How often does it happen that citizens gather enough petition signatures to force a city charter amendment to appear on the ballot? Apparently too often, according to Republican State Senator Jeff Wentworth.
Wentworth has filed legislation (SB 690) that would raise the petition requirement, currently five percent of registered voters, to ten percent of registered voters. In cities with more than 400,000 registered voters, there is a lower signature requirement, a fixed number of 20,000 signatures. SB 690 would eliminate this lower threshold for large cities.
Of course this bill pertains only to home-rule cities, which are the vast majority of cities in Texas with more than 5,000 residents, cities whose voters have the right of initiative as it pertains to the city charter.
I am at a loss to understand why any legislator would want to make local government less responsive to the voters!
At this year's state convention, the resolutions committee approved what was probably a record-breaking number of resolutions (approximately 100). Although most of these didn't come up for a vote on the convention floor, the remainder have been sent for consideration by the State Democratic Executive Committee.
The temporary resolutions committee met two weeks before the convention and considered the approximately 2,000 resolutions approved by county or senatorial district conventions. This task would have been nearly impossible without the monumental work by Carl Betancourt. He prepared for the meeting by organizing all the resolutions by topic, and determined how many senatorial districts had passed each resolution.
At the temporary resolutions committee meeting, which was chaired by SDEC committeeman Dr. Dennis Teal, members divided up the topic folders of resolutions, selecting what they felt were the best resolutions for the committee to vote upon. About 180 were recommended to the permanent resolutions committee. Resolutions on matters pertaining to the party rules were forwarded to the rules committee. Resolutions concerning the primacaucus or superdelegates will be forwarded to an ad hoc committee chaired by State Senator Royce West, whose committee will recommend rules changes for the 2010 convention. The 180 resolutions recommended to the permanent resolutions committee were photocopied, with one copy going to each member of the permanent committee. Those that were not recommended, including those that were not selected for a vote, were kept in the folders so that the permanent resolutions committee members could still act on them, if they chose to do so. An index was compiled of those resolutions recommended to the permanent committee.
The permanent resolutions committee, consisting of one member elected from each of the 31 senatorial districts, and three members appointed by State Party Chair Boyd Richie (one of these appointees being Vince Leibowitz) met on Saturday, June 7 from 8:00 am to nearly 6:00 pm, with a 30-minute recess during the state party chair vote, and two 5-minute breaks. Dr. Teal chaired the permanent committee also, and the committee was greatly assisted by SDEC committeeman Bill Perkison, who had compiled a database to track all of the resolutions.
The operating procedure for the permanent resolutions committee was for each member in turn to offer a single resolution for discussion and a vote. When necessary, a subcommittee was created to rewrite the resolution and bring it back for a vote. We managed to get through only three and a half rounds, so that each committee member had a chance to offer at most four resolutions for a vote. About a hundred resolutions were approved by the committee, a result that could not have been achieved without the extensive work of Mr. Betancourt and Mr. Perkison, the skilled leadership of Dr. Teal, and the dedication of committee members to do their business expediently.
A few months ago I wrote a guide to resolutions in which I explained that resolutions could be introduced at the state convention by petition of 20% of the delegates.
I may have been mistaken about this. While the Rules of the Texas Democratic Party state quite clearly that the petition requires signatures of 20% of the delegates (Article IV section A.7), elsewhere the rules require signatures from 30% of the delegates (Article IV section D.5.e.4), a [insert expletive here] how-do-you-do to those Democrats who are so committed to a cause that they would attempt to gather petition signatures from 1,458 (20%) of the state convention's 7,290 delegates!
(Mark's got some great work done here to make the process as transparent as possible. We encourage others to read through the resolutions here, share thoughts and concerns, and help everyone think through the best resolutions possible. Additionally, we encourage those from other Senate Districts to post similar posts for their Senate District. We're working on a "County Convention" box where we will help track everything. - promoted by Phillip Martin)
This post constitutes the report of the SD 26 Resolutions Committee. With the permission of the BOR staff, and as chair of the committee, I am posting the SD 26 resolutions here so that:
Everyone will have the opportunity to read and discuss the resolutions before the convention takes place.
Democrats outside of SD 26 are welcome to express their views on these issues of statewide significance. (Our party can withstand healthy discussions on important issues, even when there isn't a consensus of opinion!)
Democrats across Texas will recognize the potential of the resolutions process in amplifying the voice of the grassroots of the party, as we have this opportunity to express our views collectively only once every two years. Because delegates assembled in convention represent the highest level of authority within the Texas Democratic Party, we can expect our elected Democratic representatives in state and federal government to pay attention.
There should be transparency in the actions of our committee. Our intent is to allow good ideas to defy gravity and float to the top, even if they began with only a single precinct.
The precinct conventions are about to take place, so it is worth noting that the purpose of electing delegates and alternates is that they should represent their candidate at the county convention or senatorial district convention on Saturday, March 29 (time and location to be announced by your county Democratic Party). It is wise to ask people before electing them for this important duty whether they will be able to attend on March 29. If they don't, an alternate will be chosen in their place.
As the Rules of the Texas Democratic Party specify, delegates who will be absent should choose which alternate elected from their precinct convention will take their place. They should choose from the same presidential preference, if possible.
If the delegate fails to choose which alternate would take his or her place, then the entire delegation from that precinct will choose which of the elected alternates will take the delegate's place, choosing from the same presidential preference, if possible.
It's clearly in the best interest of the caucus that they elect delegates who will either attend the March 29 convention or fulfill their duty of choosing which alternate will replace them. Keep this in mind when you elect delegates at your precinct convention tonight!
With all the attention that Tuesday night's precinct convention (or caucus, or "Texas Two-Step" part 2) is getting, there's going to be an enormous turnout at polling places at 7:15 pm on March 4, because so much is at stake.
It is crucial that each convention be conducted properly, because 67 national convention delegates will be elected through the process that begins with the precinct conventions in Texas. Every precinct throughout the state is in need of a precinct convention chair who understands the rules and can run the convention properly.
This precinct convention chair doesn't have to be the "precinct chair" who was elected in 2006, or a candidate for precinct chair whose term, if elected, will begin this year on April 28. Any Democrat who participates in the precinct convention can be elected as the permanent convention chair. And, if you know what needs to be done, that could be you.
The Rules Committee of the Bexar County Democratic Party has created an online training session on precinct convention procedures. Check it out here.
(While I contributed to this training module, the principal creators were Zada True-Courage, Ian Straus, Larry Meads, Dick Waits, and Nancy Timmer-Froment. My congratulations to them on a job well done!)
(Interesting and good to know... - promoted by Matt Glazer)
You have a right to take part in the precinct convention of your party if you voted in the 2008 primary for that same party. Your work schedule cannot interfere with that right. Here's what the Texas Election Code says:
ยง 161.007. UNLAWFULLY PROHIBITING EMPLOYEE FROM ATTENDING POLITICAL CONVENTION.
(a) A person commits an offense if, with respect to another over whom the person has authority in the scope of employment, the person knowingly:
(1) refuses to permit the other person to be absent from work for the purpose of attending a precinct convention in which the other person is eligible to participate or attending a county, district, or state convention to which the other person is a delegate; or
(2) subjects or threatens to subject the other person to a penalty for the purpose of preventing or retaliating for the other person's attendance at a precinct convention in which the other person is eligible to participate or for the other person's attendance at a county, district, or state convention to which the other person is a delegate.
(b) In this section, "penalty" means a loss or reduction of wages or other benefit of employment other than a deduction for the actual time of absence from work.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
The primary election in Texas is only weeks away, and on the same night of March 4 the convention process begins with precinct conventions held at every polling place at 7:15 p.m. (7:30 p.m. for Republicans). A lot of attention will be placed on these precinct conventions as a way for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to pick up additional delegates. (For Phillip Martin's explanation of the process, click here: Part 1 and Part 2.)
But there's more to the precinct convention than just choosing a presidential candidate. Those who attend the precinct convention also have a chance to influence the party platform and to advocate specific legislative agenda through the resolutions process. (For my guide to resolutions in the Texas Democratic Party convention process, click here. The Republican Party of Texas follows a similar process.) Once every two years, the grassroots of the party have the opportunity to express their views collectively rather than individually, and this collective voice should be taken seriously by Democratic lawmakers.
If you want to introduce a resolution on an issue that is important to you, you don't necessarily need to write the resolution from scratch. You might find something on the internet. For example, if you want a resolution on global warming, try a Google search for "global warming" and "whereas," because resolutions invariably include the word "whereas." You can edit the resolution as you see fit, and close it with "Submitted to and Adopted by Precinct ____ in ____________ County, Texas, Senatorial District _____ on March 4, 2008" and add a signature line for the precinct convention secretary. If your resolution will call for specific legislation to be enacted, include a "resolved" clause with wording similar to this: "BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Texas Democratic Party urges the Congressional delegation from Texas to draft and support legislation" establishing whatever provisions you seek.
As I explained in my earlier posting, resolutions have a much better chance of rising to the level of the state convention if they are introduced in multiple counties and senatorial districts, and for that reason it is a good idea to circulate your proposed resolutions prior to March 4 through the website of a sponsoring organization.
I believe that the Burnt Orange Report is an appropriate place to post resolutions for use at Democratic precinct conventions in Texas, and my intention is to use this thread to share resolutions I have received that in my judgement are worth disseminating statewide. Most of these resolutions could also be used in the Republican convention process (far be it from me to try to stop Republicans from stealing our legislative goals!) if the language is modified appropriately (for example, substituting "Republican Party of Texas" in place of "Texas Democratic Party"). Remember that you can modify the language of the resolution any way you see fit, and if at any level of the convention process the same resolution arrives in multiple versions, the Resolutions Committee will decide which version will move forward, or the Resolutions Committee may combine different versions into a new one.
Purposes of a resolution 1. To memorialize someone recently deceased.
2. To congratulate a person or group.
3. To amend the Rules of the Texas Democratic Party (TDP).
4. To amend the TDP Platform.
5. To urge Democratic elected officials, especially in the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress, to advocate certain positions on policy issues. As the delegates assembled at the state convention are the highest authority within the TDP, such resolutions should carry weight with elected officials as the consensus of the grassroots of the party.
Structure of a resolution 1. Give the resolution a title that indicates not merely the topic, but also the position to be advocated (i.e., instead of "Resolution on Vouchers for Texas Schools," it would be better to put "Resolution Opposing Vouchers for Texas Schools").
2. List the reasons for the resolution at the beginning, each reason being in a separate paragraph beginning with the word "whereas" (capitalized, italicized or in boldface).
3. List each action to be taken in separate paragraphs introduced by the words "be it resolved" (capitalized, italicized or in boldface).
4. Use semicolons to separate each paragraph, and avoid periods. A well-written resolution should consist grammatically of a single sentence.
5. Keep the resolution brief. It should fit easily on a single page.
6. At the end of the resolution, write: "Submitted to and Adopted by Precinct ___ in ____ County, Texas, Senatorial District ___, on March 2, 2010" and leave a signature line for the precinct convention secretary, who will sign it if the precinct convention adopts the resolution.
Example of a well-written resolution:
WHEREAS we believe every Texan has the right to participate fully and equally in society and enjoy its benefits and freedoms; and
WHEREAS lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Texans suffer pervasive discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and education because of homophobia and a lack of legal protection; and
WHEREAS non-discrimination laws help to ensure that LGBT people have equal access to the same opportunities and protections granted to others, such as the ability to work in an environment where people are judged by their job performance, not their sexual orientation or gender identity; and
WHEREAS the State of Texas does not have a statewide non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation and gender identity,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Texas Democratic Party supports the passage of comprehensive non-discrimination legislation that would make discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity illegal in employment, housing, education and public accommodations.
Submitted to and Adopted by Precinct 2084 in Bexar County, Texas, Senatorial District 26, on March 7, 2006.
Process by which resolutions move forward 1. Someone has an idea for a resolution and writes it up.
2. Priority is given when the same resolution comes from multiple counties or senatorial districts. It would be a good idea to share your resolution with others who live in different precincts and in other parts of the state. Sponsoring organizations might post a resolution on their website.
3. The resolution is introduced at the precinct convention on the evening of March 2, 2010.
4. If the resolution passes, it will be included in the convention packet that must be delivered to the county chair within three days after the convention.
5. The next level is the county convention (or in the case of counties having multiple senatorial districts such as Bexar County and Travis County, the next level is the senatorial district convention).
6. The Resolutions Committee will meet prior to that convention. They can amend a resolution, combine it with other similar resolutions, or vote it down.
7. The county convention or senatorial district convention will consider all the resolutions recommended by the Resolutions Committee. Those that pass will proceed to the state convention.
8. A Temporary Resolutions Committee will consist of members of the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC). They will organize the resolutions submitted for the state convention. They can pull out any resolution they don't like unless it has come from multiple counties or senatorial districts.
9. Resolutions that are not statewide in significance (except for memorial or congratulatory resolutions) will not be considered at the state convention.
10. Resolutions concerning TDP Rules or the TDP Platform will be referred to the Rules Committee or the Platform Committee.
11. At the state convention, each senatorial district elects one member for each of various committees, such as the Permanent Resolutions Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Platform Committee, and others.
12. If the Permanent Resolutions Committee works expediently, they will consider all of the submitted resolutions, combine them with others as possible, and then refer them for a vote on the convention floor. If they waste time, worthy resolutions will fall by the wayside.
13. At the state convention, other resolutions may be introduced that haven't come through a county or senatorial district convention by petition of 20% of the delegates (using the proper form).
14. Resolutions passed by the state convention will be sent by the SDEC to the Democrats elected to the Texas Legislature and U.S. Congress, as appropriate. Hopefully our representatives, whom we work so hard to get elected, will pay attention to us!
