JIM MATTOX 

Attorney General 

Supreme Court Building 

P. 0. Box 12546 

Austin, TX. ?0?ll- 2546 

5121475-2501 

Telex 9101674-1367 

Telecopier 512475.0266 

714 Jackson, Suite 700 

Dallas, TX. 75202-4506 

214/742-6944 

4024 Alberta Ave., Suite 160 

El Paso, TX. 79905.2793 

9151533.3464 

~- 1 Texas, Suite 700 

.auston, TX. 77002-3111 

7131223~5666 

606 Broadway. Suite 312 

Lubbock. TX. 79401.3479 

6061747-5238 

4309 N. Tenth, Suite S 

McAllen, TX. 76501.1665 

5121682.4547 

200 Main Plaza, Suite 400 

San Antonio, TX. 76205.2797 

5121225-4191 

An Equal Opportunity/ 

Atfirmative Action Employer 

The Attorney General of Texas 

Honorable William P. Hobby 

Lieutenant Governor I>:! Texas 

P. 0. Box 12068, Cap:L,:ol Station 

Austin, Texas 78711 

opinion No.JM-179 

Re: Whether a home rule city 

may provide for a four-year 

term for officials of singlemember districts 

Dear Governor Hobby: 

You ask whether ,r home rule city may amend its charter to provide 

for a four-year term for city council members if those officials are 

elected from single-:n,?mber districts. 

Section 11 of wticle XI of the Texas Constitution provides, In 

pertinent part: 

A Home Rule City may provide by charter or 

charter awndment, and a city, town or village 

operating cnder the general laws may provide by 

majority v3ce of the qualified voters voting at an 

election crlled for that purpose, for a longer 

term of office than two (2) years for its 

officers, either elective or appointive, or both, 

but not t) exceed four (4) years; provided, 

however, that tenure under Civil Service shall not 

be affected hereby. 

. . . . 

A munic:i.pality so providing a term exceeding 

two (2) vears but not exceedina four (4) years for 

any of itrl non-civil service officers must elect 

all of t’x members of its governing body by 

majority %e of the qualified voters in such 

municipali’e ‘. . . . (Emphasis added). 

When section 11 of article XI was approved by the voters in 

November 1958, singI:-member districts for city council members were 

not common. Thus, it was clearly not within the contemplation of the 

voters, in approving the amendment, to rule out the possibility of 

four-year terms for persons elected from single-member districts. The 

purpose of the underscored language of the amendment was only to 

ensure that a majorj.ty vote, rather than a plurality vote, of the 

p. 791 
Honorable William P. Hobby - I'r,ge 2(JM-179) 

qualified voters so voting is :lecessary in an election for members of 

the governing body of a home r%,le city; the amendment was not intended 

to address whether such members were to be elected at large or bv 

district. See Braden, ed., The, Constitution of the State of Texas: An 

Annotated andcomparative An$s&, Vol. II, p. 701. 

We note that the amendrent declares that, when a municipality 

adopts four-year terms, its c~nuxilmen must be selected by majority 

vote of the "qualified v,):ers in such municipality." In a 

single-member distrfct, the only "qualified voters" are those persons 

who live within the geograpbkal boundaries of that district. We 

therefore construe section 1:. of article XI as not prohibiting the 

adoption of four-year terms for municipal officials elected from only 

a portion of a municipalit>,, i.e., single-member districts. The 

underscored langugage of sectl.onT requires only that any election 

for members of the governing body of a home rule city be by majority 

vote of the qualified voters sic voting. 

Our construction of art:L:le XI, section 11 is consistent with 

federal statutes and judicial t,ecisions which, in some instances, have 

required the adoption of si.r;gle-member districts. See 42 U.S.C. 

§1973c, et seq.; ~Beer v. Un:L::ed States, 425 U.S. 1307141 (1976); 

Allen v. State Board of Elections, 393 U.S. 544, 569 (1969). An 

interpretation of the amendml?llt which ruled out the nossibilitv of 

four-year terms for persons elected from single-member districts would 

unnecessarily penalize a cit:r which complied with federal law, and 

thus might itself run afoul cf the United States Constitution. We 

conclude that a home rule city is authorized to adopt four-year terms 

for municipal officials electr,C from single-member districts. 

J-U M M A R Y 

A home rule city is authorized by article XI, 

section 11 of the Texas Constitution to adopt 

four-year terms for municipal officials elected 

from single-member i,jstricts. 

JIM MATTOX 

Attorney General of Texas 

TOM GRERN 

First Assistant Attorney Gener,rl 

DAVID R. RICHARDS 

Executive Assistant Attorney Ckneral 

p. 792 
Honorable William P. Hobby - Psge 3 (JM-179) 

Prepared by Rick Gilpin 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Rick Gilpin, Chairman 

David Brooks 

Colin Carl 

p. 793