HBA-KDB, RKM H.J.R. 18 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.J.R. 18 By: Turner, Bob State Affairs 3/1/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, members of the Texas House of Representatives serve two-year terms. Members could focus more attention on the needs of their districts if they did not have to spend so much time campaigning for reelection. As proposed, House Joint Resolution 18 requires the submission to the voters of a constitutional amendment providing members with four-year terms of office. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this resolution does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Joint Resolution 18 amends the Texas Constitution to provide the members of the house of representatives with four-year terms of office. The resolution requires the members of the House of Representatives of the 78th Legislature, which convenes in 2003, to be divided by lot into two classes. The resolution requires the members of the first class to vacate their seats two years after the date on which their term of office begins, and the members of the second class are required to vacate their seats four years after the date on which their term of office begins, so that half of the members will be elected biennially. The resolution also provides that if a member of the house of representatives announces the member's candidacy or becomes a candidate in any state senate election at any time before the end of the last regular session of the legislature during the member's term of office, then the announcement constitutes an automatic resignation of the member's office, and the resulting vacancy is required to be filled in a manner provided by the state constitution. The resolution exempts from such automatic resignation an announcement of candidacy or actual candidacy that occurs after the beginning of the period provided by law for a person to file as a candidate in the general or primary election for the next regular term of the house of representatives. FOR ELECTION This proposed constitutional amendment shall be submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 6, 2001. If the amendment is approved by the voters then the automatic resignation provision takes effect January 1, 2003.