Referendum.

Houston City Charter, art. II, § 18

in effect

Section 18. - Referendum. Whenever application is made to the city council of the City of Houston for any such grant or franchise, lease or right to use the streets, public highways, thoroughfares or public property of the City of Houston as is provided for in the preceding section of this act, or whenever an ordinance is introduced in the city council proposing to make the grant of any franchise, lease or right to use the public highways, streets, thoroughfares and public property of the City of Houston, such ordinance shall set forth in detail all the rights, powers and privileges granted or proposed to be granted, and notice as to the contents of said ordinance shall be given by publishing in some daily newspaper published in the City of Houston, once a week for three consecutive weeks, a notice which includes the name of each grantee, a description of the nature of the proposed grant, and the location where the entire ordinance may be found, which ordinance may not be changed after the notice is published unless another notice is published in the same manner after such change, which publication or publications shall be made at the expense of the applicant or the person or persons desiring said grant, and no such grant shall be made or ordinance passed until after publication of a notice in the manner aforesaid, nor shall any such ordinance confirming or making any such grant, lease or right to use the streets, public highways and thoroughfares of the City of Houston take effect or become a law or contract, or vest any right in the applicants therefor, until after the expiration of thirty days after said ordinance has been duly passed by the city council and been approved by the mayor. Pending the passage of any such ordinance or during the time intervening between its final passage and approval by the mayor, and the expiration of the thirty days before which time it shall not take effect, it is hereby made the duty of the city council to order an election if requested so to do by written petition signed by at least five hundred legally qualified voters of said city, at which election the legally qualified voters of said city shall vote for or against the proposed grant as set forth in detail by the ordinance conferring the rights and privileges upon the applicants therefor, which said ordinance shall be published at length and in full in the call for said election made by the mayor, and if at said election the majority of the votes cast shall be for said ordinance and the making of said proposed grant, the same shall thereupon become effective; but if a majority of the votes cast at said election so held shall be against the passage of said ordinance and the making of said grant, said ordinance shall not pass, nor shall it confer any rights, powers or privileges of any kind whatever upon the applicants therefor, and it shall be the duty of the city council, after canvassing the vote of said election, to pass an ordinance repealing the ordinance which has been by it passed, if the same has been passed. No grant of franchise, or lease or right of user, in, upon, along, through, under or over the public streets, highways or public thoroughfares of the City of Houston shall be made or given nor shall any rights of any kind whatever be conferred upon any person, private corporation, individual or association of any kind whatever, except the same be made by ordinance duly passed by the city council, nor shall any extension or enlargement of any rights or powers previously granted to any corporation, person or association of persons, in, upon, along, through, under or over the streets of the City of Houston be made, except in the manner and subject to all of the conditions herein provided for in this act for the making of original grants and franchises; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to the granting of sidetrack or switch privileges to railway companies for the purpose of reaching, and affording railway connection and switch privileges to the owners or users of any industrial plants; it being the intention to permit the city council to grant such rights of privileges to railway companies whenever in their judgment the same is expedient, necessary or advisable. (Act of 1905; amended August 14, 1982)

Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTIICOGEPO_S18REFetched: 10/26/2026