EDITORIAL
National Election Day is two weeks away and is something of a “ho-hummer” for those living in the rapidly growing northeastern corridor of Hays County.
On the Buda and Kyle November 8 ballot will be 10 lonely amendments to Texas’ 136-year-old state constitution.
Our constitution is already bulky and antiquated with little hope that a new one will ever be written. That unlikely scenario would bring some clarity to a state where ambiguity seems to be the order of the day. Unfortunately, the 1876 document is already jammed with hundreds of amendments – all once deemed important but long ago made meaningless by the march of time.
The voters 135 years ago didn’t trust a government that rushed into a hopeless attempt to secede from the United States. That resulted in a war followed by a poorly funded and administered Reconstruction.
Today, we again have strong voter distrust and a state legislature that seems consumed with avarice and small-mindedness.
So, we are probably stuck with amending this imperfect document. Let’s get with it.
• Proposition 1 – Gives minor additional tax benefits to the surviving spouses of totally disabled veterans. YES.
• Proposition 2 – Provides additional general obligation bonds to the Texas Water Development Board and has a cap of $6 billion. A definitie YES.
• Proposition 3 – Authorizes additional general obligation bonds to finance educational loans. You betcha. YES.
• Proposition 4 – Allows counties to issue bonds to finance the development of blighted areas. In growing areas of the state this additional county authority is needed. YES.
• Proposition 5 – Allows cities and counties to enter interlocal agreements with other each other. We need more consolidated actions between neighbors, not less. Yes.
• Proposition 6 – Clears up some ambiguities concerning the distribution of permanent school funds. YES.
• Proposition 7 – Involves conservation districts in El Paso. Skip on this and let El Paso voters decide a question that belongs on the local level.
• Proposition 8 – Provides for appraisal of open space land for water stewardship purposes on the basis of productive capacity. We trust our appraisal district. YES.
• Proposition 9 – Allows for pardons to be granted to people who successfully complete deferred adjudication with proper supervision. YES.
• Proposition 10 – Lots of gobbledygook about the length of unexpired terms and automatic resignations of “certain county officeholders running for another office.” HELL NO.
The state’s explanations of the amendment’s intent is incoherent and there is too much of this sort of job swapping that causes elected officials to be held in low esteem. Defeating this self-serving amendment will not harm the citizenry.
