by
Karen Dalglish Seal,
Attorney, Mediator and Counselor at Law
In order to give my opinion, I went to the Bexar County government site, the League of Women Voters site, and to various conversations and comments from Sierra Club members. I also read the Hondo Anvil Herald that gave no opinion on the propositions but did a good job on reporting minute, unimportant, play by plays in the Sports section, loved the eclipse and actually printed out the propositions in eight point type.
Proposition 1 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment protecting the right to engage in farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture, and wildlife management.”
What is wrong? It removes local control, enabling large, industrial factory farms to operate with less accountability. I want to know what is in the food I eat. Don’t you? I want to know what herbicides are used, what techniques are used, what type of fertilizer is spread, etc.
My opinion. It lowers regulations that are necessary for our health. Vote NO.
Express-News. Laws could be passed to protect any environmental issues that might arise. FOR
Proposition 2 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment authorizing a local option exemption from ad valorem taxation by a county or municipality of all or part of the appraised value of real property used to operate a child-care facility.”
VOTE YES. Child care is essential for parents to go to work, get an education and contribute to the economic growth of the state.
My opinion: Vote YES.
Express-News. FOR
Proposition 3 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of an individual wealth or net worth tax, including a tax on the difference between the assets and liabilities of an individual or family.”
VOTE Yes or No. This proposition is just political posturing against something does not exist, hasn’t been proposed and could actually hinder future Texas flexibility to write tax laws that reflect the will of the people in that future. Not that it matters since there is no plan yet to put a wealth tax on individuals or the individual’s net worth. Should that ever be proposed, I would worry. If you worry that this tax could become an issue in the future and you are against it, VOTE YES. If you think future generations should decide this matter should it ever be an issue, then vote against it.
MY Opinion. VOTE YES.
Express-News. Against
Proposition 4 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to establish a temporary limit on the maximum appraised value of real property other than a residence homestead for ad valorem tax purposes; to increase the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district applicable to residence homesteads from $40,000 to $100,000; to adjust the amount of the limitation on school district ad valorem taxes imposed on the residence homesteads of the elderly or disabled to reflect increases in certain exemption amounts; to except certain appropriations to pay for ad valorem tax relief from the constitutional limitation on the rate of growth of appropriations; and to authorize the legislature to provide for a four-year term of office for a member of the board of directors of certain appraisal districts.”
VOTE YES if you own a home. or plan to own a home in Texas someday. It is progressive among homeowners because each homeowner gets the same decrease in their tax bill.
Express-News. FOR
Proposition 5 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment relating to the Texas University Fund, which provides funding to certain institutions of higher education to achieve national prominence as major research universities and drive the state economy.”
My opinion. VOTE YES. Four Texas Universities (U of H, Texas Tech, Univ. of N. Tx and Texas State Univ) have earned that grant money for research from the Texas University Fund endowment grants. It helps everyone.
Express-News. FOR
Proposition 6 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment creating the Texas water fund to assist in financing water projects in this state.”
VOTE NO. The water could be appropriated for fracking projects rendering the water unsafe, undrinkable, and toxic for us and future generations. NO. We need to update our water infrastructure but this loophole is NOT the way. VOTE NO.
Sierra Club. Mostly For (because we really need water projects going and we can fight the other battles as they come along. (not an official stance)
Express-News. FOR
Proposition 7 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the Texas energy fund to support the construction, maintenance, modernization, and operation of electric generating facilities.”
VOTE NO. No new gas plants. No taxpayer subsidies for very wealthy polluting companies. This proposition prohibits the money from going to reliable renewable energy that strengthen our grid and kept our power on this summer. Without renewables, we would have spent a good part of this hot summer in the heat. VOTE NO. VOTE NO. VOTE NO. VOTE NO.
Sierra Club. Against (not an official stance)
Express-News. Against
Proposition 8 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment creating the broadband infrastructure fund to expand high-speed broadband access and assist in the financing of connectivity projects.”
VOTE YES. This proposition will close the digital divide for the seven million Texans without access, and draw down federal matching funds from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program.
My opinion: This is a definite YES.
Express-News. FOR
Tax money would pay for it.
Proposition 9 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the 88th Legislature to provide a cost-of-living adjustment to certain annuitants of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.”
Another DEFINITE YES. Some teachers have not received a Cost of Living Raise in 20 years.. The money is already there. All the state needs to do is release the funds. VOTE YES. Texas is losing so many teachers because of this situation.
My opinion. Texas is hemorrhaging teachers. Our schools are underfunded. We cannot get good teachers shopping in the bargain basement. VOTE YES.
Express-News. FOR
Proposition 10 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation equipment or inventory held by a manufacturer of medical or biomedical products to protect the Texas healthcare network and strengthen our medical supply chain.”
VOTE NO. Our schools are so underfunded right now. They cannot afford basic services. The classes are too large. Eliminating any taxes will reduce funds available to our public schools. The legislature is not proposing any additional taxes to allow for this tax cut. In fact, they are proposing property tax cuts which is where we get most of our school funding.
My opinion. VOTE NO.
Express-News. FOR
Proposition 11 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “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.”
VOTE YES. Funds for park and recreation facilities benefit our citizens. Our parks promote better mental and physical health and people from other parts of Texas and the U.S. visit them bringing money into the park and recreation area.
My opinion. VOTE YES.
Express-News. FOR
Proposition 12 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment providing for the abolition of the office of county treasurer in Galveston County.”
VOTE NO. County treasurers are elected by the voters. They are not influenced by a county judge or commissioners. VOTING NO keeps this position from being controlled easily by other county officials.
My opinion. VOTE NO.
Express-News. FOR
Proposition 13 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment to increase the mandatory age of retirement for state justices and judges.”
I don’t know. By extending the mandatory age, we alleviate the present turnover rate by keeping judges who want to stay. We also create the possibility of having judges who are out of touch with more modern needs. We need younger judges but we also need experience and wisdom.
My opinion. YOUR CALL.
Express-News. FOR
Proposition 14 – The proposed amendment will appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the centennial parks conservation fund to be used for the creation and improvement of state parks.”
VOTE YES. We need parks and we need to preserve more untamed lands for public use. We all benefit from natural areas, state parks and clean water and local economies benefit also
My opinion: VOTE YES.
Express-News: FOR