Texas Local Government Code 42.043 – Requirements Applying to Petition
(a) A petition under § 42.041 or 42.042 must:
(1) be written;
(2) request that the area be annexed or that the services be made available, as appropriate;
(3) be signed in ink or indelible pencil by the appropriate voters and landowners;
(4) be signed, in the case of a person signing as a voter, as the person’s name appears on the most recent official list of registered voters;
(5) contain, in the case of a person signing as a voter, a note made by the person stating the person’s residence address and the precinct number and voter registration number that appear on the person’s voter registration certificate;
(6) contain, in the case of a person signing as a landowner, a note made by the person opposite the person’s name stating the approximate total acreage that the person owns in the area to be annexed or serviced;
(7) describe the area to be annexed or serviced and have a plat of the area attached; and
(8) be presented to the secretary or clerk of the municipality.
(b) The signatures to the petition need not be appended to one paper.
Terms Used In Texas Local Government Code 42.043
- Affidavit: means a statement in writing of a fact or facts signed by the party making it, sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths, and officially certified to by the officer under his seal of office. See Texas Government Code 312.011
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Municipality: means a general-law municipality, home-rule municipality, or special-law municipality. See Texas Local Government Code 1.005
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Signed: includes any symbol executed or adopted by a person with present intention to authenticate a writing. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) Before the petition is circulated among the voters and landowners, notice of the petition must be given by posting a copy of the petition for 10 days in three public places in the area to be annexed or serviced and by publishing the notice once, in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area, before the 15th day before the date the petition is first circulated. Proof of posting and publication must be made by attaching to the petition presented to the secretary or clerk:
(1) the affidavit of any voter who signed the petition, stating the places and dates of the posting;
(2) the affidavit of the publisher of the newspaper in which the notice was published, stating the name of the newspaper and the issue and date of publication; and
(3) the affidavit of at least three voters who signed the petition, if there are that many, stating the total number of voters residing in the area and the approximate total acreage in the area.