Article XVI, Section 65 of the Texas Constitution (discussion page)
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This page is available for comment and discussion regarding the page Article XVI, Section 65 of the Texas Constitution.
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2002 changed since then ...
Article XVI, section 65 of the Texas Constitution, before it was amended in 1999, required a staggered election schedule for the offices it listed, newly created offices as well as offices existing in 1954, when the constitutional provision was adopted. The 1999 amendment deleted the language requiring a staggered election schedule. A newly created office listed in article XVI, section 65, may not be placed on the ballot for any term other than four years, and the date when it would first be placed on the ballot would be determined by section 202.003 of the Election Code. In some cases, the section 202.003 date will conform to the election schedule for the office. If it does not, the legislature may continue the staggered election schedule for newly created article XVI, section 65 offices by providing in the legislation creating the office that the officeholder shall be elected to a four-year term at the first general election date that conforms to the election schedule, and that the vacancy that exists in the office from its creation shall be filled by appointment or as otherwise provided by law.
https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/49cornyn/op/2002/pdf/jc0519.pdf
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Based on the constitutional language, this office has derived an objective standard to determine whether a person has "announced candidacy" for another office: Whether a reasonable person would conclude from an individual's written or oral statement that the individual intends to run for the office in question.
https://www2.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/opinions/50abbott/op/2008/pdf/ga0643.pdf
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"An 'announcement' under this provision must be both certain and public."
Article XVI, section 65 does not define the term “announce.” See TEX. CONST. art. XVI, § 65; see also Tex. Att’y Gen. Op. No. GA-0643 (2008) at 5. Prior opinions from this office, relying on the term’s ordinary meaning, explain “that an officer announces candidacy for office by making a written or oral statement from which a reasonable person may conclude that the individual intends, without qualification, to run for the office in question.” Tex. Att’y Gen. Op. No. GA-0769 (2010) at 2; see also id. Nos. GA-0643 (2008) at 6, GA-0210 (2004) at 2, JC-0249 (2000) at 2. For similar reasons, this office construes “announce” to require the candidate’s statement be made in a public setting or be otherwise available to the public. See id. Nos. GA-0769 (2010) at 2, GA-0210 (2004) at 2, DM-377 (1996) at 2, WW-1253 (1962) at 2‒3. Accordingly, article XVI, section 65 requires the candidate’s announcement to “be both certain and public.” Id. Nos. GA-0769 (2010) at 2, GA-0210 (2004) at 2.
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2020/kp-0301.pdf
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Opinion Number JC-0519 (2002)