Vote Tuesday

Posted: Monday, November 5, 2007 12:10 PM CST

By Kelley Shannon Associated Press writer

AUSTIN - Texas legislators would be required by the state constitution to record their final votes on bills under a Nov. 6 ballot proposition that supporters say will hold lawmakers more accountable.

“When you pass a bill that’s going to leave this chamber and change someone’s life, then we want to know where you stood on it,” Rep. Dan Branch, a Dallas Republican, said in promoting Proposition 11 at the Capitol.

It’s one of 16 proposed constitutional amendments before voters for the Tuesday, Nov. 6, election.

After several years of pressure from news industry and other open government groups, the House and Senate have required a recorded vote on final passage of bills, rather than a voice vote or other type of non-recorded vote. That means citizens can see how individual lawmakers stand on an issue.

Branch’s amendment would cement the recorded vote requirement into the constitution.

The League of Women Voters, the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, the Texas Association of Broadcasters and the Texas Daily Newspaper Association all favor the proposition.

“Accountability is the core value of our representative democracy, and recorded votes will allow us to check up on our representatives. We’ll be able to make sure that what they do in Austin is what they promised us back home,” said Wanda Garner Cash, past president of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

There is no major opposition to Prop 11, though some legislators argued that it didn’t go far enough. They said other votes on bills, such as preliminary passage votes and changes made to bills before they are passed, should be recorded. Sometimes those are recorded; sometimes they are not.

Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, Gov. Rick Perry and former Comptroller John Sharp have been campaigning for Proposition 15, perhaps the most high-profile amendment. It would allow up to $3 billion in bonds to be issued over 10 years for cancer research and prevention.

Supporters say it would be a major step in accelerating cancer research in Texas and potentially identifying a cancer cure.

Opponents say incurring bond debt is an irresponsible method of financing. The Young Conservatives of Texas and Americans for Prosperity both oppose Prop 15.

“The simple fact is that with passage of Proposition 15, Texas’ future economy as well as the earning potential (of) Texas’ youth will be threatened by a massive credit card debt,” Young Conservatives senior vice chairman Christopher Richey said in a prepared statement.

The group is handing out green wristbands at college campuses that read, “Keep Your Green; Vote No on Prop 15.”

There are other bond proposals on the ballot, all opposed by the conservative Americans for Prosperity.

Proposition 4 would authorize up to $1 billion in bonds for maintenance and construction for state parks, historic sites, crime labs and other projects. It would set aside money for potential new prison construction.

“It is the most traditional and the most conservative of the four (bond) proposals,” said Republican Sen. Steve Ogden of Bryan, the Senate finance chairman. “We can afford to do this.”

Texas parks and Battleship Texas near Houston stand to get $52 million from Prop 4.

Parks would undergo basic maintenance projects like sewer upgrades and building improvements, while the battleship would get restoration work and a new dry berth to protect it from sea water corrosion.

“Our parks are being used at a rate that we just never thought would be possible,” said state parks commission chairman Peter Holt. “These are basic needs for these parks. We’re not going in there and making them fancy.”

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition says it acknowledges there may be good programs funded in Prop 4, but it opposes the money set aside for future prisons. Recently enacted “smart on crime” probation programs should be given a chance to work before any new prisons are constructed, said coalition executive director Ana Yanez-Correa.

Ogden said money for three new prisons would be used only if a panel of state leaders finds there is unacceptable prison overcrowding in existing facilities.

Two other bond propositions on the ballot would authorize money for student loans and highway improvement projects.

On the Net:

Texas Secretary of State’s Office: www.sos.state.tx.us