Dateline: March 4, 2004

Democrats to vote on mandates Tuesday

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Voters in next Tuesday’s Democratic Primary will have an opportunity to speak out about the practice of state government forcing unfunded mandates on local taxpayers.

Following efforts by members of the Texas Association of Counties (TAC), Texas Democrats chose to place on their ballot a referendum to allow citizens to vote for or against a state constitutional amendment “protecting taxpayers by prohibiting state mandates that require local property tax increases.”

The amendment itself will be presented to the Legislature at its next session.

State Republican officials decided not to put a similar referendum on their ballot next Tuesday.

“While Democrats were voting to protect local taxpayers from any more of Rick Perry’s unfunded mandates, rank-and-file Republicans were buckling under to pressure from him to support additional assaults on counties across this state,” Democratic Chair Charles Soechting said.

But Donley County Judge Jack Hall said the issue goes beyond party lines and is something of which all local voters should be aware.

“I think [unfunded mandates] is an issue that is very important to this county and local taxpayers,” Hall said. “It is very important today, and it will be more important in the future.”

The Donley County Commissioners Court is in favor of a ban on unfunded mandates and passed a resolution in November in support of TAC’s efforts. More than two-thirds of Texas counties have passed similar resolutions.

“Our property taxpayers currently have no protection against state actions that force counties to raise taxes,” Hall said. “We believe a constitutional amendment would curtail many of the unfunded mandates. While legislators and state executives do not willingly intend to cause local tax increases, their actions too often result in tax hikes because they do not include statewide funding mechanisms to pay for the directives to counties.”

Many state mandated programs end up costing local taxpayers, particularly in the areas of indigent health services and judicial costs.

Donley County officials say indigent defense expenses, incurred when the county is required to pay attorneys’ fees for economically disadvantaged criminal defendants, are the most costly to local taxpayers. Treasurer Becky Jackson says the county spent $16,214 on indigent defense in the last fiscal year, of which less than 21 percent was reimbursed by the state.

While Tuesday’s vote is not for or against an amendment at this time, it will bring the issue to the attention of the Legislature, Hall said.

“This is just a step toward the future to not allow them to do this anymore.”