Republican Primary Ballot Propositions
By D. A. Sharpe
The March 6, 2018 Republican
Party Primary Election Ballot has at its end portion a list of 11 Propositions
on which voters are invited to vote Yes or No.
My document here is to
explain the situation to bring understanding for you. First, no legislative decisions will be
made resulting from a majority ÒYesÓ votes on any propositions. They merely represent a list of issues
on which the State Republican Executive Committee is asking you to contribute
opinions to their opinion poll. Supposedly,
the Yes or No. The poll could
become a basis on which the Executive Committee could advocate before the State
Legislature.
Just WHO are the State Republican Executive Committee members?
The State of Texas Senate is divided into 31 districts from which one State
Senator is elected to 4-year terms.
About half of them in Presidential General Election years and the other
half in the off year General Elections.
The Republican Party of Texas Conventions meet in June of every even
numbered years. At those conventions,
delegates from each Senatorial District elect one Committeeman and one
Committeewoman to form the State Executive Committee. It is this group who are
taking a poll from voters in this primary election. Wise County is in Senate District
#31. Our two representatives are
Paul Braswell and Deon Starnes.
Second, let me say that 11
propositions are TOO MANY choices that are worthy to place on a voter
ballot! Voters tend to skip them
when the list is more than two or three questions. As far as what should the Executive
Committee should advocate to Texas Legislative members, they should resolve
these issues among themselves. Too
many options on a ballot probably results in too few valid, thoughtful opinions
cast.
Here is the Official List of March Republican Primary
Ballot Propositions.
1.
Texas should
replace the property tax system with an appropriate consumption tax equivalent
(Yes/No)
This is asking if voters want to eliminate ad valorem property taxes
with raised retail sales taxes. Opposition mainly is
among entities supported now by property taxes, such as school districts, city
or county governments, guessing that less support would be derived. Would the current 8.25% sales tax rate in
Texas be raised to 14.50%? Who
knows? Who would be happy for that? I vote NO
2.
No governmental
entity should ever construct or fund construction of toll
roads without voter approval (Yes/No)
All I can say is that such a requirement would add significant timelines to the
creation of toll roads being constructed.
I vote NO
3.
Republicans in
the Texas House should select their Speaker nominee by secret in a binding
caucus without Democrat influence (Yes/No)
The Speaker of the House is the moderator to moderate and conduct the meetings of the Texas State House of Representatives in conducting its legislative responsibilities. The Speaker is elected from the
legislature of Texas to a 2-year term, by a vote of its fellow members on
the first day of each regular session, the members may nominate a fellow
member, and a record vote is held to determine who the speaker will be. The
Secretary of State calls the House to order, and presides over the chamber
until a speaker is elected. The Speaker in office since 2009 has been Texas
Representative Joe Straus from San Antonio. Mr. Straus has voluntarily chosen not to
run for re-election as a Representative, so he cannot be a candidate for
Speaker. So, it is a non-incumbent race
for the opening of the Texas State House of Representatives next January. This proposition need has been
illuminated now, because the Texas House Republicans agreed on Friday, February 9, 2018 to do just that! There are several Representative who have announced they are candidates for the SpeakerÕs Office. Wise County is represented in House
District #61 by veteran office holder, Phil King. I support Phil King for this office! I vote YES
4.
Texas should
require employers to screen new hires through the free E-Verify
system to protect jobs for legal
workers (Yes/No)
This would be another example of government moving more into managing business
practices. I think employers should
use wisdom in their practices, but I believe this is too much control. I would voter NO
5. Texas families should be empowered to choose from
public, private, charter, or homeschool options for their childrenÕs education,
using tax credits or exemptions without government constraints or intrusion. (Yes/No)
This issue is really a vote for or against the validity of the public school system.
Everyone who thinks public schools are falling short, and who prefer
private schools or home schooling, will want to vote Yes on this matter. The public school
structures will be against this loudly! I vote YES
6. Texas should protect the privacy and safety of women and
children in spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers in all Texas
schools and government buildings. Yes/No
I believe this gender-oriented issue has addressed a ridiculous condition. This proposal asks for protection for
the safety of women and children.
My thought is what about protection for males? As a man, I want to be protected from
having a women in the restroom while IÕm standing at a
urinal. I vote YES.
7.
I believe
abortion should be abolished in Texas. Yes/No
Certainly I stand for Pro-Life positions, and
believe the Supreme CourtÕs Roe
Versus Wade 1973 decision to make
abortion legitimate. However, the
Texas State Legislature making any legislation prohibiting abortion cannot
stand as long as the Federal Supreme Court decision
stands. I vote YES, but it doesnÕt
matter.
8.
Vote fraud should be a felony
in Texas to help ensure fair elections. Yes/No
This proposition is a mystery to me. Already, illegal voting is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Attempted illegal voting drops two
levels and is a state jail felony, punishable by up to two years in state
jail. A first degree felony merely has more severe
penalties. I vote NO.
9.
Texas demands that Congress
completely repeal Obamacare. Yes/No
Many people would like to see Congress take this action. However, the Texas Legislature has no
role in executing such an action. I
vote NO, as it is useless.
10.
To slow the growth of
property taxes, yearly revenue increases should be capped at 4%, with increases
in excess of 4% requiring voter approval. Yes/No
This is asking that the Legislature be required to hold a voter approval to
increase property taxes more that 4% in any one year. I vote YES
11.
Tax dollars should not be used
to fund the building of stadiums for professional or semi-professional sports
teams (Yes/No)
The justification by political leaders to fund these projects is that the
surrounding businesses created would yield enough new revenue in taxes to repay
the cost of the lending. I think
this is up to serious question. I
vote YES, they should not be used.
These are my opinions, and I hope the discussions may help you make your
decisions in voting.
Composed by:
Dwight Albert (D. A.) Sharpe
805 Derting Road East
Aurora, TX 76078-3712
817-504-6508