Texas
While citizens of Melissa have voted against the sale of liquor three times in the last three years, one Melissa business owner said he will again circulate petitions to place the option on the November 2009 ballot.
An amendment to the state constitution that has cleared the Legislature would guarantee the public a right to state beach access. Current state law guarantees that right, but it is not in the state constitution. The amendment will be on this November’s ballot for voters to decide.
A ballot initiative aimed at blocking city ownership of a proposed $500 million hotel narrowly failed Saturday. Another measure that would have forced a vote on decisions to give over $1million in taxpayer money to private developers failed as well.
Voters in Lubbock approved two alcohol sales ballot initiatives by more than 2/3 on Saturday. A measure to allow liquor stores passed with 65% of the vote while another to allow mixed drink sales in bars and restaurants passed with 70%.
Mayor Tom Henry promised openness on Feb. 27 when he announced his support of a local referendum on casino gambling in Fort Wayne. But he neglected to say that 17 days earlier his administration contracted with a legal firm – Krieg DeVault of Indianapolis – to lobby the Indiana General Assembly to allow that referendum.
Advocates of initiative, referendum and recall provisions in Nacogdoches have an event to watch next week.
If you say “yes” to Dallas to building a publicly owned Dallas Convention Center hotel, vote “no” on Proposition 1. If you say “no” to City Hall constructing the hotel, vote “yes” on Proposition 1. Such is the counterintuitive rule-of-thumb for considering the contentious proposition. And hotel opponents and advocates alike acknowledge that voters may experience some confusion as early voting in Dallas begins Monday.
Advocates of initiative, referendum and recall provisions in Nacogdoches have an event to watch next week.
The city ballot in Ingleside will contain 12 charter amendments dealing with the way city government works. Included among the propositions are an extension of term limits and doing away with at-large representation.
The Dallas City Secretary has created this list of polling places for the upcoming May 9 election. Also listed are Propositions 1 and 2. Proposition 1 would prevent the city from owning a hotel. Proposition 2 would require voter approval anytime the city gives more than $1,000,000 to a private developer.
Read the story from the Dallas Morning News
A group of Marshall citizens began a petition drive to put term limits for city officials to a vote of the people. Residents decided to use the ballot initiative process after the city council voted not to put the matter on the ballot. The proposed charter amendment will need 731 signatures to make the 2010 ballot.
Citizens in Charge Foundation has named Linda Curtis, Executive Director of Independent Texans, as the April 2009 recipient of the John Lilburne Award for her commitment to expanding and protecting the rights of Texas citizens to petition their government and voice their opinions.
Linda Curtis of Independent Texans relays how several activists showed up in a state Senate hearing yesterday to protest SB 690, a bill that would essentially strip Texans of their local initiative process by more than doubling the signature requirement. Linda notes that Mike Ford of Initiative for Texas, and a Citizens in Charge Foundation board member, was on hand to defend the initiative process.
A group of citizens in Corpus Christi, TX have turned in over 10,000 signatures to put overturning the city’s ban on smoking in bars and pool halls to a vote. Supporters must have 7,520 verified signatures to qualify for the ballot, if they have not collected enough they will have 30 days to make up the difference.
Duncanville, TX City Council member Paul Ford will kick off a petition drive to remove the city’s eight red light cameras, which he and other residents claim are a revenue trap. Last year the city issued over 44,000 tickets from the cameras. Ford will need 1,300 signatures to put the matter on the November ballot.