There are nine proposed constitutional amendments on the Texas ballot today. Here is my take on them.

Prop 1 – Creating a rail relocation and improvement fund.

NO – This is a private sector responsibility, not something that is the responsibility of the government.

Prop 2 – Defining marriage as one man and one woman.

YES – This keeps Texas from becoming Massachusetts.

Prop 3 – Declaring certain economic development programs don’t create government debt.

NO – The courts are at work on this one, which is really a fix for one program near Austin – let the case resolve the issue before acting.

Prop 4 – Denies bail for accused felons who have already broken the condition of their bail.

YES – Duh!

Prop 5 – Allowing the legislature determine the interest rate that constitutes usury in commercial loans.

YES – This would allow for Texas banks to make commercial loans to Texas companies in a fashion competitive with out of state banks.

Prop 6 – Adding members to the State Judicial Conduct Commission.

YES – This gives representation to one more type of judge governed by the Commission, and to an additional citizen. Seems reasonable to me.

Prop 7 – Authorizing reverse mortgages.

YES – This will allow for better financial planning by older Texans, and allow them to make use of the value of their primary asset – their home.

Prop 8 – Relinquishing state claims to certain land due to a surveying error.

YES – An error was made some 170 years ago in a survey. It went unnoticed until a couple of years ago. Any state claim would be little more than theft, given that everyone has relied on a common understanding of the lines that predates the erroneous survey.

Prop 9 – Staggering terms of members of regional mobility authority board members.

YES – While I’d rather see these unelected government agencies abolished, staggering the terms seems reasonable. After all, we saw a power grab here in Houston several years ago by a former mayor. This would prevent such a mess.

Posted by: Greg at 12:59 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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