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• <br />• <br /> <br />r <br />OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE <br />• <br />George W Strake. Jr Elections Division <br />Secretary of State Campaign and Ethics Section <br />Voter Registration Section <br />T0: Texas County and City Clerks P.o. Box 12sa7 <br />Austin, Texas 7x711 <br />FROM: Secretary of State George W. Strake, Jr. <br />DATE: September 4, 1981 <br />SUBJECT: Effective Date of Bingo Enabling Act <br />1. The effective date of the Bingo Enabling Act, <br />passed at the recent special session of the legislature as <br />H.B. No. 3, is November 10, 1981. <br />2. While the Act states that it takes effect September 1, <br />1981, the true effective date is November 10, 1981, because <br />language necessary to give the Act an earlier effective date <br />was omitted. <br />3. Article III, Section 39, of the Texas Constitution <br />provides that a bill, other than a general appropriation <br />bill, does not go into effect until 90 days after the <br />adjournment of the session at which it was enacted unless: <br />(a) an emergency is expressed in the bill justifying an <br />earlier effective date; and (b) the legislature passes the <br />bill by a two-thirds record vote of all the members elected <br />to each house. <br />4. Although the Bingo Enabling <br />requisite two-thirds record vote, it <br />emergency justified suspension of the <br />provision (however, it did state that <br />suspension of another constitutional <br />Section 32, pertaining to reading of <br />days before passage). <br />Act passed with the <br />did not state that an <br />90-day constitutional <br />an emergency justified <br />provision, Article III, <br />bills on three consecutive <br />S. It follows that a local option election to legalize <br />bingo would be void if held at the November 3 constitutional <br />amendment special elec~i.on. <br />6. If a petition for a legalization election is presented <br />to you for verification after November 10, 1981, that contains <br />signatures obtained before that date, it is my interpretation <br />that those signatures should not be denied effect on the <br />basis that they were obtained before the effective date. <br />However, the petition may not be submitted to the governing <br />body before the effective date, and any signatures obtained <br />earlier than the 90th day before the petition is submitted <br />to the governing body may not be counted. (See Section 5(c] <br />of the Act.) <br />/mr - . <br />'An Equal Opportun,t~, Employer' <br />/.G <br />