Interpreting the Propositions

[kentauros]

Thanks to the helpful Houston Press, I found myself on a voter site that has a sample ballot. And I've been reading and attempting to comprehend the propositions. Most of them are easy and I know how I'll vote, but some... well, you have to wonder sometimes about the literacy of our elected officials.

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STATE OF TEXAS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ELECTION
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PROPOSITION 1
"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a 100 percent or totally disabled veteran."

__________________________________________________________________________________________
PROPOSITION 2
"The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of additional general obligation bonds by the Texas Water Development Board in an amount not to exceed $6 billion at any time outstanding."

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PROPOSITION 3
"The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of general obligation bonds of the State of Texas to finance educational loans to students."

__________________________________________________________________________________________
PROPOSITION 4
"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit a county to issue bonds or notes to finance the development or redevelopment of an unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted area and to pledge for repayment of the bonds or notes increases in ad valorem taxes imposed by the county on property in the area. The amendment does not provide authority for increasing ad valorem tax rates."

__________________________________________________________________________________________
PROPOSITION 5
"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to allow cities or counties to enter into interlocal contracts with other cities or counties without the imposition of a tax or the provision of a sinking fund."

__________________________________________________________________________________________
PROPOSITION 6
"The constitutional amendment clarifying references to the permanent school fund, allowing the General Land Office to distribute revenue from permanent school fund land or other properties to the available school fund to provide additional funding for public education, and providing for an increase in the market value of the permanent school fund for the purpose of allowing increased distributions from the available school fund."

__________________________________________________________________________________________
PROPOSITION 7
"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit conservation and reclamation districts in El Paso County to issue bonds supported by ad valorem taxes to fund the development and maintenance of parks and recreational facilities."

__________________________________________________________________________________________
PROPOSITION 8
"The constitutional amendment providing for the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of open-space land devoted to water-stewardship purposes on the basis of its productive capacity."

__________________________________________________________________________________________
PROPOSITION 9
"The constitutional amendment authorizing the governor to grant a pardon to a person who successfully completes a term of deferred adjudication community supervision."

__________________________________________________________________________________________
PROPOSITION 10
"The constitutional amendment to change the length of the unexpired term that causes the automatic resignation of certain elected county or district officeholders if they become candidates for another office."

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I still can't figure out Prop-6. It reads like the contract scene in "A Night at the Opera" and such gems as "the party of the first part shall be known in this contract as the party of the first part." And they've even used the word "clarifying" as the fourth word into the sentence! :crazy:

Prop-10 is unclear to me, too. What's the benefit of doing this?

Thanks for any help y'all can add :)

[sonias]

1. Thanks for doing this!

The League of Women Voters always puts out a voter's guide. I don't have the link to the state organization but I do have one to the Austin chapter. Here is their note on #10

Explanation
Under current law, if certain elected
district or county office holders with more
than one year left on their current terms announce for or become candidates for another
office, they automatically resign from their
current office. This “resign-to-run” provision
was added to the Constitution in 1958 after
the terms for certain officials were changed
from two to four years. With a one-year
unexpired term, it provided a window for
elected officials to file for office by January 2
for an election within the same calendar year
without resigning their offices.
Because Senate Bill 100 changed the filing
deadline for offices from January 2 of the
primary election year to the second Monday in December of the preceding year, the
one-year unexpired term no longer allowed
the same opportunity for office holders to
continue in their current office while running
for a new office. Proposition 10 would change
the length of the unexpired term that causes
the automatic resignation from one year to
one year and 30 days, thus preserving the
original intent of the provision.

❑Arguments For
■ Most candidates for elected office need
to have paid employment. Proposition 10
would allow them to maintain their income
while running for office, and would allow the
current office to be covered with an experienced person during that time, eliminating
unnecessary vacancies and the need for temporary appointments to complete the term.

❑ Arguments Against
■ Candidates should not hold elected
district or county positions while running for
other offices.

The whole voter's guide for Austin (which includes two local county issues) is here:
LWV Voters Guide Austin, TX

:kick:

[kentauros]

2. Thanks for posting that

:hi:

I'll need to read the LWV pdf on Prop-6 to better understand it. It's so convoluted! It needs a sanity clause :P

[white cloud]

3. Same here

Need to spend some time on it.