Texans need and deserve the power of initiative By Senator Jane Nelson of Flower Mound, Texas Austin American-Statesman, April 4, 1996

We may soon see a long-awaited change in Texas government. Next year's legislative session may finally give Texans the tools of initiative and referendum - a process that empowers the people as the fourth branch of government.

Initiative lets citizens bypass the Legislature by placing laws on the ballot through a petition process.  Referendum is a similar procedure that allows citizens to call for a popular vote on laws passed by the Legislature.  The combined powers of initiative and referendum - I&R for short - can put Texans back in control of their government.

In the past two legislative sessions, I have offered I&R bills.  Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock recently asked me to chair the Senate Interim Committee on Initiative and Referendum, which will make a recommendation for the 1997 session.

Some legislators and editorialists seem to fear that I&R gives too much power to the people.  Defenders of the status quo come up with an endless series of objections to this important change. Let me answer some of these questions head on.

Doesn't I&R undermine representative democracy?  No. In our democratic republic, elected officials represent constituents at a variety of levels and carry on the day-to-day tasks of governing and lawmaking.  I&R injects a limited form of direct democracy but does not replace our representative system.  I&R would supplement representative democracy.

I&R doesn't require the voters to quit their day jobs and spend all their time wrestling with the minute details of thousands of pieces of potential legislation.  It does give the voters a tool to work their will on issues of concern to them when their elected officials don't seem to be responding.

Two-thirds of Texans voted against the "Robin Hood" property tax, and the Legislature imposed it anyway.  Polls consistently show that 70 percent of the voters want term limits, but the only way they have passed in any state is through the initiative process.  I&R makes government more responsive, holds legislators accountable and makes representative democracy work better.

Aren't the voters too uninformed/apathetic/frivolous, etc.? No.  This sort of objection should make every thinking citizen mad as heck.  It's as though some legislators are saying to the voters, "Don't you worry your little heads about all these nasty laws."

Thinking voters become informed about issues that matter to them.  If citizens are apathetic, it may be because the Legislature is not addressing the issues that make a difference.

Some critics have cited the dismal turnout (8 percent) for last year's constitutional amendment election as an example of why we don't need I&R.  It really shows the opposite.  Let citizens put issues that matter to them on the ballot and I'll guarantee more people will take an interest.

As proposed last session, an I&R petition would require 175,000 to 350,000 bona fide signature from all over the state. Anyone who thinks that many Texans would sign their names to a frivolous measure has a lot less faith in Texans than I do.

Won't the voters enact unconstitutional laws?  No.  The state attorney general would screen initiatives for constitutional objections before petitions are even circulated.  This minimizes the chance for an after-the-fact constitutional challenge.

Doesn't I&R mean voters will enact such-and-such scary law?  No.  One scare tactic involves telling certain groups that voters will use I&R to trample all over their rights or to pass legislation that a group might object to.  Baloney.  Every individual's civil rights will still be guaranteed by the state and 
U. S. constitutions.

Just as in the current system, laws that may be objectionable to some interest groups will arise and be debated.  It's important to give people I&R power on principle, not to push for any particular legislative agenda.  We don't talk about scrapping representative democracy every time the Legislature makes a law someone doesn't like.

Won't special interests/big money inevitably dominate the process?  No.  Appropriate safeguards and ethics rules can be incorporated into the process to minimize this concern.  Of course, we all know special interests and money never influence Texas politics under the current system.

I&R works, and the people deserve this power.  And a closing thought to fellow legislators who still don't think their constituents are smart enough to use I&R wisely:  These are the same people who were smart enough to elect you, so they must know something.