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This week’s column will be the eighth in a series outlining the proposed constitutional amendments on which Texas voters will decide on November 5. These amendments were joint resolutions that were passed during the recent legislative session; however, because they change the Texas Constitution, they need state-wide voter approval before they can take effect. This information is taken from a report by the House Research Organization, a nonpartisan agency that provides information to the legislature.
Amendment No. 8 (H.J.R. 147)
The constitutional amendment repealing Section 7, Article IX, Texas Constitution, which relates to the creation of a hospital district in Hidalgo County.
Texas voters in 1960 approved a constitutional amendment that authorized the Legislature to create special hospital districts in certain counties, including one in Hidalgo County at a maximum tax rate of 10 cents per $100 valuation of taxable property value. Two years later, voters approved the addition of Article 9, section 9 to the Texas Constitution, which allows the Legislature to provide for the creation of hospital districts composed of one or more counties, or all or any part of one or more counties, at a rate of up to 75 cents. Proposition 8 would repeal the section of the Texas Constitution approved in 1960, which authorizes the creation of a hospital district in Hidalgo County at a maximum tax rate of 10 cents.
Supporters of Proposition 8 say the tax rate available to Hildalgo County is far lower than the rate available to other Texas counties, and repealing this provision in the Constitution would allow Hidalgo County to create a hospital district under the more favorable conditions available to other counties. Hidalgo is the largest county in Texas without a hospital district and the only one in the state required to have a maximum tax rate of 10 cents per $100 property valuation for a hospital district. Other Texas counties have shown the ability to operate successful hospital districts with tax rates that range on average between 20 and 40 cents per $100 property valuation.
Opponents of Proposition 8 say it opens the door to an increase in taxes for Hidalgo County property owners. The new tax rate for a hospital district in Hidalgo County could be set as high as 75 cents per $100 property valuation. Further, they say proliferation of hospital and other special purpose
districts has had the undesirable consequence of fragmenting local government and increasing its administrative complexity. This can result in taxpayer confusion about how their tax dollars are being spent. Some say a better solution would be to remove constitutional limitations on the taxing power of counties and cities.
You can view a complete list of the proposed constitutional amendments with analyses online at www.hro.house.state.tx.us. For more information regarding these propositions, you can contact my office by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by emailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us. My district office phone number is (903) 891-7297.