OFFICERS AND ELECTIONS

Houston City Charter art. V

in effect

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 1 Governing Body.

Sec. 1. - Governing Body. The governing body of the City of Houston, Texas, shall be the City Council. The City Council shall be composed of the Mayor and the number of Council Members hereinafter prescribed. (Added by amendment August 15, 1942; amended May 29, 1951, August 11, 1979)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 2 Council Members.

Sec. 2. - Council Members. For terms of office for Council Members commencing in 1980, and continuing until such time as the number of Council Members is increased as provided below, there shall be fourteen Council Members designated as follows: District Council Members Council Member, District A Council Member, District B Council Member, District C Council Member, District D Council Member, District E Council Member, District F Council Member, District G Council Member, District H Council Member, District I At-Large Council Members Council Member, At-Large Position 1 Council Member, At-Large Position 2 Council Member, At-Large Position 3 Council Member, At-Large Position 4 Council Member, At-Large Position 5 If, upon any determination of the population of the City pursuant to this Charter, such population is determined to be 2,100,000 persons or more, then the number of Council Members for the regular terms next commencing and continuing thereafter shall increase from fourteen to sixteen. The two additional members shall be District Council Members designated as follows: Council Member, District J Council Member, District K The number of Council Members shall not be decreased, notwithstanding any decrease in population. All references in this Charter to "Councilmen," "Commissioners" or "Aldermen" shall be construed to be references to "Council Members," and all references in this Charter to a "Councilman" shall be construed to be references to a "Council Member." The "members" of the City Council shall include the Mayor and all Council Members, each of whom shall be a "member" thereof. (Added by amendment August 11, 1979)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 3 Establishment of District Boundaries; Determinations of Population.

Sec. 3. - Establishment of District Boundaries; Determinations of Population. It shall be the duty of the City Council to establish the boundaries of districts covering the entire City for the purpose of electing District Council Members. Such boundaries shall be established by ordinance, which shall be final for purposes of this Charter. The first such establishment shall be made as soon as practicable prior to the first City General Election following adoption of this section. Any subsequent establishment shall be made when required by this Charter. Promptly following the addition of territory to the City by a boundary change, the City Council shall, by ordinance, add such territory to an adjacent district or districts. In each year during which a City General Election is to be held, the City Council shall conduct an investigation and determine the population of the City and the population of each of the districts from which District Council Members are to be elected. Each such determination shall be based upon the best available data, including, but not limited to, the most recent federal census. Each such determination shall be expressed in a ordinance, which shall be a final determination for purposes of this Charter. After any such determination, if the distribution of population among the various districts is determined by the City Council to be materially unbalanced, or if the number of Council Members increases from fourteen to sixteen, then the City Council shall establish new boundaries for the election of District Council Members. (Added by amendment August 11, 1979)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 4 Qualifications for Elected Officers.

Section 4. - Qualifications for Elected Officers. To serve as Mayor, City Controller or Council Member, a person must be a qualified voter and resident of the City; additionally, a District Council Member must reside in the City Council District from which the member was elected at all times during the member's term of office. To file for office as Mayor, City Controller or At-Large Council Member, a person must be a qualified voter of the City who has resided in the City for 12 months immediately preceding the election day. To file for office as a District Council Member, a person must be a qualified voter of the City who has resided in the territory encompassed by the City Council District to be served for 12 months immediately preceding the election day. As provided by applicable state law, residence in areas annexed into the City shall be considered as residence in the City for purposes of this section. The City Council shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of Council Members, subject to review by the courts in case of contest. (Added by amendment August 11, 1979, November 2, 1999)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 5 Elections.

Sec. 5. - Elections. A City General Election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every other odd-numbered year or such other day as may be prescribed by the general laws of the State of Texas. At each City General Election, the Mayor, the Council Members and the City Controller shall be elected for the terms of office next commencing. Such officers shall assume their offices on the second day of January next thereafter, shall perform the duties and discharge the obligations conferred and imposed by the provisions of this Charter, and shall hold their offices until their successors are elected and qualified, unless removed therefrom by impeachment or recall or otherwise as prescribed in this Charter. The Mayor, the City Controller and the At-Large Council Members shall be elected by the qualified voters of the entire City. Each District Council Member shall be elected by the qualified voters of each respective district. The Mayor, the City Controller and the Council Members shall constitute all of the elected officers of the City, and all other officers shall be appointed in the manner prescribed by this Charter. (Added by amendment August 11, 1979; amended 11-3-2015)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 6 Candidates and Filing for Office.

Section 6. - Candidates and Filing for Office. All candidates shall file for office as herein after provided. Any person duly qualified therefor may file as a candidate for any office herein referred to without other formality than filing his sworn application with the Mayor at least thirty (30) days prior to the election day and by paying the filing fee hereinafter provided. His application shall designate the office for which he desires to be a candidate, shall state the place of his residence in the City of Houston, and shall state the number of consecutive years next immediately before the date of his filing that he has resided in the City of Houston, and in those instances in which the ownership of real estate in the City of Houston for a certain period of years is a qualification to the office which he seeks, he shall state the fact that he has been a bona fide owner of real estate in the City for the required period of time. Such application shall be signed and sworn to by the person desiring to become a candidate. Such application shall not be considered filed unless it is physically filed in the Mayor's office before midnight of the last day for filing; and his office shall remain open until midnight that day to permit the same. Such application shall be accompanied by a filing fee which is hereby fixed and established in the following amounts, to-wit: Each candidate for Mayor shall pay a filing fee of $1,250.00. Each candidate for City Controller shall pay a filing fee of $750.00, and each candidate for Councilman shall pay a filing fee of $500.00. Such payment shall be in cash or by cashier's or certified check to the order of the City of Houston; and the Mayor will not accept the application of any candidate which is not accompanied by the required filing fee. Such filing fees shall be for the use and benefit of the City of Houston and no part thereof shall ever be returned to any candidate. As soon as practicable after the time for filing has elapsed, the order in which the names of the various candidates shall be printed and appear on the official ballot shall be determined by a drawing for positions at which all candidates or persons representing them may be present and which shall be conducted by or under the direction of the City Secretary in such manner as is designed to assure that nothing except chance shall determine the order in which the candidates' names for each position appear on the official ballot. (Added by amendment May 29, 1951)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 6a Term of office; limitation of terms.

Section 6a. - Term of office; limitation of terms. (a) For the purposes of term limits, City elective offices are Mayor, City Controller, and City Council Member (either At-Large or District). The term of office for a City elective office shall be four years. Except as otherwise provided herein, no person shall be eligible to be elected to more than two four-year terms in the same City elective office. (b) For positions to be elected at the City General Election to be held in November 2015, the eligibility of persons then holding City elective office to seek re-election to a City elective office shall be as follows: 1. A person serving his or her first two-year term shall be eligible to seek two additional terms of four years duration in that same office. A person having then served two additional terms of four years duration shall not be eligible to seek re-election to the same office. 2. A person serving his or her second two-year term shall be eligible to seek one additional term of four years duration in that same office. A person having then served one additional term of four years duration shall not be eligible to seek re-election to the same office. 3. A person serving his or her third two-year term shall not be eligible to seek election to that same office. (c) In all City General Elections after the City General Election to be held in November 2015, a term to which a City elective officer was elected or appointed shall be counted only if the City elective officer served one-half or more of the term. (d) Persons term limited under prior law shall continue to be term limited. Persons who served a single term prior to 2016 who are not serving in City elective office in 2015 and thus not subject to subsection (b), shall be eligible to serve one additional four-year term in the same City elective office. (e) A prohibition against eligibility to seek election to a certain City elective office shall not bar a person from seeking election to another City elective office that such person has not previously held. (Added by amendment November 5, 1991; amended 11-3-2015)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 7 Provisions for City General Election.

Section 7. - Provisions for City General Election. In all matters not covered by this Charter or by the general law of the State of Texas, the City Council shall by ordinance make provisions relating to the holding of the City General Election and all matters relating thereto. (Added by amendment May 29, 1951)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 8 Run-off election, ticket declaration.

Section 8. - Run-off election, ticket declaration. (a) The successful candidate for any office must receive a majority of the votes cast in the election for his office and if no candidate for a particular office receives a majority, a run-off election must be held as provided by the Texas Election Code, Acts 1951, 52nd Legislature, page 1097, Chapter 492, Article 81. (b) Any group of candidates for Mayor and Council Members who have duly filed for office as provided in Section 6 hereof, comprising not more than one candidate for each of the offices, may file a declaration in writing with the City Secretary stating that they have associated themselves as a ticket for the purpose of presenting to the electors their qualifications for office and their political aims, which declaration may be filed at any time after all have filed for office but not later than five o'clock P.M. (local time) of the second day next following the last day for filing for office. They shall state in the said declaration the name of their ticket which shall not exceed four words in length and which ticket name shall not use all or any part of the name of any political party which nominated candidates for State office in the State General Election last preceding, or any part of the name of any ticket previously declared by another group of candidates. No candidate shall join in the ticket declaration of more than one ticket, and after a ticket declaration is filed, no candidate's name may be withdrawn from the ticket unless the candidate withdraws his application to be candidate at the election. The City Secretary shall cause the official ballot to be printed with the names of all candidates associated in a ticket declaration shown under a column headed by the ticket name. If a ticket declaration is attempted to be filed which uses all or any part of the name of any political party which nominated candidates for State office in the State General Election next preceding, or which uses all or any part of the ticket name of any ticket which has a declaration previously filed, the City Secretary shall reject the defective declaration as void. The applicable provisions of the general laws of the state shall govern and control any nomination of candidates by any political party or parties. The provisions of this section are provisions for the voluntary association of candidates upon tickets to present to the electors their qualifications for office and their political aims, and these provisions are not intended to and do not affect the nomination of candidates for office by political parties as prescribed and regulated by the state general law. (Added by amendment August 16, 1955; amended August 11, 1979)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 9 Appointive Officers.

Section 9. - Appointive Officers. Compensation of all officers, except where provided in the Charter, shall be fixed by the City Council which may increase or diminish the same at will, or abolish entirely at any time any office established by the Council and not created expressly by the Charter. No officer whose office is created by ordinance shall hold the same for any fixed term, but shall always be subject to removal by the proper authority of the City as provided in the Charter. (Added by amendment May 29, 1951)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 10 Number of Signatures on Recall, Initiative and Referendum Petitions.

Section 10. - Number of Signatures on Recall, Initiative and Referendum Petitions. The number of signatures required for the petitions provided for in Articles VII-a and VII-b of this Charter shall be calculated upon the greatest total vote cast for Mayor at any city general election held within the three years next preceding the date of the filing of such petition.(Added by amendment May 29, 1951; amended November 6, 2012)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 11 Action of Council Creating Liability after City General Elections Prohibitied [sic].

Section. 11. - Action of Council Creating Liability after City General Elections Prohibitied [sic]. (a) From and after any City General Election for the election of Mayor and Councilmen and until those elected at such election shall have qualified, if a majority of the City Council be not re-elected, it shall be unlawful for the then existing City Council to pass any ordinance, resolution or motion whereby any appropriation of money is made, or any obligation or contract on the part of the City is sought to be created; or any franchise or privilege is granted, or attempted to be conferred; and any such ordinance, resolution or motion, or any action of the City Council in the creation of any obligation, or the grant, or attempted grant, of any franchise by such Council shall be illegal, unauthorized and void, and of no effect; provided, nothing herein shall prevent the City Council from making any such appropriation and obligation on the part of the City, or granting any such franchise, if a majority of said Council is reelected; and, provided further, that nothing herein shall prevent the City Council of the City of Houston from making the necessary financial arrangements for paying the current salaries of the City officials and current expenses of the City Government; provided, that the prohibitions hereof shall be suspended in case of a public calamity. (b) Section 9a of Article VII of the existing Charter of the City of Houston is hereby repealed. (Added by amendment May 29, 1951)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 12 Saving Clause.

Section 12. - Saving Clause. If any section, sub-section, clause, sentence or phrase of this article is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this article. This amendment shall become effective upon the entry upon the records of the City of an official order by the City Council declaring the same adopted. (Added by amendment May 29, 1951)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 13 Continuation in effect of provisions of Charter.

Sec. 13. - Continuation in effect of provisions of Charter. The duties and powers of the Mayor as presently prescribed, set out and defined in existing Article VI of the Charter and in other provisions of the existing Charter shall be and remain in full force and effect, unaltered and unchanged. The duties, power and compensation of the Councilmen as presently prescribed, set out and defined in existing Article VI and in existing Article VII and in other provisions of the Charter shall be and remain in full force and effect, unaltered and unchanged; and the said Councilmen shall continue to exercise legislative authority only as now prescribed, and the Mayor shall continue as a member and presiding officer of the Council as now prescribed. The present provisions of the Charter relating to any City department, office, commission or board; the present provisions for elections; the present provisions for Council procedures and rules; the present provisions for initiative, referendum and recall; and any and all present provisions relating to elective officers and appointive officers, their powers and duties, and restrictions on their powers and duties shall all remain as they presently read without any amendment or addition of any sort, unless amended or repealed by this very amendment. (Added by amendment August 16, 1955)

Houston City Charter, art. V, § 14 Purpose and effect of Article.

Sec. 14. - Purpose and effect of Article. This Article V, as presently amended, is proposed and designed to accomplish an overall plan for the improvement of the government of the City of Houston. To this end, this amendment changes methods of election of members of the Council; permits groups of candidates to associate themselves under ticket designations; confirms the respective present powers and duties of the Mayor and City Councilmen as presently prescribed; and provides that all present provisions of the Charter, relating to elective officers and appointive officers, their powers and duties, the method of their election or appointment, the Council procedure and rules, and the provisions for initiative, referendum and recall shall remain as they presently read without any amendment or addition of any sort unless amended or repealed by this very amendment. Any provision of any amendment submitted to election at the same election at which this amendment is adopted, in conflict with the terms of this amendment, shall be subject to the terms of Section 19, Article IX of the existing Charter; and this provision shall be liberally construed to the end that no changes in the Charter shall be adopted not encompassed within the plan of this amendment. (Added by amendment August 16, 1955)

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_ARTVOFELFetched: 10/26/2026