Thanks to Barry K of HALC for passing this on to us…
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The board of Houston Property Rights Association has taken a position opposing the proposed drainage fee. HPRA says…VOTE NO!…

Two organizations have formed to oppose the hybrid fee/tax.Their websites are stuffed for reasons to block this new charge to be added to our water bills.First is the Taxpayers for Financial Accountability PAC: http://www.theproblemwithprop1.com/Second is No Rain Tax PAC: http://www.stopprop1.com/

Proposition 1 reads:

Relating to the Creation of a Dedicated Funding Source to Enhance, Improve and Renew Drainage Systems and Streets. Shall the City Charter of the City of Houston be amended to provide for the enhancement, improvement and ongoing renewal of Houston’s drainage and streets by creating a Dedicated Pay-As-You-Go Fund for Drainage and Streets?

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This message is intended for City of Houston Voters only.

The Renew Houston Crowd is winning!

The Citizens of Houston are being snookered!

Our Churches, our non profits and our seniors are losing!

We are way behind in the polls!  Please blitz this to every one on your list.  Please ask everyone to blitz it to everyone on their list.  Paul Bettencourt and I are waging this battle on a shoestring!  We need your help!  We have no money for TV ads!  Please ask every talk show host you know to invite me or Paul to talk about why Prop1 needs to be defeated!

Norman E. Adams

The Problem with Proposition 1 – by Paul Bettencourt

All Houstonians will see at nearly the end of their long Election Day Ballot, is one simple statement about establishing a dedicated Drainage Fund and a Fee associated with it called Proposition 1. What this hides for most City of Houston Voters is that Prop 1 is a massive new property tax that will charge even our Churches, Schools, and Charities, plus it does not provide any exemptions for our over 65 Senior Homeowners. As a former “Taxman”, let me urge you to vote against Prop 1 while explaining the real problems with Prop 1.

In all my years in public service to taxpayers, I have never seen a proposal that is a MINIMUM tax or fee before reading the Prop 1 petition you won’t see on the ballot. Prop 1 sets a minimum amount, $125 Million dollars of revenue collections to the city in 2012, and then mandates the City Council to set the drainage charges to collect it in FULL. Prop 1 supporters have talked about this fund being as much as $300 to $400 million dollars a year in size which is so large that it is 35% to 47% the size of all property tax collections in the City of Houston each year. It will collect 8 Billion dollars in 20 years.

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Renew Houston measure draws formal opposition

By MICHAEL REED | Updated: 09.08.10

The City Council’s vote to put the Renew Houston referendum on the ballot has drawn its first formal opposition in the form Taxpayers for Fiscal Accountability.

The group, recently registered with the city, hopes to convince voters that what would be a city-assessed monthly fee to property owners is, in reality, another way of issuing a new tax for services that should already be provided through other means.

The referendum was brought forward primarily by a group of engineers, including Councilman Stephen Costello, which obtained more than the 30,000 needed signatures.

Renew Houston cites the city’s deteriorating infrastructure and the need to alleviate flooding. Part of the program’s financing would come from an assessment fee based on square footage that proponents say will cost the average homeowner about $5 a month.

However, Robert Glaser, Taxpayers for Fiscal Accountability’s treasurer, believes there is already a funding method in place for street improvements, including drainage.

Glaser said. “The truth is, there are other entities that owe the city a lot of money for this type of repairs,” referring to the Metropolitan Transit Authority. “Politicians will like the idea of this being called a ‘fee’ rather than a ‘tax.’” Read the rest of this entry »

Related reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire
http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa111300b.htm
http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2010/08/threealarm-fire-destroys-nearly-all-of-harris-countys/1282942989.column
http://rangevoting.org/VotSystMap.html

           The battle between Democratic and Republican Party operatives over the Green Party’s ballot access petition drive, now headed for the Texas Supreme Court, has the potential for consequences not yet brought to light.  The ban on corporate contributions in Texas campaigns could be ruled unconstitutional by the Republican aligned Texas Supreme Court in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court Citizen’s United ruling, which makes it easier for corporations and labor unions to fund federal campaigns.  The Texas corporate (and union) ban, established in 1905 during the heyday of the populist movement, is one of the few campaign finance laws in Texas.  It is widely supported by voters of all political hues including independent-minded (read:  independent of Rick Perry) tea partiers.

            Attorney David Rogers is an independent Republican who has worked with former Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Steve Smith.  Rogers currently represents the Green Party in its appeal to the Texas Supreme Court seeking a ballot line in November’s general election.  Rogers believes that the Democrats fighting Green Party ballot access really don’t have a case because petition drives are exempt from the corporate ban as a “normal operating expense.”  Rogers said, “The Democrats are playing a dangerous game. They have, by virtue of naming the two corporate entities involved in the fray, Free and Equal, which managed the petition drive and Take Initiative America, which may have provided the funding to Free and Equal, set the stage for the possibility that the Texas Supreme Court could strike down the corporate ban as unconstitutional, something neither I nor my clients would support.” 

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CC of HC voterguide 04 10 runoff

Good news, folks!! Ms. Debra Medina (recent Republican Gubernatorial candidate), the good doctor Ron Paul himself, Mr. David Smith (CD 2, TX), Mr. Guy McLendon (Harris County Libertarian Party Chair), Mr. Pat Dixon (Libertarian Party of Texas Chair) and several other politicos were mentioned in a recent Houston Chronicle story.

All eleven State Constitutional Amendments passed.  [See stories, House Research Organization: Analysis on Nov 3rd TX Constitutional Propositions, Where to Vote in the Upcoming Texas Election, and Empower Texans: Recommendations on Nov 3rd TX Constitutional Propositions,  below, for related articles and actual text of proposed State Constitutional Amendments.]

Election results for Houston-area
Annise Parker and Gene Locke will be in a runoff for City of Houston Mayor.  Ronald C. Green and M. J. Khan will be a in a runoff for City of Houston Comptroller.  Check for other City of Houston City Council positions.

Harris County elections results.

Brazoria County election results.

Chambers County election results.

Galveston County election results.

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What to Bring to the Polls

Aside from a voter registration certificate, a voter may present one of the following documents: a driver’s license, a picture identification of any kind, a birth certificate, a U.S. Citizenship or Naturalization certificate, a U.S passport, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. First time voters who registered by mail and did not provide their driver’s license number or identification number will need to provide another form of identification other than their voter registration certificate.

EARLY VOTING BEGINS MONDAY, OCTOBER 19^TH

November 3^rd Joint Election – Early Voting Schedule

Remember to tell your friends that when you vote during early voting you may vote at any of the early voting locations.  On Election Day you must vote at your precinct’s polling location.  You can find all the locations from our website www.HarrisVotes.com when you click on the ‘Early Voting Schedule’ link.  See the attached early voting posters, available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Voting locations after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

The fine folks at Empower Texans have done the leg work analyzing the propositions for the upcoming November 3rd Texas Constitutional vote. Below are their recommendations.

Source: Empower Texans

We encourage all Texans to participate in the constitutional election of November 3. There are a great many resources you can utilize in learning more about the amendments being proposed, including organizations such as the Free Market Foundation and the Texas Assocation of Business.

What follows are our recommendations.

Propositions to Support

Stopping Eminent Domain Abuse

Proposition 11 – Vote Yes!
“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.”

Why it’s good: The U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo v New London decision allowed local governmental entities to take private property for the purpose of economic development, unless the states’ constitutions contain a provision to the contrary. This amendment would add restrictions on the use of eminent domain in Texas, and prohibit legislators from weakening the restrictions without voter approval. Further, it would add important protections against eminent domain abuse by specifically stating the legitimate purposes for eminent domain. Finally, governmental entities taking land through eminent domain would required to use it for a definable public purpose.

Reforming Property Taxes

Proposition 2 – Vote Yes!
“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.”

Why it’s good When appraisal districts determines the value of property for tax purposes, the district can right now base it on what the property would be worth if it were used for a more valuable purpose. Therefore, many homeowners have seen appraisals rise substantially, not because the value of the homes increased, but because the land was deemed more valuable as a different use. Texas already prohibits agricultural land and timber land from being appraised based on other possible uses, but no similar protection exists for homeowners. (Video link) Read the rest of this entry »