Empower Texans’ Michael Quinn Sullivan Discusses Importance Of Texas Constitutional Amendments [AUDIO]

On the Tuesday edition of The Chad Hasty Show, Michael Quinn Sullivan from Empower Texans talked with Chad Hasty about the real story behind some of the Texas constitutional amendments.

Early voting started yesterday for several constitutional amendments in the state of Texas. Sullivan said that voter turnout for these kinds of votes is usually fairly low, but added that these amendments are very important. Some of the biggest amendments Sullivan addressed were Propositions 1 and 4, which would provide property tax exemptions for surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action and for disabled veterans, respectively.

However, Sullivan did take issue with Proposition 6, which would take two billion dollars out the state's "rainy day" fund in order to entice local governments to come up with various water plans. He explained that the biggest problem he has with this amendment is that there are no limitations on how that money can be spent, and that there's no protection against local government using that money frivolously.

"There are no real limitations on how the dollars can then be spent by those local governments. That was one of the real concerns I raised during the debate about Proposition 6
in the legislature that there weren't sufficient protections on the spending. You've got an unelected board that's going to be rubber stamping...the applications that come
through without a real clear definition as to what does and doesn't fit into the overall state water plan."

Sullivan continued to explains that many people think of the "rainy day" fund as a sort of emergency reserves, when the fact is that's not what it was created for at all. He also added that the problem with the state's water plan is not that they don't have enough money, and that legislators have been throwing money at the water plan for years. Sullivan said that the real problem is getting the water to the places that truly need it.

Early voting continues today throughout the state of Texas. The last day of early voting will be November 1st.

For more information on Empower Texas: Texas For Fiscal Responsibility, visit their website at empowertexans.com. You can also follow Michael Quinn Sullivan on Twitter: @MQSullivan.

Listen to the full interview with Michael Quinn Sullivan here: