Bill Text: TX HR2 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Providing for the election of the speaker of the house.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2017-01-10 - Reported enrolled [HR2 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HR2-Enrolled.html

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H.R. No. 2

R E S O L U T I O N
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 85th
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 desiring
to make a nomination shall proceed 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.
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. If the nominees cannot agree on the color
that will indicate 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 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 a
majority 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 a majority 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 a
majority of the votes cast to be elected.
SECTION 7. TIE VOTES. (a) If in the initial vote no nominee
receives a majority 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 a majority of the votes cast or, if no nominee
receives a majority of the votes cast, until it is possible to
determine the two nominees who receive the largest number of votes
cast.
(b) If in a runoff between two nominees no nominee receives
a majority of the votes cast because of a tie vote, additional
rounds of runoff voting shall occur between the same two nominees
until one of the nominees in the runoff receives a majority of the
votes cast.
SECTION 8. OATH. After the election, the secretary of state
shall direct 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
Cook
Villalba
Dutton
Lucio III
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2 was adopted by the House on January
10, 2017, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House