AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- The Texas Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the City of Austin to make changes to the ballot language for a proposed police staffing ordinance set to go before voters in November.
The court, in a unanimous opinion, said that the city "did not have carte blanche to rewrite" the ballot language wholesale, calling it an abuse of discretion.
"Accordingly, we conclude that the ballot language must consist of the petitioned ordinance’s caption followed by 'at an estimated cost of $271.5 million - $598.8 million over five years", the opinion states.
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Save Austin Now, the group behind the proposed ordinance, sought to challenge the language approved by City Council on Aug. 11, calling it "deceitful" and a violation of the city charter. Co-founders Matt Mackowiak and Cleo Petricek praised the ruling Tuesday afternoon, calling it an "important precedent" for future ballot items.
The proposed ordinance would require the City of Austin to employ two police officers for every 1,000 residents, and hold a minimum of three full-term cadet classes each year until that threshold is met. More than 25,000 signatures were certified on the petition, which will go before voters on Nov. 2.
"This is a big win for every Austin citizen," said Mackowiak and Petricek in a statement. "City leaders have been playing political games with ballot language for many years, ignoring the City Charter and undermining the rights of petition signers who only wish to petition their government. Mayor Steve Adler and Council Member Greg Casar rewrote our ordinance in poll-tested language intended to intentionally and negatively bias voters against our true aims. The Texas Supreme Court has fully and finally rebuked this action. Instead, now our petition language will be inserted before the city’s cost estimate."
The court's opinion says the city does have limited discretion to revise ballot language "to the extent necessary to bring it into compliance" with state law.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler reacted to the ruling on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, calling it a "win" for the city that the cost estimate will still be included on the ballot. "The petitioners had sought to strike from the ballot language," wrote Adler, "but the Court decided that not including the cost would be 'misleading' and 'inadequate under the law.'"
“The Supreme Court’s Opinion today will strengthen the rights of every Austin voter to be able to initiate ordinances without political interference by the City Council in manipulating the ballot language for the proposition,” said former Travis County Judge and election law expert Bill Aleshire, who is serving as lead counsel for Save Austin Now. “It is wonderful to see the Court enforce the Austin City Charter voter rights of the citizens of Austin.”