October 18, 2009

So easy a caveman can...,well you know

When I woke up this morning (at 2, 3, 4, 5, and finally 6 AM) I was feeling achy, tired, and queasy. In the delirium of the early AM hours, I thought "do I have the flying pig disease?" But as the sun began to shine through the blinds, I was determined to recover fast so I could check out the "How Will You Vote" event facilitated by David Kobierowski, TCDP Precinct 262 Chair and all-around dedicated Dem.

Thankfully, some fresh air, time with my dogs, a couple of over-the-counter meds, and lots of liquids had me feelin' back to 85%.

Constitutional Amendments Decoded












Today's
Public Affairs Forum of Austin and League of Women Voters Forum was held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church (off of 47th and Burnet). It started at 11:30 and promptly ended at 12:30 --including 20 minutes of Q&A.

Senator Watson did a fantastic job of translating the propositions and fielding voters' questions. Rather than reinvent the wheel (and, because I'm still feeling under the weather), the following is an edited version of the descriptions from the last week's Watson Wire.

Proposition 1 would permit the Texas Legislature to let cities/counties acquire buffer areas next to military installations. *There're legal nuances to the way cities/counties can acquire such areas.

Proposition 2 makes it clear that Texans' homes can be appraised ONLY as a home. Right now a home could be valued as what it *could* be, say, if it could be turned into an office space -think gentrification.

Proposition 3 strengthens state oversight of a property appraisal board’s practices and procedures. Would reduce wide swinging variation.

Proposition 4 would use money we already have to help existing universities (e.g. University of Houston, Texas Tech, UT-Arlington, UT-El Paso, and others) become "tier-one" public research universities. UT and A&M are tier-one.

Want more info about this prop? The Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) explains why the passage of Prop 4 is important for Texas -click brief.

And Proposition 5 allows adjoining appraisal districts or similar entities to consolidate their review board functions so they can be more efficient.

Proposition 6 would let the Veterans’ Land Board issue additional $ to help Texas veterans acquire land or get a mortgage loan.

Proposition 7 would clarify that members of the Texas State Guard (or similar groups) could hold civil offices such as justice of the peace or county commissioner.

Proposition 8 would clarify that the state can contribute money, property or other resources for a veteran’s hospital.

Most immediately, this would allow the state to help build a veterans hospital in the Rio Grande Valley, as required by a law that took effect earlier this year.

Proposition 9 would strengthen the state’s open beaches law by putting it in the constitution and clarifying that the public has the unrestricted right to use, and get to and from, public beaches.

Proposition 10 would lengthen the term of emergency services district board members from two to four years.

Finally, Proposition 11 builds on a current law limiting the ability of the state, or any other jurisdiction, to condemn and acquire property for economic development purposes through the use of eminent domain.

If you're left scratching your head as to which way to vote on these propositions, there's an easy to digest Voter's Guide (PDF) prepared by the League of Women Voters. As for me, after today's event I'm confident that voting yes on these props is the right way to go.

Like to be extra prepared? Get a sneak peak of the ballot.

Soo...now what?
As the title of this blog implies, voting early is oh-so-easy!

From Blogger Pictures


Find a polling place by accessing this interactive search feature on the Secretary of State's website. Travis County has a list of all the early polling locations.

Do you have unanswered
questions about voting? Visit Travis County's voter and November 3rd election Q&A page.

Hope you can make it out to an early polling place!

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