Texas Voters Must Know the Truth about PROPOSTION 4

Hello everyone,

We need your help. Early Voting for the November 6th General Election starts on October 22nd. In less than one week, Texans must decide on 16 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution that the 80th Legislature forwarded to voters.

The attached information will explain why Texas must VOTE NO on PROP. 4.

PROPOSITION 4 calls for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to construct as many as three new prisons. There is simply no need for new prison construction, and TDCJ has failed to adequately manage the prisons it has already constructed. In fact, TDCJ has failed to hire enough prison guards to adequately staff current facilities.

Texas already has the flexibility—without PROP. 4—to contract for additional beds, as needed. By contracting with (local jurisdictions?) for beds, taxpayers can avoid the massive cost of new prison construction.

The 80th Legislature set up a system of prison diversions so that the construction of new adult facilities would be unnecessary. These diversions have not yet been fully implemented because the Legislative Budget Board has not completed the fiscal analysis required for implementation of new diversion programs.

But the criminal justice concerns aside, PROP. 4 would give voters no future say over how bond proceeds would be allocated or spent. Because PROP 4 is worded as a vote on the entire bond package, voters would have no clear indication of how the money would be divided among individual projects. PROP. 4 sets aside $300 million—with no specific purpose!

Proposition 4 does call for much-needed expansion of facilities of the Texas Youth Commission, the Texas Department of State Health Services, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, and the Texas School for the Deaf—to mention only a few. However, the negative aspects of Prop. 4 far outweigh these positive concessions.

Vote NO on Prop. 4. State lawmakers should go back to the drawing board and come up with a better plan that doesn’t waste valuable tax dollars on unnecessary expenses.

Sincerely,

Ana Yáñez-Correa
Executive Director
Office: 512.441.8123 Ext. 109

flyer on Prop 4.doc
37k Download

Notes on Constitutional Amendment
31K Download

Senator Whitmire:
http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist15/dist15.htm