen. Jeff Wentworth, Jeff.Wentworth@senate.state.tx.us
You can read the bill’s language by clicking here.
State representative Dan Branch proposed a companion bill in the Texas House (HB 3458) on March 11. We have the ability to stop the House bill dead if the Senate committee turns SB 690 down.
Take action! Call Sen. Gallegos' office today and encourage him to vote against Senate Bill 690.
You can read the bill’s language by clicking here.
State representative Dan Branch proposed a companion bill in the Texas House (HB 3458) on March 11. We have the ability to stop the House bill dead if the Senate committee turns SB 690 down.
Take action! Call Sen. Gallegos' office today and encourage him to vote against Senate Bill 690.
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