Court upholds four-year terms for elected city offices
Houston City Hall
HOUSTON (FOX 26) - HOUSTON - The Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas today affirmed the decision of the trial court that 2015 ballot language submitted to Houston voters to approve term limits changes for city elected offices was not misleading as a matter of law.
Plaintiffs Phillip Paul Bryant and James Scarborough filed an election contest shortly after the 2015 election, seeking to overturn the voter’s approval of the term limit changes by claiming that the ballot language used to submit the issue to voters was misleading. The Court found, however, that the ballot language properly communicated the chief features of the proposed charter amendment and met the state’s legal standards for definiteness and certainty.
“I am grateful that this matter can now be put to rest, and the citizens of Houston can finally have certainty as to the terms of their mayor, controller and city council members," Mayor Sylvester Turner said.
Previously city officials served 3 two-year terms, now they are limited to two four-year terms, effectively changing the time in office from 6 to 8 years.