Showing posts with label Election 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Election 2008. Show all posts
Friday, August 22, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Resolutions for March 4th Precinct Conventions
By Faith Chatham - DFWRCC - Feb. 18, 2008
DFW Regional Concerned Citizens concurrs with TURF that these resolutions should be passed by precinct conventions across Texas on March 4th. Please print them out and take them to your Party's Precinct Caucus election day at 7:15 p.m. Present them at the Precinct Convention and urge passage of these resolutions.
By Terri Hall - TURF - Feb. 18, 2008
PLAN TO GO TO YOUR PRECINCT CONVENTION WHEN THE POLLS CLOSE
Resolutions to bring to precinct convention / caucuses that convene at your precinct immediately after the polls close on March 4:
- Eminent Domain -
RESOLUTION
Against the eminent domain abuse for toll roads
Whereas, private Texas land can be taken through eminent domain for roadways; and
Whereas, the Texas Transportation Commission, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Turnpike Authority, and Regional Mobility Authorities in
the State of Texas have proposed and signed Comprehensive Development
Agreements (CDAs), also known as public-private partnerships, that would allow
land taken through eminent domain to be leased by private companies including
foreign consortiums/entities, for private and/or commercial gain; and
Whereas, the existing Texas eminent domain law has so many loopholes andexceptions that any new or existing public roadway and road right of way canbecome part of a public-private partnership (CDA) leased and operated by
private companies, including foreign consortiums/entities, for private and/or
commercial gain;
Now, therefore, be it:
Resolved, that we urge the Legislature to close any loopholes in our
eminent domain laws that allows ANY government agency to take our private land for toll roads to be operated, leased, or managed by private companies, including foreign companies, for profit; and further be it
Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, prohibit the use of any portion of any new or existing, publicly-owned roadway facility or right of way to be operated, leased, or managed by private
companies, including foreign companies, for profit.
Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_ _ , at the Precinct Convention of Precinct
#_______,_ ____________ County of the__________________Party of Texas.
________________________________________
Name of Officer
________________________________________
Signature
- Tolling Existing Roads -
RESOLUTION
Against the Tolling of Existing Roadways in Texas
Whereas, we have already paid for our public roads and public road rights of way through the various local, State and federal taxes spent on road construction and maintenance; and
Whereas, the Texas Transportation Commission, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Turnpike Authority, and Regional Mobility Authorities in
the State of Texas have proposed the conversion of portions of existing road
facilities and/or rights of way into tolled road facilities and rights-of-way; and
Whereas, existing Texas law has so many loopholes and exceptions that any existing public roadway and road right of way can be tolled without a vote of the citizens of the county in which the facility or right of way is located; and
Whereas, the conversion of any portion of an existing public road or road right of way into a tolled roadway constitutes the double taxation of the Citizens of the State of Texas;
Now, therefore, be it:
Resolved, that we oppose the tolling of any portion of any existing, publicly owned roadway facility or right of way; and further be it
Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, prohibit the use of any portion of any existing, publicly-owned roadway facility or right of way as part of a tolled roadway facility and/or tolled right of way without the majority vote of the citizens in the county in which the existing public roadway facility or right of way is located; and further be it
Resolved, that this measure be applied immediately to ANY and ALL roadways not currently open to traffic as a toll road to prevent any proposed conversions from occurring without such a vote of the residents of the affected county.
Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_, at the Precinct Convention of Precinct
#_______,_____________County of the__________________Party of Texas.
________________________________________
Name of Officer
________________________________________
Signature
________________________________________________________________
- Market-based tolling - download resolution
RESOLUTION
Repeal Market-Based Tolling
Whereas, market-based tolls determine the highest possible toll “the market can bear;” and
Whereas, market-based tolls do not determine the toll rate based on the actual cost of construction, maintenance, and debt retirement but rather on how much profit the government can make off a given roadway; and
Whereas, this method of tolling allows the government to siphon money from motorists on one road segment to pay for other road segments;
Whereas, this method of tolling essentially applies the same problematic provisions as private equity toll roads (that are currently under a moratorium in Texas) to government toll roads by having private companies determine how much money the government can make off a roadway as if a private firm were
tolling the road;
Whereas, this method of tolling is to maximize revenue and gouge motorists with unnecessarily high toll taxation rather than about providing transportation;
Now, therefore, be it:
Resolved, that we oppose market-based tolling; and further be it
Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, prohibit the use of “market valuation” and any form of market-based
tolls; and further be it
Resolved, that this measure be applied immediately to all roads where bonds have not already been sold.
Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_ _ , at the Precinct Convention of Precinct
_______,_ ____________ County of the__________________Party of Texas.
________________________________________
Name of Officer________________________________________
Signature
- Privately-controlled toll roads -
RESOLUTION
Against the Ownership, Leasing, Operation, and Management of
Public Facilities by Private Entities
Whereas, the public facilities owned by the agencies and units of government of the State of Texas are owned, in fact, by the citizens of Texas; and
Whereas, proposals have been made to turn over the ownership, leasing, operation and/or management of existing and future public facilities in Texas to agencies, companies and/or private consortiums which are lead and primarily owned by private entities; and
Whereas, we believe that the collective public and private resources exist within the United States of America to safely, securely and efficiently own, operate and manage the public facilities owned by the citizens of the State of Texas; and
Whereas, we see no need for private firms and governments to profit from the public facilities owned by the citizens of Texas; and
Whereas, turning over for lease or ownership, the operation or management of public facilities to privately-controlled organizations represents an unnecessary financial and security risk to the citizens of the State of Texas;
Now, therefore, be it:
Resolved, that we oppose any contract between any agency or unit of government of the State of Texas and any private company or government or any private consortium including foreign firms; and further be it Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, to prohibit agencies and units of government of the State of Texas from entering into any contract with any private company or government or any private consortium including foreign firms for the purposes of transferring the ownership, leasing, operation and/or management of any Texas public facility;
and further be it
Resolved, that this measure be applied immediately to prevent any such contracts under consideration from being executed and to cancel any such existing contracts.
Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_ ____ , at the Precinct Convention of Precinct
#_______,_ ______________ County of
the__________________Party of Texas.
____________________
Name of Officer
________________________________________
Signature
DFW Regional Concerned Citizens concurrs with TURF that these resolutions should be passed by precinct conventions across Texas on March 4th. Please print them out and take them to your Party's Precinct Caucus election day at 7:15 p.m. Present them at the Precinct Convention and urge passage of these resolutions.
By Terri Hall - TURF - Feb. 18, 2008
PLAN TO GO TO YOUR PRECINCT CONVENTION WHEN THE POLLS CLOSE
Resolutions to bring to precinct convention / caucuses that convene at your precinct immediately after the polls close on March 4:
- Eminent Domain -
Against the eminent domain abuse for toll roads
Whereas, private Texas land can be taken through eminent domain for roadways; and
Whereas, the Texas Transportation Commission, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Turnpike Authority, and Regional Mobility Authorities in
the State of Texas have proposed and signed Comprehensive Development
Agreements (CDAs), also known as public-private partnerships, that would allow
land taken through eminent domain to be leased by private companies including
foreign consortiums/entities, for private and/or commercial gain; and
Whereas, the existing Texas eminent domain law has so many loopholes andexceptions that any new or existing public roadway and road right of way canbecome part of a public-private partnership (CDA) leased and operated by
private companies, including foreign consortiums/entities, for private and/or
commercial gain;
Now, therefore, be it:
Resolved, that we urge the Legislature to close any loopholes in our
eminent domain laws that allows ANY government agency to take our private land for toll roads to be operated, leased, or managed by private companies, including foreign companies, for profit; and further be it
Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, prohibit the use of any portion of any new or existing, publicly-owned roadway facility or right of way to be operated, leased, or managed by private
companies, including foreign companies, for profit.
Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_ _ , at the Precinct Convention of Precinct
#_______,_ ____________ County of the__________________Party of Texas.
________________________________________
Name of Officer
________________________________________
Signature
- Tolling Existing Roads -
Against the Tolling of Existing Roadways in Texas
Whereas, we have already paid for our public roads and public road rights of way through the various local, State and federal taxes spent on road construction and maintenance; and
Whereas, the Texas Transportation Commission, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Turnpike Authority, and Regional Mobility Authorities in
the State of Texas have proposed the conversion of portions of existing road
facilities and/or rights of way into tolled road facilities and rights-of-way; and
Whereas, existing Texas law has so many loopholes and exceptions that any existing public roadway and road right of way can be tolled without a vote of the citizens of the county in which the facility or right of way is located; and
Whereas, the conversion of any portion of an existing public road or road right of way into a tolled roadway constitutes the double taxation of the Citizens of the State of Texas;
Now, therefore, be it:
Resolved, that we oppose the tolling of any portion of any existing, publicly owned roadway facility or right of way; and further be it
Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, prohibit the use of any portion of any existing, publicly-owned roadway facility or right of way as part of a tolled roadway facility and/or tolled right of way without the majority vote of the citizens in the county in which the existing public roadway facility or right of way is located; and further be it
Resolved, that this measure be applied immediately to ANY and ALL roadways not currently open to traffic as a toll road to prevent any proposed conversions from occurring without such a vote of the residents of the affected county.
Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_, at the Precinct Convention of Precinct
#_______,_____________County of the__________________Party of Texas.
________________________________________
Name of Officer
________________________________________
Signature
________________________________________________________________
- Market-based tolling - download resolution
Repeal Market-Based Tolling
Whereas, market-based tolls determine the highest possible toll “the market can bear;” and
Whereas, market-based tolls do not determine the toll rate based on the actual cost of construction, maintenance, and debt retirement but rather on how much profit the government can make off a given roadway; and
Whereas, this method of tolling allows the government to siphon money from motorists on one road segment to pay for other road segments;
Whereas, this method of tolling essentially applies the same problematic provisions as private equity toll roads (that are currently under a moratorium in Texas) to government toll roads by having private companies determine how much money the government can make off a roadway as if a private firm were
tolling the road;
Whereas, this method of tolling is to maximize revenue and gouge motorists with unnecessarily high toll taxation rather than about providing transportation;
Now, therefore, be it:
Resolved, that we oppose market-based tolling; and further be it
Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, prohibit the use of “market valuation” and any form of market-based
tolls; and further be it
Resolved, that this measure be applied immediately to all roads where bonds have not already been sold.
Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_ _ , at the Precinct Convention of Precinct
_______,_ ____________ County of the__________________Party of Texas.
________________________________________
Name of Officer________________________________________
Signature
- Privately-controlled toll roads -
Against the Ownership, Leasing, Operation, and Management of
Public Facilities by Private Entities
Whereas, the public facilities owned by the agencies and units of government of the State of Texas are owned, in fact, by the citizens of Texas; and
Whereas, proposals have been made to turn over the ownership, leasing, operation and/or management of existing and future public facilities in Texas to agencies, companies and/or private consortiums which are lead and primarily owned by private entities; and
Whereas, we believe that the collective public and private resources exist within the United States of America to safely, securely and efficiently own, operate and manage the public facilities owned by the citizens of the State of Texas; and
Whereas, we see no need for private firms and governments to profit from the public facilities owned by the citizens of Texas; and
Whereas, turning over for lease or ownership, the operation or management of public facilities to privately-controlled organizations represents an unnecessary financial and security risk to the citizens of the State of Texas;
Now, therefore, be it:
Resolved, that we oppose any contract between any agency or unit of government of the State of Texas and any private company or government or any private consortium including foreign firms; and further be it Resolved, that the laws of the State of Texas should be amended to, without exception, to prohibit agencies and units of government of the State of Texas from entering into any contract with any private company or government or any private consortium including foreign firms for the purposes of transferring the ownership, leasing, operation and/or management of any Texas public facility;
and further be it
Resolved, that this measure be applied immediately to prevent any such contracts under consideration from being executed and to cancel any such existing contracts.
Adopted this ____day of _______, 20_ ____ , at the Precinct Convention of Precinct
#_______,_ ______________ County of
the__________________Party of Texas.
____________________
Name of Officer
________________________________________
Signature
Thursday, February 7, 2008
DFW REGIONAL CONCERNED CITIZENS ENDORSES DALE HENRY
By DFWRCC - Feb. 7, 2008ARLINGTON, TX - Feb. 7, 2008: DFW Regional Concerned Citizens, a watchdog activists group/think tank, formally endorses Dale Henry for Railroad Commissioner. DFW Regional Concerned Citizens recognized Mr. Henry last year as 2007 Texan Friend of the Environment for his service in educating citizens about safety and water conservation as gas drilling escalated in the densely populated Barnett Shale region of NCTexas. DFW Regional Concerned Citizens rarely endorses candidates in the primary, however, all of the founding members of DFWRCC voted to endorse Mr. Henry for Railroad Commissioner because of their consensus that his expertise as a safety engineer in the petroleum industry and work on milestone renewable energy projects, water conservation and research and development in technologies to increase the output of existing oil and gas wells better equips him to understand and regulate the Texas energy sector.
Mr. Henry, a retired UT Austin trained petroleum engineer, has devoted his life since retirement to pro-bono service to neighborhood and environmental citizens' groups during turbulent years when the Railroad Commission has failed to protect the environment, neighborhoods, schools and homes from industrial encroachments by gas and oil producers. Mr. Henry understands what regulations are necessary and what are excessive. He has used previous runs for Railroad Commissioner as opportunities to highlight shortcomings in the regulations which endanger and have cost lives in Texas.
It is our opinion that Mr. Henry's presence on the Railroad Commisssion will be beneficial to other members and to the citizens of this State. His belief that Railroad Commission inspectors, who currently work only weekdays, should be on-duty nights and weekends when most wells are drilled, makes sense to us. We believe that his experience in the industry will enable the Railroad Commission to understand the ramifications of how energy regulation is implemented in Texas.
Dale Henry has assisted TxSharon, a respected blogger who has documented failures of the Railroad Commission to protect citizens of North Central Texas from water contamination by Injection Wells and chemical disposal ponds. He has assisted citizens in the DFW metroplex in understanding the gas drilling/transportation process so that they could participate with their local city councils in passing stronger ordinances.
For the past three years Dale Henry has traveled the State of Texas talking with citizens and speaking out at public hearings against the Trans Texas Corridor. Mr. Henry understands the danger in running pipelines too near major traffic corridors. He objects to the exercise of eminent domain for private/public infrastructure projects. Whenever a government exercises eminent domain, the project should be totally for the public good is the message he has consistently delivered to lawmakers, citizens and the Texas Department of Transportation.
In making this endorsement, DFWRCC is stating the co-founders opinion that Mr. Henry is the best qualified candidate in either the Democratic Primary or Republican Primary to serve on the Railroad Commission at this time.
Mr. Henry, a retired UT Austin trained petroleum engineer, has devoted his life since retirement to pro-bono service to neighborhood and environmental citizens' groups during turbulent years when the Railroad Commission has failed to protect the environment, neighborhoods, schools and homes from industrial encroachments by gas and oil producers. Mr. Henry understands what regulations are necessary and what are excessive. He has used previous runs for Railroad Commissioner as opportunities to highlight shortcomings in the regulations which endanger and have cost lives in Texas.
It is our opinion that Mr. Henry's presence on the Railroad Commisssion will be beneficial to other members and to the citizens of this State. His belief that Railroad Commission inspectors, who currently work only weekdays, should be on-duty nights and weekends when most wells are drilled, makes sense to us. We believe that his experience in the industry will enable the Railroad Commission to understand the ramifications of how energy regulation is implemented in Texas.
Dale Henry has assisted TxSharon, a respected blogger who has documented failures of the Railroad Commission to protect citizens of North Central Texas from water contamination by Injection Wells and chemical disposal ponds. He has assisted citizens in the DFW metroplex in understanding the gas drilling/transportation process so that they could participate with their local city councils in passing stronger ordinances.
For the past three years Dale Henry has traveled the State of Texas talking with citizens and speaking out at public hearings against the Trans Texas Corridor. Mr. Henry understands the danger in running pipelines too near major traffic corridors. He objects to the exercise of eminent domain for private/public infrastructure projects. Whenever a government exercises eminent domain, the project should be totally for the public good is the message he has consistently delivered to lawmakers, citizens and the Texas Department of Transportation.
In making this endorsement, DFWRCC is stating the co-founders opinion that Mr. Henry is the best qualified candidate in either the Democratic Primary or Republican Primary to serve on the Railroad Commission at this time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
