HR1 - Relating to the nomination and election procedures for speaker.

      H.R. No. 1       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 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