The Tuesday, November 3 election in Montgomery Co is near.
Early Voting begins Monday Oct. 19 – Friday, Oct. 30.
I’ve cut and pasted some PROS & CONS from the Texas Eagle Forum website - below my message.
Additional research:
Here’s a very helpful page from the Conservative Coalition of Montgomery Co.
You’ll want to review this too for other Montgomery Co. elections on Nov. 3.
There’s a message going around in conservative circles and I think
Proposition #2 needs more explanation.
Proposition 2 – “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the ad valorem taxation of a residence homestead solely on the basis of the property's value as a residence homestead."
It’s written in a way that it sounds like it would be possibly raising taxes on homesteads. But the actual point of this is that it protects homesteads from being appraised according to the potential value, for commercial use when it’s still being used for residential purposes. Prop. 2 would require that the tax on a person’s home be based only on the property’s value as a residence, regardless of whether the property might be worth more if used for another purpose.
Some Texas homeowners have seen their appraisals rise substantially, not because the value of their homes increased, but because the land was considered more valuable as a potential business site. Places like Houston that have no zoning are especially vulnerable to dramatic appraisal increases based on businesses replacing other residences in an area. Texas already prohibits agricultural land and timber land from being appraised based on other possible uses, but no similar protection exists for homeowners. [See more information on Prop. 2 below my message.]
FYI, Cathie Adams and Shirley Spellerberg have both said they’re voting YES on ONLY Props #2, 6 & 7.
Montgomery County Voting Information:
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Early Voting
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November 3, 2009 Election Day
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Scroll down for PROS & CONS and Feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Serving the King,
Betty Anderson
281-364-8778
Below are Pros and Cons taken from the Texas Eagle Forum website.
(Highlighting was added by Shirley Spellerberg – an experienced conservative Texas activtist.)
Proposition 1 – "The constitutional amendment authorizing the financing, including through tax increment financing, of the acquisition by municipalities and counties of buffer areas or open spaces adjacent to a military installation for the prevention of encroachment or for the construction of roadways, utilities, or other infrastructure to protect or promote the mission of the military installation."
Pro – Proposition 1 would allow cities and counties to help shield military installations in their area from encroachment by development. The military installations need protection from encroachment to ensure the safety and security of an installation’s operations and training.
Con – Allowing cities and counties to build infrastructure under the broad justification of protecting or promoting the mission of a military installation could lead to higher property taxes at a time when property owners are already feeling an economic burden. Proposition 1 could also allow cities to infringe on private property rights.
Proposition 2 – “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the ad valorem taxation of a residence homestead solely on the basis of the property's value as a residence homestead."
Pro: Proposition 2 would provide an important check on property tax appraisal hikes. The proposition eliminates the current standard of property appraisal where residence homesteads are valued based on their “highest and best use,” allowing for excessive property taxation. According to the House Select Committee on Property Tax Relief and Appraisal Reform, “appraisal values increased by 200-400 percent in one year as a result of the highest and best use standard.” By passing proposition 2, residence homesteads will be appraised based strictly on their value as a residence homestead, rather than their value if they were put to their highest and best commercial use.
Con: According to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), “allowing homestead residential property to be valued based solely on its residential use and exempted from a highest and best use valuation could reduce taxable property values and thereby reduce local tax revenue.” [This is a liberal perspective. Duh.]
Proposition 3 – “The constitutional amendment providing for uniform standards and procedures for the appraisal of property for ad valorem tax purposes."
Pro: Ensures property appraisals for property tax purposes are done in a consistent manner and are not subject to bias or manipulation. Every Texan’s property appraisal will be conducted in the same manner and evaluated by the same methods allowing for fair, across the board appraisals.
Con: Proposition 3 would remove local control from appraisers and local officials.
Proposition 4 – "The constitutional amendment establishing the national research university fund to enable emerging research universities in this state to achieve national prominence as major research universities and transferring the balance of the higher education fund to the national research university fund."
Pro: Proposition 4 will help more Texas Universities reach nationally-recognized “tier-one” research status. Texas, the second most populous state in the nation, only has three “tier one” universities whereas New York and California have nine and seven respectively. The fund creates incentives for the emerging research universities to qualify for state assistance from the national research university fund. One incentive will provide matching grants based on the amount of donations from private sources; another provides funding incentives based on a point system to reward universities that meet critical benchmarks toward achieving national prominence as major research universities.
Con: The state of the economy and the likelihood of a deficit in 2011 make this the wrong time to increase spending on higher education.
Proposition 5 – "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to authorize a single board of equalization for two or more adjoining appraisal entities that elect to provide for consolidated equalizations.
Pro: Rural counties often have a limited pool of qualified and willing candidates to serve on appraisal review boards. Proposition 5 would allow counties to form consolidated, shared boards of equalization, allowing those counties to benefit from shared talent and higher quality appraisal review boards. According to the House Select Committee on Property Tax Relief and Appraisal Reform the proposition “would expand the pool of qualified people to serve on the boards.”
Con: According to the House Research Organization, “the proposition does not go far enough in allowing opportunities for appraisal districts to combine their efforts. Many rural counties have a difficult time staffing all levels and aspects of their central appraisal districts. The Legislature should allow and encourage these districts to consolidate functions by interlocal agreements. If the counties see benefits and want to form these agreements, the state should let them.”
Proposition 6 – "The constitutional amendment authorizing the Veterans' Land Board to issue general obligation bonds in amounts equal to or less than amounts previously authorized."
Pro: The purpose of the proposition is to grant ongoing bonding authority to the Veterans’ Land Board (VLB) in the Texas constitution so that the Board does not need to repeatedly seek legislative reauthorization. As the amounts are equal to or less than the amounts authorized in previous years, the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) indicates that the change is not expected to have noteworthy financial implications for the state.
Con: No apparent opposition.
Proposition 7 – "The constitutional amendment to allow an officer or enlisted member of the Texas State Guard or other state militia or military force to hold other civil offices."
Pro – Proposition 7 would correct an oversight in the Texas Constitution by adding officers and enlisted members of the Texas State Guard and other Texas military forces to the list of offices civil officials could hold. Many civil officials are active or would like to become active in the Texas State Guard or other Texas military forces. Proposition 7 clarifies that these civil officials are allowed to hold elected office while serving in the Texas State Guard or other military forces.
Con – No apparent cons.
Proposition 8 – "The constitutional amendment authorizing the state to contribute money, property, and other resources for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of veterans hospitals in this state."
Pro – Veterans have given a great deal of themselves to the benefit of the United States of America and the State of Texas. Proposition 8 would allow the state to contribute to the overall health and well-being of veterans who have served to protect our freedoms and liberties.
Note: While our veterans deserve the very best healthcare, this would be another state entitlement which could be very costly in the long run.
Con – Proposition 8 would allow the state to duplicate a service that is and should continue to be provided by the federal government. To whatever extent that the federal government is providing insufficient health care to veterans, that problem should be redressed at the federal, rather than state level.
Proposition 9 – "The constitutional amendment to protect the right of the public, individually and collectively, to access and use the public beaches bordering the seaward shore of the Gulf of Mexico."
Pro– Proposition 9 strengthens the 1959 Open Beaches Act by putting it in the Texas Constitution. Beaches have long been protected as public property, and developers should not be able to build properties along the beach and restrict the public’s right to access. Proposition 9 would strengthen the existing protections of the easements the public has used to access the beach.
Con – Proposition 9 locks into the Constitution a statute that is an affront to private property rights. The Open Beaches Act already provides too much authority to the state to restrict the right of private landowners to enjoy their property, and placing this authority in the Constitution would only compound the problem by making the law much more difficult to change in the future.
Proposition 10 – "The constitutional amendment to provide that elected members of the governing boards of emergency services districts may serve terms not to exceed four years."
Pro– Authorizing the Legislature to increase the maximum term for emergency services district board members from two years to four years, would promote stability and continuity on Emergency Service District (ESD) boards and allow board members more time to acquire experience and provide emergency services to their communities.
Con – Proposition 7 would diminish public oversight over the members of the governing boards of emergency services districts. Emergency service districts have great powers and responsibilities, including the authority to levy taxes. The power to tax should come only with the condition of accountability through direct election by voters every two years, just as with members of the Texas House of Representatives. Voters should be able to exercise the same level of local control over board members of emergency services districts as they currently do with other elected officials.
Proposition 11 – "The constitutional amendment to prohibit the taking, damaging, or destroying of private property for public use unless the action is for the ownership, use, and enjoyment of the property by the State, a political subdivision of the State, the public at large, or entities granted the power of eminent domain under law or for the elimination of urban blight on a particular parcel of property, but not for certain economic development or enhancement of tax revenue purposes, and to limit the legislature's authority to grant the power of eminent domain to an entity."
Note: What is meant by ‘certain’ economic development or enhancement of tax revenue purposes? Possibly some development?
Pro: The proposition will provide key protections against abuses of the power of eminent domain by more narrowly and specifically defining the term “public use” as it applies to eminent domain in the Texas constitution. The proposition will specifically preclude the taking of private property for economic development or increased tax revenue that would result from the change in use of the property.
Con: Introducing vague language of “possession, occupation, and enjoyment” into the Constitution could give rise to a wide range of possible court interpretations. It would undermine decades of judicial precedent in the area of the law and introduce uncertainty that could cost taxpayer dollars in the future.
Additional research:
Here’s a very helpful page from the Conservative Coalition of Montgomery Co.
You’ll want to review this too for other Montgomery Co. elections on Nov. 3.
Explanatory Statements for the November 3rd, 2009 Constitutional Amendment Election
