With early voting underway, local voters have seven propositions on their ballots.
A quick look at the propositions:
Proposition 1
Changes the homestead exemption amount for school district property taxes from $15,000 to $25,000. It also bars the Legislature from expanding the sales tax to real estate transfers.
Property tax bills have risen faster than our wages, and this especially hurts people on fixed incomes. This measure doesn’t hurt school districts, as the state supposedly will make up for the lost revenue. The downside of this proposition is that it strangleholds future Legislatures regarding sales tax on real estate transfers. Still, a yes vote right now is in our interests.
Recommendation: Vote yes.
Proposition 2
Exempts property from taxation for surviving spouses of totally disabled veterans.
The proposal passed in 2011 was never meant to exclude surviving spouses. This proposition just fixes a problem in that proposal that left out spouses of totally disabled veterans who died before September 2010 – approximately 3,800 people.
Recommendation: Vote yes.
Proposition 3
Repeals the requirement that certain executive officials reside in the state capital, Austin, while in office.
State officials – attorney general, land commissioner, agricultural commissioner – currently must live in Austin. Some argue that with communication, the internet, fast transportation, these officials should be able to live wherever they want.
But there is something to be said for living in the capital – where workers in your department live. These officials, supposedly, are full-time employees of the state. As such, they should live where they work and not try to commute via plane, train or automobile from hundreds of miles away to get to their offices.
Recommendation: Vote no.
Proposition 4
Allows professional sports team charitable foundations to conduct charitable raffles.
Raffles, known as “50/50”, where the winner keeps half the pot and the charitable organization gets half, are fairly common elsewhere.
Let it ride.
Recommendation: Vote yes.
Proposition 5
Authorizes counties with 7,500 people or fewer to perform private road construction and maintenance.
Some times, in these tiny counties, there simply are not contractors available. This proposition affects only 20 counties, as the last proposal, in 1980, set the population limit at 5,000 people. With Texas’ growth, these small counties just popped over the limit.
Recommendation: Vote yes.
Proposition 6
Provides for a right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife.
Sure, we all like to hunt and fish. We do that already. So why write something into law that already exists. This is an unnecessary over-extension.
Recommendation: Vote no.
Proposition 7
Allocates a portion of sales and use tax revenue to the state highway fund through 2032.
Gas taxes in Texas have not been increased since the 1980s, and some of the gasoline taxes that have been collected don’t always go to the Texas Department of Transportation. As such, TxDOT has annual shortfalls, at a time when we certainly need our highways and state roads reconstructed.
Hays County certainly has its share of roads that need work, and many of these are state roads. Until the Legislature can get the guts to boost the gasoline tax a slight bit, let’s move to make sure TxDOT gets the funds it is due.
Let’s build the roads.
Recommendation: Vote yes.
