Resolution Supporting Accurate Birth Certificates

WHEREAS, we believe every Texan has the right to participate fully and equally in society and enjoy its benefits and freedoms; and

WHEREAS, in 2008, 6,375 children in the custody of the State of Texas were, unsuccessfully, awaiting adoption, and thousands of children remain in foster care for years, awaiting adoption; and

WHEREAS, encouraging the adoption of children in the custody of the State of Texas is an important goal for a rational public policy; and

WHEREAS, courts in the State of Texas further this goal by approving adoptions by two parents of the same sex, including same-sex partners, grandparents adopting their grandchildren, adoptions by multiple relatives, and adoption by the legally-married same-sex partner of their partner's biological children; and

WHEREAS, the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics routinely issues amended birth certificates to the adopted children of heterosexual couples; and

WHEREAS, the Texas Health and Safety Code, Section 192.008(a) explicitly prohibits the issuance of birth certificates to the children of same-sex parents that list both parents; and

WHEREAS, a federal court has already ruled that a similar law in Louisiana is unconstitutional because "regardless of whether out-of-state adoption decrees contravene state law or public policy, the obligation to recognize the judgments under the full faith and credit clause remains," and

WHEREAS, the failure to list both parents on a birth certificate makes it more difficult for an adopted child to access many forms of government benefits, acquire a passport or a social security card, or register for public school, be picked up at school by an unlisted parent, or have an unlisted parent make routine medical decisions for the child; and

WHEREAS, maintaining the access of children to education, state benefits, and a stable and recognized familial structure, are fully consistent with the goals, aspirations and values of the Texas Democratic Party and Texans in general;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Texas Democratic Party supports the passage of an amendment to the Health and Safety Code to eliminate the limitation prohibiting the issuance of accurate birth certificates to the children of same-sex parents.

Resolution in honor of Carey Cauley

Whereas, Carey Cauley was a loving father and husband;

Whereas, Carey represented Brazos County as County Commissioner, Precinct 4, and was the longest serving member of the commission;

Whereas, Carey served children as a teacher of history and a coach. He listened and worked quietly to bring about changes;

Whereas, Carey also volunteered with the Boy's Club, (now the Boys and Girls Club) and helped instill lifelong positive values in our community's youth;

Whereas, Carey had the opportunity to hear and work with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., an experience that changed his life. He used this experience to teach powerful lessons to others that they could be more than others thought they could be,

Whereas, Carey was an ordained minister and a circuit pastor for the United Methodist Church and lived his faith every day;

Whereas, Carey, as president of the Brazos County NAACP, fought for single-member election districts in the City of Bryan so that all residents of Bryan would be represented by their government;

Whereas, Carey served his community as a small businessman;

Whereas, Carey said, "I always wanted to do what is right by all people;"

Therefore, today, March 20, 2010, the Brazos County Democratic Party honors a lifelong Democrat and selfless public servant. Carey, we will miss you.

_____________________________________		__________________________
Maggie Charleton County Chair		Dated

Resolution Supporting Competitive University Insurance Benefits

WHEREAS, we believe every Texan has the right to participate fully and equally in society and enjoy its benefits and freedoms, and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the University of Texas System is, according to its mission statement, "to cultivate in students the ethical and moral values that are the basis of a humane social order" and to "recruit and appropriately recognize exemplary administrators and staff members who provide leadership and support of the educational enterprise in an energetic, creative, caring, and responsible manner", and
WHEREAS, the partners and dependants of unmarried employees, whether straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, of the University of Texas and Texas A&M University Systems are currently denied coverage under university benefits, and
WHEREAS, the State of Texas currently refuses to recognize certain marriages performed outside the state, and thus considers many employees as unmarried, and
WHEREAS, Section 1601 of the Insurance Code requires the University Systems to provide insurance benefits "at least equal to" private industry, state agencies, and peer institutions;

WHEREAS, the cost of immediately implementing competitive insurance benefits has been estimated to be extremely small, and the cost at the University of Texas at Austin is estimated to be significantly less than the salary of a single reserve football coach, and
WHEREAS, the lack of competitive benefits for public university employees creates an active climate of discrimination which harms the academic and educational goals of Texas public universities;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Texas Democratic Party supports the passage of legislation empowering the University of Texas and Texas A&M University Systems, and all Texas universities, to provide competitive benefits to employees comparable with private industry, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or veteran status, thus bringing Texas into alignment with growing trends in the private sector as well as existing state law.

Resolution Supporting Non-discrimination Legislation

WHEREAS, we believe every Texan has the right to participate fully and equally in society and enjoy its benefits and freedoms, and

WHEREAS, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Texans suffer pervasive discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and education because of homophobia and a lack of legal protections, and

WHEREAS, protecting vulnerable members of our state from unwarranted discrimination is fully consistent with the goals, aspirations and values of the Texas Democratic Party and Texans in general, and

WHEREAS, non-discrimination laws help to ensure that LGBT people have equal access to the same opportunities and protections granted to others, such as the ability to work in an environment where people are judged by their job performance, not by their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, and

WHEREAS, the State of Texas does not have a statewide, non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation and gender identity or expression,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Texas Democratic Party supports the passage of comprehensive non-discrimination legislation that would make discrimination based upon sexual orientation, gender identity or expression illegal in employment, housing, insurance, education and public accommodations.

Resolution Urging Revision of the Texas Administrative Code Governing Operation of Party Primary Elections

Whereas, administrative costs allowed by the Texas Administrative Code for county political parties to conduct primary elections are not rational:

Therefore, be it resolved that the Texas Democratic Party will pursue legislation to revise the TAC [§81.123(f)] so that administrative costs are distributed more reasonably than under current provisions.

Resolution opposing the requirement of photo identification in addition to a voter registration card to vote in Texas

Whereas, there is no credible evidence of rampant voter fraud in Texas;

Therefore, the Brazos County Democratic Party urges the Texas Democratic Party to take whatever action is necessary to:

1. Educate Democrats about voter identification issues;
2. Oppose any efforts to require photo identification in addition to a valid voter registration card to vote.

Resolution to Allow County Political Parties to Control the Hiring of Election Workers for Early Voting in Primary Elections

Whereas, county political parties are responsible for conducting their own primary elections, and;

Whereas, county clerks now have the authority to appoint whomever they please to be election workers during early voting for primary elections, and:

Whereas, this could mean election workers affiliated with one party are appointed to work in the other party's primary during early voting;

Therefore, it is resolved that the Texas Democratic Party pursue a change in the Texas Election Code to allow political parties to appoint their own election workers for early voting during primary elections.

Resolution to Require a Verifiable Paper Trail for Electronic Ballots

Whereas, voters in Texas are widely suspicious of the security of electronic voting machines;

Therefore, be it resolved that the Texas Democratic Party press for legislation to require all voting machines to provide a verifiable paper trail.

Resolution to Prevent Bullying and Cyber-bullying in Texas Schools

Whereas, we believe every Texan has the right to participate fully and equally in society and to enjoy its benefits and freedoms, and;

Whereas, all children should be safe and feel safe while at school, regardless of their ability, color, country of origin, disability status, economic status, race, religion, or sexual orientation;

Whereas, one survey has documented that up to 40% of Texas school children were verbally harassed or bullied at least once during the previous year;

Whereas, a professional teachers' organization found that over 90% of teachers surveyed reported that bullying and harassment were problems in their classrooms;

Whereas, cyber-bullying, through text, emails, social networks, etc., has become a pervasive problem in the nation's schools;

Therefore, be it resolved that the Texas Democratic Party supports the passage of legislation to protect all school children from bullying and harassment by requiring the State of Texas to promulgate, and Texas school districts to adopt, a model policy on bullying and harassment setting forth minimum acceptable standards, and the highest aspirations, for student safety.

Be it further resolved that the Texas Democratic Party supports statewide minimum standards for the prevention of harassment in Texas schools that:

Require consistent reporting of incidents of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment, so that problems can be identified and addressed early;

Establish reporting standards that aid in the identification of the causes of bullying and harassment;

Require parental notification about incidents of bullying and harassment so that parents may be informed of risks to their children, and provide exceptions to this notification requirement if such notification would pose risks to the students involved;

Standardize the definition of bullying and harassment across the education code so that educators can know which standards or definitions to apply.

Resolution to Decrease Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Texas

Whereas, protecting the environment should be a top priority of the people of Texas, and;

Whereas, the increased use of fossil fuels should increase concern for healthful air in Texas metropolitan areas, and;

Whereas, some energy companies, manufacturers and politicians seem unwilling to accept the science of air quality if it conflicts with their corporate or personal agendas, and;

Whereas, Texas is one of the largest producers, of all the states, of carbon dioxide in the air;

Therefore, be it resolved that the Brazos County Democratic Party calls upon the governor and Texas Legislature to work cooperatively with the Environmental Protection Agency and not allow our CO2 emissions to increase from 2010 levels, and to pass legislation to reduce CO2 emissions every year so as to reach the EPA recommendations within five years.

Be it further resolved that we call upon the Texas Democratic Party to adopt this resolution during the 2010 state convention.

Resolution to Support Allegiance to the United States Constitution

Be it resolved that the Brazos County Democratic Party affirms its allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and rejects any attempt to nullify the laws of the land by action of the several states.

Of special concern is the validity of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees the rights and privileges of citizens and, indeed, of all persons under the jurisdiction of the United States.

Be it further resolved that these rights and privileges cannot be denied or otherwise abridged by any lesser authority.

Resolution to Support Efforts to Bring a Retired Space Shuttle to Brazos County

Whereas, the Space Shuttle is being retired from service according to NASA's current plans;

Whereas, the fates of the shuttles Atlantis and Endeavor have not yet been decided;

Whereas, NASA plans to sell these two remaining shuttles to educational institutions or museums;

Whereas, Brazos County is home to Texas A&M University and the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum;

Be it resolved that the Brazos County Democratic Party supports the effort to make Texas A&M University and the Bush Library and Museum permanent home to a retired space shuttle.

Resolution to Abolish the Death Penalty

Whereas the death penalty system is a human system that makes errors;

Whereas, Texas has sent innocent people to death row;

Whereas, Texas as of 2005 has life without parole as an alternative to the death penalty;

Whereas, the death penalty is applied unevenly throughout the State of Texas;

Whereas, the death penalty costs 2 to 3 times more to implement than life without parole;

Therefore, be it resolved that the Texas Democratic Party supports abolishing the death penalty in Texas and using the money saved by abolition to help victims of crime and to implement crime prevention measures that are truly effective.

Resolution Urging a Full Slate of Democratic Candidates in Brazos County

Be it resolved by the Brazos County Democratic Party that a qualified Democratic candidate will be entered for every position on the ballot in Brazos County.

Resolution in Support of a Public Option in Healthcare Reform Legislation

Whereas, healthcare reform is urgently needed in the United States;

Be it resolved, that meaningful healthcare reform, including a public option, be strongly supported by the Texas Democratic Party.

Resolution to abolish the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provisions (WEP)

Be it resolved that the Brazos County Democratic Party and the Texas Democratic Party encourage the federal government to abolish the GPO/WEP. This affects Texas teachers and other government employees by not allowing them to get Social Security. These benefits are denied whether they are spousal benefits or benefits that are earned by the employee.

Resolution to provide adequate funding for public schools

Whereas the state of Texas has developed an unsustainable inadequate and inequitable system of funding public schools, Be it resolved that the Brazos County Democratic Party call on the Texas legislature to provide adequate and equitable funding for public school children.

Resolution in Support of Locally Owned Independent Businesses

Whereas locally owned independent businesses in Texas return up to three and a half times more revenue to the state's economy; and

Whereas, Texas independent locally owned businesses define the character of Texas; and

Whereas Texas locally owned independent businesses contribute to most heavily to all aspects of quality of life in Texas,

Therefore be it resolved that the Teas Democratic Party supports passage of legislation providing relief from franchise taxes commensurate to the level economic community benefit that they deliver.

Resolution to denounce irresponsible actions by the Texas State Board of Education

Whereas, the constitution of the State of Texas is intended to promote the general welfare of the people of Texas, and;

Whereas, the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), under the Texas Education Agency (TEA), works to benefit all public schools of the State of Texas, and;

Whereas, the Permanent School Fund of the State Board of Education of the Texas Education Agency is derived from taxes paid by the residents of Texas, and;

Whereas, textbooks used by students in Texas public schools are bought with money from the Permanent School Fund, from taxes paid by the residents of Texas, and;

Whereas, the 15 members of the SBOE are elected by districts by the voters of Texas with the responsibility of exercising good educational judgment and reflecting the wishes of the people of Texas, and;

Whereas, in doing so, these members of the SBOE willfully ignored the expert professional opinion of educators and other experts who recommended standards that meet the educational needs of Texas students;

Be it therefore resolved that the Brazos County Democratic Party calls on the Texas Democratic Party to denounce recent irresponsible actions by members of the SBOE in adopting unsound standards for the content of all textbooks to be used to teach children from the many cultures of Texas, knowing that these standards often influence the content of textbooks used in much of the rest of the United States of America.