Debbie Riddle

Summary Of The 11 Proposed Amendments To The Texas Constitution

// October 14th, 2009 // Uncategorized

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Early voting for the constitutional amendment upcoming constitutional election will start on Monday, October 19th and last until October 30th. Constitutional amendment elections can be a little mysterious and intimidating sometimes, but they are just as important as any other election. The Texas Constitution is what protects your rights as a citizen of our Sovereign State, and it is important to be an active and informed participant in the process of making changes to this valuable document.

For your convenience, I have provided an at-a-glance summary of what each of the 11 proposed constitutional amendments intend to accomplish. If you would like more detail, the House Research Organization has put together an excellent report that discusses the pros and cons of each proposal in plain English, as well as the relevant background on each issue. You can find that report on the House Research Organization’s website, or you can click this link: http://www.hro.house.state.tx.us/focus/amend81.pdf

Please feel free to contact my office with any additional questions or concerns on any of these issues. My district office can be reached at 281-537-5252 and my Capitol office is 512-463-0572.

Proposition 1: Grants clear constitutional authority to cities and counties to use bonds or notes to purchase land in order to create buffer areas between developed areas and military installations.

Proposition 2: Authorizes the legislature to allow residence homesteads to be appraised solely on its value as a homestead, not its prospective value as a commercial property or some other property that would fetch a higher appraisal.

Proposition 3: Would allow statewide uniformity of the property appraisal process through state enforcement based on best practices, rather than allowing each county to enforce state standards.

Proposition 4: Establishes the National Research University Fund for the stated purpose of providing a dedicated, independent, and equitable source of funding to enable emerging research universities in Texas to achieve national prominence as major research universities.

Proposition 5: Allows adjoining counties to establish consolidated appraisal review boards.

Proposition 6: Authorizes the Veteran’s Land Board to provide for, issue, and sell state general obligation bonds for the purpose of selling land or providing home-mortgage or land purchase loans to Texas veterans.

Proposition 7: Would allow members of the Texas State Guard to hold civil office.

Proposition 8: Lets the state contribute state resources to veterans hospitals.

Proposition 9: Adds the right to access public beaches in Texas, already guaranteed by Texas law, as part of the Constitution.

Proposition 10: Allows board members of emergency service district to serve a four-year term instead of a two-year term.

Proposition 11: Restricts the use of eminent domain to clearly public purposes.

Sincerely,

Debbie Riddle
State Representative
District 150