Home Rule Information

Laguna Vista Proposed Home Rule Concerns

ü  Raises the tax ceiling from 1.5% to 2.5%  (TX Constitution, article 11, section 5)

ü  Grants the town eminent domain rights (charter, page 11, section 1.05 at the bottom of the page (pg. 2 of mailed copy))

ü  Allows referendum (ordinance recall), however – (charter page 34 (page 25 of mailed copy)), “This power shall not extend to any Ordinance regarding the budget, capital program, appropriating money or levying taxes. Ordinances regarding zoning, emergency issues or bonds approved at a prior election shall not be subject to Referendum.”

 ü  Allows initiative (ordinance proposal), however – (charter page 33 at the bottom (page 24 of mailed copy)), “This power does not extend to Ordinances appropriating money or levying of taxes, the budget, capital program or salaries of City officers or employees.”       

ü  For items that may be eligible for referendum or initiative, petitions must be gathered with 20% of the registered voters. (charter page 34 section 8.03 (pg. 25 of mailed copy))

ü  Charter can only be amended every 2 years. (TX Constitution, article 11, at the end of section 5) with 10% of the registered voters (charter page 43 first paragraph (pg. 34 of mailed copy)).  The state calls out 5%  (Texas local government code, Title 2, Subtitle A, Chapter 9.004 (a))

We do not technically have over 5,000 people in our town as the state requires to switch to Home Rule.  Since a census was just released showing that there are 3,117 inhabitants (1,883 short), there is no logical need for an estimate that shows we have over 5,000 (that we know is inaccurate).

For items that may be eligible for referendum or initiative, why is the number of signatures needed on the petition 20% of the registered voters?  As of January, 2011 a report from the county shows there are 2,082 voters in Laguna Vista.  Therefore, even if an item was not excluded from initiative or referendum, it would still have to overcome the substantial hurdle of needing a very large number of signatures on a petition.  It would be better to require a lower percentage based on the number of voters that participated in the last election.   The list of registered voters may contain people that have moved or passed away (and it does).   This is a known problem - A report in the Washington Times on September 3, 2010 states that 12 Texas counties have more registered voters than those of voting age.   

Home rule related websites:

Proposed Home Rule Charter - http://www.lvtexas.com/upload/156.pdf

Texas State Constitution - http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/docs/cn/htm/cn.11.htm

Texas local government code - http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/LG/htm/LG.9.htm 

An interesting report on initiative and referendum

Map full         Map Laguna Vista Section         Map Legend

Theodore Roosevelt:  “I believe in the initiative and referendum which should be used not to destroy representative government, but to correct it whenever it becomes misrepresentative.”  “Charter of Democracy” Speech, 1912.

Abraham Lincoln:  “Government is of the people, for the people and by the people.”  Referendum is recall of government if the government does not act in a responsible way.