Dear Editor,

The October 16th edition of The Freestone County Times printed an article on the state amendments in the November 5th election.  While most of the material was well researched and written, there was one description that I feel was a little misleading.  It was the discussion of Proposition 4, “The constitutional prohibiting the imposition of an individual income tax, including a tax on an individual’s share of partnerships and unincorporated association income.”  The article in the Times said that “Proposition 4, if passed, will ban enacting a state income tax on individuals…”
This could be a little misleading because the wording of the proposition is rather convoluted.  Currently, our Constitution does not stop the state from imposing and collecting a state income tax.  Section 24, Article 8, says that a state income tax can be imposed if it is approved by a simple majority vote of the people.
Proposition 4 makes two definitive changes to this process.  First, it proposes a constitutional amendment, not just a law, to prohibit the state from imposing a state income tax.  If passed, future imposition of an income tax could only be accomplished by another constitutional amendment.  To become a Constitutional Amendment, it would require a two-thirds vote of each house before it could go to the people for ratification.  So, the proposition is changing the creation of a state income tax from a simple majority vote by the people to a two-thirds vote by our representatives and then a majority vote of the people.
Secondly, under the current Constitution, Article 8, Section 24 (f) says “In the first year in which a [state income] tax . is imposed . not less than two-thirds of all net revenues . shall be used . for the support of primary and secondary public education.”  If a state income tax is ever created in Texas, according to the Constitution, a majority of the money would go to education.  The same would hold true in subsequent years.    Under Proposition 4, there is no such clause, leaving the usage of the funds collected by the tax up to the discretion of the elected officials.
There are plenty of pundits around who will be glad to tell us how to vote. But that isn’t our position.  We trust that the voters of Freestone County will research the amendment, look over the Constitution as it is now and make their decision on how to vote.  We only want to help make more transparent what the voters are being asked to approve.

Richard O’Dell – County Chairman
Freestone County Democratic Party