Prop Quiz: Questions About Prop 4
October 19th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Let’s return now to our discussion of the 16 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution that will be on the ballot November 6.
Several of the props are bond issues. It’s rare that any off-year proposition to amend the Texas Constitution fails, but bond issues, in particular, almost always pass. That’s a sad statement, I must say, about the process and the Texas Constitution, however…
As painful as the process is, these bond props have to be looked at individually. Rep. Scott Hochberg (D-Houston) has put together the most comprehensive site for evaluating each proposal. Hochberg, while not opposing or endorsing any of the issues except Prop 3 (which he wrote), said he hopes voters will weigh each bond proposal separately.
Proposition 4, if passed, would authorize the Texas Public Finance Authority to issue up $1 billion in bonds to build a new Texas Youth Commission facility, crime labs for DPS, provide funds for the School for the Deaf, School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and the Texas Historical Commission — as well as authorizing the construction of three new prisons for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Scott Henson over at gritsforbreakfast has a post that discusses the weaknesses of Prop 4.
As Henson notes, this proposition is way too broad and authorizes money for things that frankly ought to be paid for in the budget. While the DPS crime labs may be needed, it doesn’t make any sense to authorize such a big lump sum and just leave it to the discretion of the Legislative Budget Board and others on how to spend it.
Texas has too many prisons already. Authorizing three more in a package that is densely packed with money for an assortment of agencies is just unwise. This proposition needs extra scrutiny, and it may be one place where Texas voters should tell their legislature, sorry, but no. Please go back to the drawing board — and if you want to build new prisons, be honest about it. Don’t sugar-coat it by lumping it into a catch-all bond proposal.
