Lubbock City Council Ties Vote on Proposition Resolution

At their meeting Thursday morning, the Lubbock City Council deadlocked on a resolution supporting a Texas constitutional amendment currently being voted on.

The council voted 3 to 3 over the resolution, which would support Proposition 2, a Texas constitutional amendment, which would authorize the issuance of additional general obligation bonds by the Texas Water Development Board.

An explanation and ballot wording from www.votexas.org is included below.

SJR 4 would amend the constitution to authorize the Texas Water Development Board to issue additional general obligation bonds on a continuing basis for one or more accounts of the Texas Water Development Fund II, with the restriction that the total amount of bonds outstanding at any time does not exceed $6 billion.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows:  “The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of additional general obligation bonds by the Texas Water Development Board in an amount not to exceed $6 billion at any time outstanding.”

District 4 Councilman Paul R. Beane was the first to speak out against the resolution, saying “”While I have already voted early and voted in support of Proposition 2, I’m going to be casting a ‘no’ vote on this issue, mainly because I don’t think it’s the job of this body to be telling or even suggesting other folks how to vote.”

District 1 Councilman Victor Hernandez said that while he does not see a problem with the Council recommending Propositions, he believes that recommending just one is not enough.

“It would seem to me, logical to make a recommendation as to all of the others. It just kind of looks like you’re picking and choosing as opposed to dealing with all of the issues,” Hernandez said.

District 5 Councilwoman Karen Gibson voiced her support for the resolution supporting the Proposition, saying “I think we as a council can support something and not tell people how to vote.”

District 6 Councilman Jim Gilbreath, District 2 Councilman Floyd Price, and Gibson supported the measure.

Hernandez, Beane, and District 3 Councilman Klein voted against the measure. The deadlocked vote results in a failure of that resolution.

Mayor Tom Martin, who placed the resolution on the agenda, was absent from the meeting.