By Representative Rob Orr
Texas House of Representatives District 58
On Nov. 3 Texans will have the opportunity to vote on 11 amendments to the states Constitution. To assist the voters of District 58 in becoming more knowledgeable about the various issues I have prepared the following review of each amendment. I hope it will help as you prepare for the upcoming election.
Giving Military Bases Some Breathing Room
The military is a central part of Texass culture and economy and the state is fortunate to have several of the nations largest and best military bases. But a military base has needs and performs functions that are often not easily compatible with its neighbors. A good example is airplane noise. Clearly a military airbase will have a lot of planes taking off and landing at all times of the day and night and at different speeds approaches etc. because that is a part of the training our pilots need to become and remain proficient. However homes and businesses near that airbase can view those military exercises as a huge disruption to the enjoyment and use of their property. As a consequence we have a dilemma; how to balance the needs of the military base with the needs of the surrounding community.
Amendment 1 is designed to give local communities more tools to better accommodate their needs and those of the military bases that serve that
community and the nation. The amendment will allow local governments to use financing methods such as bonds and tax increment financing zones to purchase land to serve as a buffer near a military base. Such a buffer would prohibit non-compatible uses and activities from butting right up to the boundary of a base.
This amendment does not require any government to do anything but merely gives local entities the authority to use various methods to purchase land around bases. An interesting outcome of creating such buffer areas is that the need to use eminent domain to condemn land for the base could be reduced since local governments could purchase land voluntarily before the problem of encroachment on military activities becomes so severe that more drastic steps must be taken. Because our district has no military base in it this amendment is not that relevant to us but it is to those communities that do have bases.
Making Property Tax Appraisals Better
Whenever the annual property tax appraisals are mailed out I tell my staff to expect an increase in calls and emails. It always seems like the appraisal districts have a generous view of what your property is worth. The appraisal is only half the story with property taxes; the tax rate itself is the other half. In 2006 the legislature addressed the rates side of the equation by lowering the rate school districts set for their operations. This past spring the legislature made changes to the appraisal side of the equation and three of the changes require constitutional amendments to implement them.
Amendment 2 will allow the legislature to require that all residence homesteads be valued only as a residence for tax appraisal purposes. Currently the standard used in valuing property is its highest and best use
which is what the property could be used for rather than what the property is being used for. The problem of residential value versus market value is when a home is near commercial property and could be sold and turned into commercial rather than a residential property. This measure will protect residential homesteads from large and unexpected increases in tax appraisals and will work in conjunction with the current appraisal increase cap and various homestead exemptions.
Amendment 3 will allow the state comptroller to create uniform standards and procedures that appraisal districts must use when valuing property. Currently each appraisal district essentially decides for itself what approaches to use in determining appraised values. This has created a situation where the same type of property is valued by different methods based on its location.
Sometimes that might work out better for a landowner but sometimes it just as likely works out for the worse. This hap-hazard approach also creates imbalances in the school finance system since the state is required to provide equitable funding and inconsistent appraisal methods make that more difficult.
Finally Amendment 5 will allow adjoining appraisal districts to create a joint or consolidated appraisal review board (though the ballot language will say board of equalization which is just the technical term for an appraisal review board.) Already appraisal districts can consolidate and this amendment will allow for a consolidated review board. It would still be at the discretion of the local districts as to whether to consolidate. Such an action could allow the districts to have lower costs overall which could be passed down to taxpayers indirectly and to also have more resources and expertise in the review process than might be available to a single stand alone review board. This could result in better appraisal reviews and a less expensive time-consuming and more fair process for property owners.
Bringing More Texas Colleges to the Top
The United States has the best colleges and universities in the world but Texas lags behind other states in having our share. In fact our state is home to only three top-rated or so-called Tier One research universities (the University of Texas at Austin Texas A&M University in College Station and Rice University in Houston). Amendment 4 will create a fund called the National Research University Fund which will be used to raise more universities in Texas up to the first tier status.
If approved by the voters the program will create the national research university fund. The fund will provide a dedicated independent and equitable source of funding (i.e. grants and other resources) for seven emerging state
research universities (UT-San Antonio UT-Arlington UT- Dallas UT-El Paso University of Houston Texas Tech and the University of North Texas) to attain Tier One status and national prominence as major research entities.
Area universities such as the University of Texas at Arlington the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of North Texas will be in very good positions to compete for funds through the program.
The United States and Texas must have outstanding research and higher education centers to compete in the global economy especially against rising economic countries such as China and India. This amendment creates a system that will incentivize more of our state colleges to improve their programs produce better educated graduates and serve as incubators of high-level research that should create economic opportunity and growth to keep Texas at the cutting edge of the worlds sciences and technologies.
Serving Those Who Served Us
There is a story I like about a teacher who came up with a compelling way to teach her students about the role sacrifice plays in preserving Americas freedom and liberty. She had all the desks in her classroom removed and as the students stood a bit bewildered she had service men and women and veterans each bring in a desk and set it in front of each student. The lesson she wanted to teach: the reason those students have the opportunities they have is in large part a result of the service and sacrifice of veterans to preserve our freedoms. I believe our veterans deserve not only our respect and gratitude but also some actual support. In fact I believe this so much; I hired a veteran to be my legislative director down in Austin! This November there will be two measures on the ballot that will assist veterans in our state.
Amendment 6 would allow the Veterans Land Board to issue bonds to finance its operations. Since 1946 voters in Texas have approved bonds for the Veterans Land Board to allow veterans to purchase land and homes in Texas.
The last such bond issue was approved by voters in 2001. While the bonds do count as a legal obligation of the state the bonds are paid off solely by the participants i.e. veterans in the loan program. When the vets pay their mortgages the bonds are paid off. As the bonds are paid off new proceeds will be able to be used to secure new bonds issued as the process becomes a self-sustaining closed-loop operation. No state tax revenues are or have ever recently been a part of the program. The Veterans Land Board is one of the states most popular programs especially since Texas is home to almost 2 million veterans. Even in the current mortgage crisis the default rate for these loans is less than one-half of one percent. This is an example of a government program that works well. I believe it deserves our continued support.
Amendment 8 would allow the state of Texas to contribute money property and other resources to establish maintain and operate veterans hospitals. Essentially it would allow the state to help create and fund VA hospitals where they currently exist or in areas where people would like a VA hospital to be created. This issue has largely been driven by the Rio Grande Valley where a large number of veterans live but the closest VA hospital is in San Antonio though the amendment is not limited in scope or impact to just the Valley. Some dispute exists as to whether the state needs a constitutional amendment to appropriate money to another governmental entity (the VA) and the bill to change state law (HB 2217) has already passed and does not need a constitutional amendment to go into effect. Nevertheless the amendment will be on the November ballot and gives the voters of the state an opportunity to decide directly whether they believe state government should fund veterans hospitals.
Supporting the Texas State Guard
Most people are familiar with the National Guard but fewer people know that Texas also has the Texas State Guard. The State Guard is an all-volunteer force that may be called upon by the governor in emergencies and largely serves as a supplement to the Texas National Guard. These individuals are trained and equipped to support community relief efforts and have become more important recently due to the extensive use of National Guard personnel in
Iraq and Afghanistan. State Guard members can fill in the gaps when National Guard members are deployed or otherwise unavailable for state service.
However there is a little wrinkle in the state constitution that has been addressed for many other types of civil service but not for members of the State Guard. The constitution prohibits people from holding two paid civil offices concurrently unless explicitly exempted from the prohibition. As an example a person could not be state representative and a member of the State Guard at the same time. Currently members of the Reserves National Guard and various other offices are already exempted from the dual office prohibition. Amendment 7 would add members of the Texas State Guard to that list.
Open Beaches
Texas has had the Open Beaches Act since 1959. That law provides that all people can access public beaches in the state and that the public beach is defined as the land between the water and the line of vegetation bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Basically the beaches in Texas are open to everyone and no
one person can control limit access to or build upon the beach because that would deny the public its right of access.
Amendment 9 seeks to put into the constitution laws and practices that have been in state statutes for decades.
What constitutes a beach has long been controversial because beaches in Texas are constantly shifting and moving. Land that was at one time not beach can become beach and vice-versa. Once an area clearly ceases to be land and becomes beach the public has a right to access it. This constant ebb and flow was dramatically illustrated after Hurricane Ike last year when huge numbers of homes were washed away or are now sitting on beaches. Legally that land is now public beach with full access by the public. This has been a source of frustration for private land owners that can see their land grow or shrink based entirely on natural forces.
4-year Terms for ESD Board Members
Amendment 10 is the result of the peculiar way we use our state Constitution. For more than 100 years we have placed a myriad of provisions in the Constitution covering a vast range of subjects. To make any change no matter how slight to any of those provisions a constitutional amendment is required. In the case of Amendment 10 the change being made will allow the state to set the term of office for emergency services district board members at up to four years.
Eminent Domain and Public Use
Eminent domain is the fancy word for when your property is taken to be used for some public purpose like a road pipeline or school. Reforming the way eminent domain is used in Texas has been a central part of my legislative efforts since I was first elected. Amendment 11 is one more step in the right direction.
The amendment covers some important areas of eminent domain that have been easily exploited and abused. The bulk of the amendment ensures that eminent domain will only be used for a genuine public purpose and that economic development and transferring land to another private party would not be allowed. Also the constitution would be changed to require that any entity seeking the right of eminent domain power must receive a two-thirds approval from each chamber of the legislature. Somewhat overlooked by many and probably the most significant change in the amendment deals with the right of government to condemn a property based on the property being blighted. The amendment would limit blight designations to a single property in question rather than allowing an entire area or neighborhood to be declared blighted.
This is a significant change to current standards and will go a long way toward ensuring that eminent domain is used only in those situations when the public use is truly valid.
community and the nation. The amendment will allow local governments to use financing methods such as bonds and tax increment financing zones to purchase land to serve as a buffer near a military base. Such a buffer would prohibit non-compatible uses and activities from butting right up to the boundary of a base.
This amendment does not require any government to do anything but merely gives local entities the authority to use various methods to purchase land around bases. An interesting outcome of creating such buffer areas is that the need to use eminent domain to condemn land for the base could be reduced since local governments could purchase land voluntarily before the problem of encroachment on military activities becomes so severe that more drastic steps must be taken. Because our district has no military base in it this amendment is not that relevant to us but it is to those communities that do have bases.
Making Property Tax Appraisals Better
Whenever the annual property tax appraisals are mailed out I tell my staff to expect an increase in calls and emails. It always seems like the appraisal districts have a generous view of what your property is worth. The appraisal is only half the story with property taxes; the tax rate itself is the other half. In 2006 the legislature addressed the rates side of the equation by lowering the rate school districts set for their operations. This past spring the legislature made changes to the appraisal side of the equation and three of the changes require constitutional amendments to implement them.
Amendment 2 will allow the legislature to require that all residence homesteads be valued only as a residence for tax appraisal purposes. Currently the standard used in valuing property is its highest and best use 
which is what the property could be used for rather than what the property is being used for. The problem of residential value versus market value is when a home is near commercial property and could be sold and turned into commercial rather than a residential property. This measure will protect residential homesteads from large and unexpected increases in tax appraisals and will work in conjunction with the current appraisal increase cap and various homestead exemptions.
Amendment 3 will allow the state comptroller to create uniform standards and procedures that appraisal districts must use when valuing property. Currently each appraisal district essentially decides for itself what approaches to use in determining appraised values. This has created a situation where the same type of property is valued by different methods based on its location.
Sometimes that might work out better for a landowner but sometimes it just as likely works out for the worse. This hap-hazard approach also creates imbalances in the school finance system since the state is required to provide equitable funding and inconsistent appraisal methods make that more difficult.
Finally Amendment 5 will allow adjoining appraisal districts to create a joint or consolidated appraisal review board (though the ballot language will say board of equalization which is just the technical term for an appraisal review board.) Already appraisal districts can consolidate and this amendment will allow for a consolidated review board. It would still be at the discretion of the local districts as to whether to consolidate. Such an action could allow the districts to have lower costs overall which could be passed down to taxpayers indirectly and to also have more resources and expertise in the review process than might be available to a single stand alone review board. This could result in better appraisal reviews and a less expensive time-consuming and more fair process for property owners.
Bringing More Texas Colleges to the Top
The United States has the best colleges and universities in the world but Texas lags behind other states in having our share. In fact our state is home to only three top-rated or so-called Tier One research universities (the University of Texas at Austin Texas A&M University in College Station and Rice University in Houston). Amendment 4 will create a fund called the National Research University Fund which will be used to raise more universities in Texas up to the first tier status.
If approved by the voters the program will create the national research university fund. The fund will provide a dedicated independent and equitable source of funding (i.e. grants and other resources) for seven emerging state 
Amendment 9 seeks to put into the constitution laws and practices that have been in state statutes for decades.
What constitutes a beach has long been controversial because beaches in Texas are constantly shifting and moving. Land that was at one time not beach can become beach and vice-versa. Once an area clearly ceases to be land and becomes beach the public has a right to access it. This constant ebb and flow was dramatically illustrated after Hurricane Ike last year when huge numbers of homes were washed away or are now sitting on beaches. Legally that land is now public beach with full access by the public. This has been a source of frustration for private land owners that can see their land grow or shrink based entirely on natural forces.
4-year Terms for ESD Board Members
Amendment 10 is the result of the peculiar way we use our state Constitution. For more than 100 years we have placed a myriad of provisions in the Constitution covering a vast range of subjects. To make any change no matter how slight to any of those provisions a constitutional amendment is required. In the case of Amendment 10 the change being made will allow the state to set the term of office for emergency services district board members at up to four years.
Eminent Domain and Public Use
Eminent domain is the fancy word for when your property is taken to be used for some public purpose like a road pipeline or school. Reforming the way eminent domain is used in Texas has been a central part of my legislative efforts since I was first elected. Amendment 11 is one more step in the right direction.
The amendment covers some important areas of eminent domain that have been easily exploited and abused. The bulk of the amendment ensures that eminent domain will only be used for a genuine public purpose and that economic development and transferring land to another private party would not be allowed. Also the constitution would be changed to require that any entity seeking the right of eminent domain power must receive a two-thirds approval from each chamber of the legislature. Somewhat overlooked by many and probably the most significant change in the amendment deals with the right of government to condemn a property based on the property being blighted. The amendment would limit blight designations to a single property in question rather than allowing an entire area or neighborhood to be declared blighted.
This is a significant change to current standards and will go a long way toward ensuring that eminent domain is used only in those situations when the public use is truly valid.
