In re Louis F. Bouse

Summary

The Texas Tenth Court of Appeals denied a petition for writ of mandamus seeking to compel College Station officials to certify an initiative petition concerning incorporation of the Wellborn area and either approve the proposed ordinance or submit it to voters. The court held that incorporation in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of an existing municipality is governed by Texas Local Government Code chapter 42, which withdraws the subject from the city charter’s initiative process. The court concluded that the respondents did not fail to perform a ministerial duty by refusing to certify or process the petition.

Holdings

1. Mandamus is an appropriate remedy to compel performance of a duty imposed by law in connection with holding an election.
2. A governing body may not defeat the right to an initiative election by refusing to perform purely ministerial duties solely because it believes the ordinance would be invalid if adopted; however, mandamus is available only when the ordinance's subject matter is legislative and has not been withdrawn from the initiative process.
3. An initiative petition is not a procedure for incorporating Wellborn because Texas Local Government Code section 42.041 governs incorporation in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of an existing municipality and withdraws that subject from the city's initiative process.

Questions Presented

1. Whether mandamus could compel the City Secretary to certify an initiative petition and compel the City Council to approve the proposed ordinance or submit it to the electorate.
2. Whether incorporation of an area within an existing municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction is a subject withdrawn from the city's initiative process by Texas Local Government Code section 42.041.
3. Whether the respondents failed to perform a purely ministerial duty by refusing to process the initiative petition.

Disposition

writ_denied