Legal Services

	“The commissioners court is deadlocked on whether to accept a donation of some public art. The county judge suggested putting the item on the upcoming ballot as a referendum to see what the voters think. Can the county do that?”

Can the county place a referendum on the upcoming ballot?

Generally, no. Unlike home rule municipalities that may have authority in their charter to hold referenda, a county must have express authority to hold such an election. One example of this type of authority is Section 291.007 of the Local Government Code, which authorizes counties with a population of less than 40,000 to order a non-binding referendum on any matter concerning county property.