Organizers of the Tier 2 petition against forced annexation turned in all their signatures reaching the goal needed to request an election from the Montague County Commissioner’s Court.
That petition will be discussed in a called meeting of the court at 1 p.m. on Feb. 15.
County Elections Administrator Ginger Wall said the group submitted all its petitions late last week shooting for 1,340 verifiable signatures of county voters. Wall said they surpassed that number with more than 1,350.
The petition ask the court to place the issue of moving from a Tier 1 county to a Tier 2 county on the May 4 election ballot.
The drive was spearheaded by Montague Citizens Protecting Property Rights and referred to Senate Bill 6, approved during the 85th Legislature and going into effect Dec. 1, 2017.
The bill requires landowner or voter approval of annexations in the state’s largest counties (Tier 2 – those with 500,000 or more in population).
Smaller counties less than 500,000 are Tier 1, and can opt-in to the bill through a petition and election process which would move them into Tier 2 status.
If approved where any potential involuntary annexation would have to be voted upon by the area in question. Without a change in tier status, the annexation process would remain unchanged.
Last November voters in Wise, Parker, Palo Pinto, Johnson, Freestone and Atascosa approved the measure moving from a Tier 1 to Tier 2 county in Texas.