HOLIDAY PARTY SET FOR DEC. 15

Please mark your calendars for December 15 for the LWV-Denton holiday party. We will do program planning and have fun at the home of Roni Beasley, 3808 Montecito Road. Please bring finger food to share and Roni will provide something to drink.

You can reach the Beasley home from Ryan Road, turning north on Montecito. The house is on the left side of the street, shortly before the intersection with Seville Road.

Linnie McAdams
Organization VP

PROGRAM PLANNING FOR LWV-TEXAS ON AGENDA

At our holiday party we will take time to discuss the program statements currently held by the League of Women Voters of Texas (a.k.a. the State League). We will quickly review current state program and recommend to the state board whether to retain, drop, restudy, or update the positions. This is a great opportunity to review positions held at the state level and to express the opinion of the Denton League.

This will also be our chance to propose new studies at the state level.

The State Board recommends to the membership a change in the Judicial Selection position and requests concurrence with the change. During the recent legislative session the League was unable to fully participate in the debate on proposed legislation because our position on judicial selection did not address some issues. We will have a fuller explanation at our party.

On the next page is an outline of current positions held at the state level. It would be very helpful if you glance over them and bring this Voter with you to the party. For more details, go to the web site of the state League and click on “We Support.”

Peg LaPoint
Program VP

STATE PROGRAM POSITIONS IN BRIEF

GOVERNMENT

1. Election Laws and Voting Rights: Action to protect the right of every citizen to vote.

2. Executive, Legislative, and Judicial: Action to achieve an efficient, effective, and responsive state governmental system.

3. Financing State Government: Action to achieve a flexible, coordinated state financial structure with equitable taxation and increased accountability.

4. Intestacy: Action to maintain equitable intestacy laws.

5. Political Campaign Process: Action to achieve a more competitive, less expensive and fairer system of electing candidates to office.

6. Public School Financing: Action to achieve a high quality education for all Texas public school children through an equitable school finance system.

7. Redistricting: Action to achieve an effective method for congressional and state legislative redistricting.

8. State-Local Relations: Action to achieve more flexible structures and adequate powers at the regional and local level.

9. Texas Constitutional Revision: Action to achieve revision of the Texas Constitution.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

1. Criminal Justice and Capital Punishment: Action to achieve and equitable system of criminal justice in Texas.

2. Juvenile Justice: Action to achieve an effective state juvenile justice system and to prevent juvenile violence crime.

3. Spousal Rape: Action to assure equal treatment for all sexual assault victims.

SOCIAL POLICY/HUMAN RESOURCES

1. Child Abuse and Neglect: Action to achieve the development and implementation of adequate legislation, policies, services, and programs to protect children from abuse in their families and homes.

2. Child Care: Action to achieve policies, legislation, and programs that address the needs of all Texas children and families for accessible, affordable, and quality child care.

3. Child Support Enforcement: Action to achieve equitable and efficient means of enforcing court orders for child support.

4. Domestic Violence: Action to reduce the incidence of domestic violence, to alleviate its effects, and to enhance enforcement of the law.

5. Equal Opportunity/Income Assistance: Action to achieve equal rights for all, combat discrimination and poverty, and provide equal access to housing, employment, and quality education in Texas.

6. Health Care for the Medically Indigent: Action to achieve a basic level of health care for the medically indigent.

7. Health Care System for Older Texans: Action to create a comprehensive health care system for older Texans that ensures a seamless continuum of quality care.

8. Immigration: Action to achieve adequate state funding and support for local, public, and private programs that meet the special needs of immigrant populations and development and utilization of an immigration status verification system that protects privacy and ensures accuracy.

9. Post-Divorce Payments: Action to enable courts to award appropriate post-divorce payments.

10. Services for the Seriously Mentally Ill: Action to achieve for all persons who are seriously mentally ill the right to have access to services designed to help them reach and maintain an optimal level of functioning in the least restrictive environment.

NATURAL RESOURCES

1. Water: Action to achieve conservation, protection, and judicious development of surface and groundwater resources through a comprehensive state water plan.

2. Air: Action to achieve improvement of air quality through effective standards and strict enforcement.

3. Land Use: Action to achieve conservation and judicious development of land resources through a comprehensive land use policy that assures adequate protection of the environment, improvement of the quality of life, and wise use of our natural resources.

PROPOSING A NEW STUDY

Some suggested criteria for evaluating ideas for new state studies include:
Is there member interest statewide or can it be generated?
Is this the critical time for the issue? Remember "cutting edge."
Is state government action required?
Will the League's involvement make a critical impact?
Is funding for the study likely to be available?
Is the issue likely to attract new members?
Is this local League willing to devote time and energy to studying the issue?

For a new study, local Leagues need to recruit a local study committee that plans how to inform members of the issue, how to conduct the consensus, and how to use the study information locally. All of the above require a commitment of volunteer leadership, time, and money.

Peg LaPoint
Program VP