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Friday
November 20, 2009 Since 1922 |
Texans OK amendments
Associated Press
Baytown Sun Published November 4, 2009 AUSTIN, Texas — Texas voters on Tuesday passed a proposition limiting the government’s eminent domain powers and another creating a fund for more top-tier research universities, along with nine other constitutional amendments on the ballot.
Proposition 11 — the eminent domain amendment supported by the Texas Farm Bureau, Gov. Rick Perry and Perry’s Republican rival, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison — had 81 percent of the vote favoring it and 19 percent against, with more than half of all precincts reporting.
A proposition to guarantee public access to beaches and another to help build veterans hospitals also sailed to passage.
Those were the highest-profile propositions in a low-key statewide election.
Only spotty opposition emerged to any of the proposed amendments.
Proposition 4 aims to create a national research university fund out of $500 million in existing state money. Currently, Texas has three top-level research universities: the University of Texas at Austin; Texas A&M University and Rice University. Seven other Texas universities are vying to achieve so-called Tier One status.
“Tonight’s passage of Proposition 4 sends this important message: Texans understand that more nationally recognized research universities will help retain Texas-grown talent, recruit top researchers who will generate billions of dollars in economic growth and create more high paying, permanent jobs,” said former Lt. Governor Bill Hobby, co-chair of Texans for Tier One.
Proposition 11 to limit eminent domain powers will state in the constitution that governments in Texas are prevented from seizing private property and giving it to a private developer to boost the tax base.
In other elections:
• GOP wins Virginia governor’s race: Republican Bob McDonnell tapped Virginia’s independent voters Tuesday to win a landslide election for governor just a year after the state bucked tradition and voted for Barack Obama.
• Republican Christie captures NJ governor’s seat: Chris Christie, an aggressive former prosecutor who racked up a perfect conviction rate in public corruption cases and became the darling of New Jersey’s Republican Party establishment, has unseated the deep-pocketed but unpopular Gov. Jon Corzine. Christie, 47, on Tuesday became the first member of his party in a dozen years to win a statewide contest in heavily Democratic New Jersey.
Baytown Sun Published November 4, 2009 AUSTIN, Texas — Texas voters on Tuesday passed a proposition limiting the government’s eminent domain powers and another creating a fund for more top-tier research universities, along with nine other constitutional amendments on the ballot.
Proposition 11 — the eminent domain amendment supported by the Texas Farm Bureau, Gov. Rick Perry and Perry’s Republican rival, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison — had 81 percent of the vote favoring it and 19 percent against, with more than half of all precincts reporting.
A proposition to guarantee public access to beaches and another to help build veterans hospitals also sailed to passage.
Those were the highest-profile propositions in a low-key statewide election.
Only spotty opposition emerged to any of the proposed amendments.
Proposition 4 aims to create a national research university fund out of $500 million in existing state money. Currently, Texas has three top-level research universities: the University of Texas at Austin; Texas A&M University and Rice University. Seven other Texas universities are vying to achieve so-called Tier One status.
“Tonight’s passage of Proposition 4 sends this important message: Texans understand that more nationally recognized research universities will help retain Texas-grown talent, recruit top researchers who will generate billions of dollars in economic growth and create more high paying, permanent jobs,” said former Lt. Governor Bill Hobby, co-chair of Texans for Tier One.
Proposition 11 to limit eminent domain powers will state in the constitution that governments in Texas are prevented from seizing private property and giving it to a private developer to boost the tax base.
In other elections:
• GOP wins Virginia governor’s race: Republican Bob McDonnell tapped Virginia’s independent voters Tuesday to win a landslide election for governor just a year after the state bucked tradition and voted for Barack Obama.
• Republican Christie captures NJ governor’s seat: Chris Christie, an aggressive former prosecutor who racked up a perfect conviction rate in public corruption cases and became the darling of New Jersey’s Republican Party establishment, has unseated the deep-pocketed but unpopular Gov. Jon Corzine. Christie, 47, on Tuesday became the first member of his party in a dozen years to win a statewide contest in heavily Democratic New Jersey.