Bill Text: TX HR1 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the nomination and election procedures for speaker.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Passed) 2025-01-14 - Reported enrolled [HR1 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HR1-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 1 | ||
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| BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of | ||
| Texas, that, in accordance with Sections 9(b) and 11, Article III, | ||
| Texas Constitution, the House of Representatives of the 89th | ||
| Legislature shall elect a speaker of the house from its own | ||
| membership as follows: | ||
| SECTION 1. NOMINATIONS. (a) The secretary of state shall | ||
| call for nominations from the floor for the election of speaker of | ||
| the house of representatives and shall recognize every member who | ||
| desires to make a nomination. The order in which members shall | ||
| proceed to make a nomination shall be determined by lot. | ||
| (b) Each member recognized for this purpose shall | ||
| immediately advance to the front microphone and make the nomination | ||
| in a nominating speech not to exceed five minutes in length. | ||
| (c) After all nominations have been made, the secretary of | ||
| state shall declare nominations to be closed. | ||
| (d) The secretary of state shall recognize at any time a | ||
| member whose name has been placed in nomination for the purpose of | ||
| withdrawing as a nominee. A member who withdraws is not considered | ||
| a nominee. | ||
| SECTION 2. SECONDS. (a) A person is not considered a | ||
| nominee unless the nomination is seconded by at least one member. | ||
| (b) One seconding speech shall be allowed for each | ||
| nomination in the order in which nominations were made, then other | ||
| seconding speeches shall be allowed in rotation in the same order. | ||
| (c) No more than three seconding speeches shall be allowed | ||
| for each nominee. | ||
| (d) A seconding speech may not exceed four minutes in | ||
| length. | ||
| SECTION 3. VOTING PROCEDURES: VOTING MACHINE. (a) If after | ||
| the close of all seconding speeches only one nominee remains for | ||
| election to the speaker, the secretary of state shall recognize a | ||
| motion to elect that nominee by acclamation. If no motion is made | ||
| or five or more members make a written request for a record vote, | ||
| the members shall record their votes from their desks on the voting | ||
| machine with the yeas and nays taken as in other record votes of the | ||
| house. | ||
| (b) If there are two or three nominees for speaker, the | ||
| members shall record their votes from their desks on the voting | ||
| machine with a different colored light on the machine indicating a | ||
| vote for each nominee. The presiding officer shall draw lots to | ||
| determine the color for each nominee. | ||
| (c) Before the close of voting on the voting machine, the | ||
| presiding officer shall provide several warnings to the members | ||
| that the voting period is about to close. | ||
| (d) A verification of a vote taken by voting machine shall | ||
| be by roll call vote, with the members seated and the house at | ||
| order, beginning with the members recorded as voting for the | ||
| nominee with the most votes. During verification, a member may not | ||
| change a vote unless it was erroneously recorded, and any member not | ||
| having voted for a nominee may not cast a vote. | ||
| (e) If there are three nominees for speaker, a member who | ||
| does not cast a vote for a nominee but who was recorded as present at | ||
| the initial roll call taken under Section 301.004, Government Code, | ||
| shall be recorded as "present, not voting" in the record of the | ||
| vote. | ||
| SECTION 4. VOTING PROCEDURES: ROLL CALL VOTE. (a) If there | ||
| are more than three nominees for speaker, the election shall be held | ||
| in the manner provided for a roll call vote of the members with the | ||
| chief clerk calling the members' names in alphabetical order. When | ||
| the chief clerk reads aloud the name of a member, the member shall | ||
| vote by stating the name of one of the nominees or state that the | ||
| member is present, not voting. The chief clerk shall repeat the | ||
| member's vote aloud and record the vote on a tally sheet. | ||
| (b) After all members have announced their votes, the chief | ||
| clerk shall prepare a report containing the total votes received by | ||
| each nominee and the total number of members who are present, not | ||
| voting. The chief clerk shall provide a copy of the report to the | ||
| secretary of state. | ||
| (c) A verification of a vote taken by roll call consists | ||
| solely of ensuring that an announced vote was tallied correctly. | ||
| SECTION 5. RECORD VOTE. All votes taken shall be record | ||
| votes with the vote of each member entered in the House Journal. | ||
| SECTION 6. RESULTS; RUNOFF. (a) The secretary of state | ||
| shall announce the results of the election. If a nominee receives | ||
| 76 or more of the votes cast, the secretary of state shall declare | ||
| that nominee to be elected to the office of speaker of the house of | ||
| representatives. | ||
| (b) If no nominee receives 76 or more of the votes cast, the | ||
| two nominees receiving the largest number of votes in the initial | ||
| vote shall be in a runoff conducted by voting machine as provided by | ||
| Section 3 of this resolution. The secretary of state shall announce | ||
| the results of the runoff and declare the nominee receiving 76 or | ||
| more of the votes cast to be elected. | ||
| (c) If in a runoff between two nominees no nominee receives | ||
| 76 or more of the votes cast, additional rounds of runoff voting | ||
| shall occur between the same two nominees until one of the nominees | ||
| in the runoff receives 76 or more of the votes cast. | ||
| SECTION 7. TIE VOTES. If in the initial vote no nominee | ||
| receives 76 or more of the votes cast and it is not possible to | ||
| determine the two nominees receiving the largest number of votes | ||
| cast because of a tie vote, additional rounds of voting shall occur | ||
| among the same nominees, other than a nominee who withdraws, until a | ||
| nominee receives 76 or more of the votes cast, or if no nominee | ||
| receives 76 or more of the votes cast, until it is possible to | ||
| determine the two nominees who receive the largest number of votes | ||
| cast. | ||
| SECTION 8. OATH. After the election, the secretary of state | ||
| shall: | ||
| (1) direct the speaker-elect to proceed to the | ||
| speaker's rostrum for the purpose of taking the constitutional oath | ||
| of office; and | ||
| (2) proceed to the administration of the oath of | ||
| office to the speaker-elect. The speaker shall take the chair | ||
| immediately after taking the oath of office. | ||
| Hunter | ||
| Vasut | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 1 was adopted by the House on January | ||
| 14, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 5, 0 present, not | ||
| voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
