Texas Propositions! What to do?

by Mark Ramsey on October 27, 2013 at 5:14 PM

It's time again to see if we agree with what special interests have pushed through the Texas legislature. Just because the proposed Constitutional amendments passed the legislature is not a reason to automatically vote “yes”. An important Texas Constitutional check is that of the people having to approve Texas Constitutional amendments. Without getting into a huge amount of details, below are my recommendations for the Texas Propositions (YES on 1-2, 4-5, 9, and NO on 3, 6-7-8). At the bottom of this is a meta-list that contains recommendations from an assortment of conservative groups and individuals. Note that you may print this and take it into the voting location with you. Oh, and don’t forget your photo voter ID!

1	ü	Though the idea of special tax breaks for ANYONE is wrong, this is a case where compassion trumps equality. Additionally, the very fact that this is on the ballot underscores that taxes are too high for EVERYONE.
2	ü	Not very controversial here. Fixes an obsolete part of Constitution.
3	⨉	Pros: Reduces taxes for aircraft parts inventory. Cons: Another special interest tax break, in this case hard wired into the Constitution. Should the Constitution REALLY single out a particular business or type of business for special tax exemptions?
4	ü	Similar to 1 in nature, but deals with property tax for veterans (a much larger group), that get housing provided by charity (not as large).
5	ü	Reverse Mortgages are a mixed bag. There are abuses and people/families can get hurt by them. On the other hand, a "less government" argument is to give people more freedom with their own finances, which this would do.
6	⨉	"Water Projects" are classic big government. Arguably, this is not even needed. (A relatively temporary drought, now largely over, is not a reason to build a non-free market bank/slush fund into the Constitution of Texas, to be used largely by a particular special interest group.) If the crisis really exists, it should be dealt with openly and as part of the regular budget process, not a raid on the "Rainy Day Fund" (ironically), and not by establishing yet another less-than-transparent government entity with LOTS of power. Some groups even tie this to "Agenda 21" related efforts, which have already wreaked havoc in West Texas where farmers are being restricted from using their own water! Interestingly, virtually no (truly) conservative groups are backing this! It is "controversial" ONLY due to the millions of dollars being used by special interests who see a $50 billion payday ahead if it is passed, and they are intentionally sending out an OBSOLETE map that does NOT reflect current drought conditions, which are nearly back to normal after recent rains. Last, there is ALREADY about $6 billion in a water development fund that has not really even been used!
7	⨉	Allows some municipalities to fill some vacancies without an election. Pro: Saves cost of election. Con: Less / No accountability to taxpayers and voters.
8	⨉	This lets Hildalgo County raise taxes for hospital district from current 0.10 rate to as high as 0.75 rate (per $100 valuation). The 0.75 rate is in place in most if not all other Texas counties. I'm not strongly either way, but given that property tax rates are entirely out of control in Texas, we should not be making it any easier to raise them--anywhere!
9	ü	More options for punishing judicial misconduct.