HBA-TYH H.J.R. 7 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.J.R. 7 By: Shields State Affairs 4/15/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE With few exceptions, no Governor has served more than two terms, no Lieutenant Governor has served more than two terms, and no Speaker of the House of Representatives has served more than four terms. Currently, there are no statutory limits on the terms of the offices of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives. As proposed, H.J.R. 7 requires the submission to the voters of a constitutional amendment limiting the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to two four-year terms in office, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to four two-year terms. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 9(b), Article III, Texas Constitution, to prohibit any Speaker of the House of Representatives from serving more than four consecutive two-year terms. SECTION 2. Amends Section 4, Article IV, Texas Constitution, to prohibit any Governor from serving more than two consecutive four-year terms. Deletes text restricting applicability of this section to a Governor elected at the general election in 1974, and thereafter. Makes nonsubstantive changes. SECTION 3. Amends Section 16, Article IV, Texas Constitution, to prohibit any Lieutenant Governor from serving more than two consecutive four-year terms. SECTION 4. Requires this proposed constitutional amendment to be submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 2, 1999. Sets forth the required language for the ballot.