NEWS 
Sunday, October 28, 2001

Colleyville City Council Special Election

November 6, 2001

Click on Photos to Enlarge

November 30th
Colleyville City Park
Click Here for Details

Colleyville City Council is holding a special election to fill Place 4 which was vacated by Dennis Marlin earlier this year.  John Orrel was appointed by City Council to the position until the November 6 special election.  

There are two candidates running for Place 4.  They are (in order on ballot):

Richard Newton - http://www.electnewton.com

Jo Ann Gasper - http://www.gasperonline.com

Early voting is currently underway at 5400 Bransford Road.  Following is a list of dates and times available for voting.

There are also 19 Constitutional Amendments that are being proposed.  Following is a list of each proposal.

1. This amendment gives private property owners in Bastrop County clear, legal title to their land.  Due to an error in a title survey conducted over 100 years ago, no one was aware the property was actually owned by the state.  In 1999, the error was discovered.

2. This amendment authorizes the issuance of $175 million in general obligation bonds for road improvements in colonias.  Colonias are substandard neighborhoods located throughout Texas, but particularly along the Texas-Mexico border.

3. This amendment authorizes the legislature to exempt raw cocoa and green coffee held in storage in Harris County from local ad valorem taxes.

4. This amendment changes the term of office for the Fire Fighter's Pension Commissioner from two years to four years.

5. This amendment allows cities to donate old surplus firefighting equipment or supplies to underdeveloped countries.

6. This amendment requires the governor to call a special session of the legislature to appoint presidential electors if the governor determines there is a reasonable likelihood that election results will not be finalized in time.  It is intended to address the problem experienced in Florida during the recent presidential election.

7. This amendment allows the Veterans' Land Board to issue up to $500 million in bonds and use existing money to build veterans cemeteries and provide home mortgage loans for veterans.

8. This amendment authorizes some state agencies, such as the Texas parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas Youth Commission, and the Texas School for the Deaf, to issue bonds for the construction and repair of facilities and to purchase needed equipment.

9. This amendment authorizes filling a vacancy in the legislature without a special election if only one candidate files for the office.  Special elections are called when a member of the legislature leaves office, for any reason, during the middle of his or her term.

10. This amendment extends and exemption from local taxes for goods stored in a warehouse for not more than 270 days.  Currently, only out-of-state goods receive the exemption.  This amendment extends the exemption to Texas goods, even if they are just shipped within the state.

11. This amendment allows active or retired schoolteachers to be paid for serving on local government boards.  State employees who are paid by the state are prohibited from receiving compensation for serving on local boards.

12. This amendment removes or rewords obsolete, duplicate, or ineffective provisions of the Texas Constitution.  The Texas Constitution has been amended 390 times since 1876.

13. This amendment allows school districts to donate buildings to the community for the purpose of preserving the buildings.

14. This amendment allows travel trailers to be exempted from property taxes by all local taxing entities except school districts.

15. This amendment creates the Texas Mobility Fund, which would grant and loan money for building roads.  The fund would be partially funded by the issuing bonds. Currently, state highways are built on a pay-as-you-go basis.

16. This amendment shortens the length of time a homeowner who wants to renovate or repair their house must wait between applying for credit and beginning work.  This amendment also allows a lien to attach when there is a conversion and refinance of a personal property lien secured by a manufactured home to a lien on real property.

17. This amendment allows the state to relinquish title to land if the person claiming the land showed they held title before January 1, 1952.  Until 1900, settlers could survey land they wanted to claim or purchase, and it became theirs.  After that date, all unsurveyed land became property of the state.

18. This amendment requires local governments to collect a consolidated fee for all civil and criminal cases.  This fee would then be sent to the Comptroller of Public Accounts who would disburse funds to the appropriate programs.  Currently, city and county governments collect a number of different fees in civil and criminal cases.

19. This amendment allows the Texas Water Development Board to issue up to $2 billion in additional general obligation bonds. 

HAVE COMMENTS ABOUT THIS OR OTHER STORIES?
SEND AN EMAIL TO THE EDITORS
Comments will be posted on Editor Emails unless otherwise requested.