Texas 2011 elections heat up with proposed constitutional amendments

This November 8th, people all over Texas will head to the polls, to vote on ten proposed constitutional amendments. Many groups have already piped up on these amendments to provide there recommendations, including the Texas Eagle Forum, The Liberty Institute, and Others. The Libertarian party even made a bold statement that they felt none of the amendments should be passed; sighting that it’s all about “quick money to be paid for with future taxes.”

The proposed amendments range from property taxes and bonds, to governor pardons, and election laws. Here is a quick list of each of them:

1. Authorizes the legislature to exempt property taxes for surviving spouses of veterans.
2. Allow the Texas Water Development Board to issue general obligation bonds.
3. Allows for general obligation bonds for educational loans.
4. Allows counties to issue bonds for development proposes with the ability to increase ad valorem taxes to pay for them.
5. Allows inter-local contracts between cities and counties with the imposition of a tax or sinking fund.
6. Clarifies references to the permanent school fund, allowing the General Land Office to distribute revenue from the fund to provide additional funding for public education.
7. Authorizing the legislature to permit conservation and reclamation districts in El Paso County and to issue bonds for parks and recreational facilities.
8. Provides for the appraisal of open-space land devoted to water-stewardship purposes based on its productive capacity.
9. Allows the governor to grant pardons to a person who completes a term of deferred adjudication community supervision.
10. Changes the length of time of an unexpired term that causes the automatic resignation of certain office holders if they become candidates for another office.

To find more information about voting locations and ballots you can visit the Collin County Election Information web-page.