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1996 Texas Democratic Party Platform "VALUES FROM A PROUD PAST SHAPING POLICY FOR THE FUTURE" as adopted by the Texas Democratic Convention June 7-8, 1996 CONVENTION PLATFORM COMMITTEE Paul Hobby, Co-Chair Gene Collins, Co-Chair Barbara Rosenberg, Secretary Steve Crane, SD1 John Duke, Sr., SD2 Jim Sheffield, SD3 Diane Dwight, SD4 Larry Snook, SD5 Leslie Barnard, SD6 Kendra Woods, SD7 Gertrude Miller, SD8 Harold Rudd, SD9 Harriett Irby, SD10 John Rogers, SD11 Dorothy Thompson, SD12 Paul Colbert, SD13 Oscar Mauzy, SD14 Joyce Langenegger, SD15 Jack Crout, SD16 Dawn Mead, SD17 Benjamin Giese, SD18 Roy Herbert, SD19 Mary Alice Caceres, SD20 Tina Garcia Naylor, SD21 Brandon Bays, SD22 Diana Flores, SD23 Phyllis Hardy, SD24 Deane Armstrong, SD25 Lucinda Rodriguez, SD26 Robert McLeaish, SD27 Merinda Condra, SD28 Gail Love, SD29 Deno Tufares, SD30 Toni Chambers, SD31 CHAIRMAN'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PLATFORM Ken Molberg, Chair Betty Condra, Vice Chair Walter Hinojosa, Secretary Terry Adkins Fernando Albornoz Pauline Cashion Paul Colbert Hon. Garnet Coleman Gene Collins Ruth Culver Roxanne Evans Pat Gandy Steve Gutow Eric Hartman Paul Hobby Erma Jefferson Heidi Kirkpatrick Jay Levin Hon. Glen Maxey Les Mendelsohn Cecile Richards Carroll Robinson Mary Scott Roy Spence Hon. Barry Telford Ed Martin, Chairman's Liaison Thanks to these fine Democrats for the knowledge, hard work, and spirit of cooperation they contributed to the preparation this platform. Table of Contents I. The Democratic Mission A. The Core Purpose B. The Core Values C. Values from a Proud Past Shaping Policy for the Future II. Issue Papers A. Education Opportunity for All ( Building Blocks of Educational Opportunity ( Educators ( Safe Schools ( Post Secondary Education B. State Fiscal Policy C. Criminal Justice ( Juvenile Justice D. Jobs and Trade E. Workers' Safety and Rights F. Rural Texas/Agriculture G. Security For Our Families Health Care Financing & Delivery ( Collection of Health Data ( ERISA ( Medicare & Medicaid ( People With Disabilities ( Long-term Care ( HIV Education & Services ( Health Care in Rural Texas ( Domestic Violence ( Mental Health ( Hunger ( Child Care & Family Leave ( Welfare Reform ( Choice & Family Planning ( Housing & Homelessness H. The Environment I. Civil and Voting Rights J. Access to the Courts K. Ethics and Governmental Reform L. Religious Freedom M. Multi-Lingualism N. Immigration O. Middle East The Democratic Mission THE CORE PURPOSE Democrats will debate how we will accomplish our mission, but there is no debate about what our mission should be: "The Texas Democratic Party is about inspiring and motivating people who share our values to give of their time, money, and votes in order to leave Texas better off than we found her." THE CORE VALUES Opportunity. At the very core of the Texas Democratic Party is the historic legacy of the relentless pursuit of the idea that every people from every walk of life has the fundamental right to a fair and equal chance of living the American Dream. Responsibility. Opportunity is not free. Responsibility and accountability is expected and demanded in every facet of everyday life. Personal responsibility as well as corporate and governmental responsibility is the price each of us must be willing to pay if we are to insure that opportunity endures as a basic right for all people. The Democratic Party is the party of fiscal responsibility. Family and Community. We champion the achievements of individuals, but we also share the belief that we are all in this together as a nation, state, and as a community...that we are bound together by the long-standing practice of neighbor helping neighbor in times of need. "Every-person-for-themselves" may be an acceptable approach to building a business, but it is a dangerously shortsighted approach to building a community. The family is the bedrock of the American community and we must do whatever it takes to strengthen and nurture the value of family. While we do not seek to impose any one religious or governmental interpretation of "family values" upon anyone or anyone's family, we do embrace and celebrate the "value of family." Security. Life comes with no guarantees, but Texas Democrats staunchly defend the concept that if a person works hard and plays by the rules, he or she deserves to live in a society that will work just as hard to provide physical and economic security in return. Freedom and Fairness. We respect the dignity of individuals to exercise control over their own lives. Each person should be able to rise as high as they can on their own merits without being held back by stereotypes. The most humble or disadvantaged person should have an equal voice in public affairs and public policy equal to that of the most privileged. "Values from a Proud Past Shaping Policy for the Future" In 1996, there is a new vigor and a renewed sense of purpose in the Texas Democratic Party as Texans join us to reaffirm the core values - opportunity, responsibility, family and community, security, and fairness - that have shaped a proud Democratic tradition and offer an even better tomorrow. These values shape policy that: * honors work and trains workers; * educates and protects our children; * protects our communities from the poisons of drugs and crime; * protects our environment and preserves our natural resources; * promotes a system of free enterprise and effective, efficient limited government that offers all people the basic opportunity to succeed; and * respects the rights of individuals and demands fairness for all citizens. Democrats don't just articulate mainstream values. We believe in them enough to put them into action. Where voices of extremism seek to divide and pit one group against another, Democrats work to bring people together to build stronger communities. Where some seek to have government impose their "family values" on others, we offer common sense policies that value all our families. We Democrats believe that issues do matter and that policy affects our families' everyday lives. Because not all Democrats may agree with each position taken in this platform, the Texas Democratic Party respects each person's viewpoint and recognizes that we can disagree but continue to work for a positive future that benefits us all. United by a sense of purpose and focused by our personal commitments, we can carry out our mission to win in 1996 and beyond, working together to elect those who will enact policies that will leave a better state and nation to our children and their children. Issue Papers In addition to the values and principles established here, these issue papers describe the commitments of the Party adopted by its convention to put our principles into practice. EDUCATION The Democratic Party of Texas believes that education is the key to economic opportunity and effective participation in our democracy. We believe that family, school, and community share responsibility for providing every child a quality public education. We believe that students have a responsibility to take advantage of this opportunity to become productive citizens. Texas Democrats have led the fight to improve public education while others have sought to weaken or destroy it. Through reforms devised and passed by Democratic leaders, student performance is up, dropout rates are down, and the public has much more information about and input into the operation of our schools. But we find no cause for complacency in these accomplishments. Much remains to be done. Opportunity for All Texas Democrats believe: * Money does not guarantee a good education, but inadequate resources can prevent one. Wisely used, money can attract the best people into teaching, provide classes small enough for individualized attention, and provide the technology needed to educate children for good jobs; * Equal access to a quality public education suitable to the needs and abilities of each student is a basic constitutional right. We agree with the unanimous, bipartisan decision of the Texas Supreme Court that the state should assure "substantially equal access to similar revenues per pupil at similar levels of tax effort." Local taxpayers must not bear the burden of remedying inadequacy or inequality of funding; * Equal opportunity must be achieved, but it should be accomplished by raising the bottom up, not by leveling the top down. * The state must provide adequate funding to educate all children to their potential: for education for students with disabilities; for compensatory education for educationally disadvantaged and at-risk students; for bilingual education for students needing help in mastering English; for programs for the gifted and talented. For students who are not college-bound, we also support involving the Texas business community in effective school-to-work transition and apprenticeship programs; * The state must continue to recognize that costs of education vary between communities and support appropriate funding for small and sparsely populated districts and for high-cost urban areas; Building Blocks of Educational Opportunity * A good start makes a good education more likely. We support class-size limitations, full-day kindergarten, and pre-kindergarten programs. We support full funding for Head Start. * Our schools must give students a solid grounding in the basics but not stop there. Our schools must impart all the skills our students need to gain a well-rounded education that equips them for a lifetime of learning. We support an emphasis on science and math in the curriculum and direct access to technology in the classroom. * We believe parents must be involved in education if schools are to succeed. The Democratic Party strongly encourages innovative and appropriate programs allowing parents to choose the public schools that best meet the needs of their children. But we oppose any diversion of scarce public resources for private school vouchers or other subsidies. * The state should leave day-to-day decision-making in education to local communities. The state should provide appropriate oversight to maintain statewide quality standards. But we oppose efforts, whether in the name of "home rule" or otherwise, to use a shift of responsibility to the local level as a smoke-screen for cuts in funding or erosion of employee rights and benefits. * School dropouts create problems that eventually cost far more than it costs to keep these children in school. Texas needs to identify and effectively assist at-risk students. * In a global economy, our state's rich cultural diversity is a tremendous asset. We believe children should be encouraged to learn as many languages as possible and to appreciate the many heritages that contribute to our state. * We strongly support adequately funded programs aimed at making all Texans literate. All Texans also should have equal access to quality library materials. Educators Good teachers are essential to quality education. To attract and keep good teachers, we must compete in the marketplace. Texas' rank of 35th in teacher pay hurts our competitiveness. We therefore advocate a teacher pay raise. We respect the service given by our teachers and school support personnel and therefore also call for improvements in the benefits provided by the teacher retirement system. * Teachers' experience and expertise in the educational process is vital and believe that teacher input into the decision-making process of the local educational system is necessary. * Current rights and benefits of education employees must be respected and safeguarded if we are to retain our best. * Texas is a multi-ethnic state and that education is enriched through diversity. We therefore strongly encourage the recruitment of teachers who reflect that diversity. Safe Schools * We have no tolerance for violence and serious disruption in our schools. Protecting people on school property and at school functions from acts of violence is a fundamental responsibility of our school officials. We support maintaining swift, sure, and appropriate legal penalties for violence and terrorist threats against teachers, school employees, and students. School campuses and functions must be weapon-free and drug-free zones. Teachers must maintain the right to remove a disruptive student from the classroom. We also call for more counselors to help students resolve conflicts before they become crises and for counselors' time to be spent helping kids. * Our children have the right to attend school in facilities that are physically safe and free of toxins. Post-Secondary Education Higher education provides the higher-level skills that are crucial to competitiveness in a global economy marked by rapid technological change. Texas Democrats * support appropriate funding of higher education to assure financial aid and access for all students, adequate compensation, security, professional status and benefits for faculty, and research to spur economic development; * support the role of community colleges in providing lifelong educational opportunity; * support innovative programs that give families an opportunity to "pre-purchase" college tuition, as well as other student assistance programs that assure access to higher education for academically capable Texans whose families could not otherwise afford it; * encourage enhanced support for Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern and for higher- education opportunities in South Texas and all border communities; * believe funding priorities should stress educational and research programs and strive to eliminate administrative duplication and waste; * condemns racial and religious intolerance on Texas campuses and encourages universities to develop and offer culturally diverse curricula, student activities, and student-faculty recruitment policies that encourage understanding and tolerance. STATE FISCAL POLICY Government exists to help us all achieve as a community what we can not achieve as individuals, to strengthen the links that bring us together to provide for our basic needs as a society. But good, responsible government need not cost more. In fact, it can cost less. Texas Democrats continue working to make state government operate more efficiently and effectively through the efforts of well-trained, well-paid state employees at all levels. At the same time, we believe the state's commitment to education, health, human services, criminal justice and other traditional state functions must continue as the foundation that encourages growth and protects our core values. Democrats believe state government should prudently invest resources in cost-effective education, drug treatment, prenatal and other "people" programs that are much less expensive in the long run than jail houses and public assistance. Specifically, Texas Democrats believe: * the state and local tax system must be fair to working families, seek alternatives that will equitably decrease reliance on property taxes, and oppose imposition of a state income tax without a vote of the people; * that government streamlining and cost-reduction efforts should target administrative waste and inefficiency, not front-line workers who deliver services to the public. * that accountability for performance and competition have a place in state government, but we oppose wholesale privatization schemes that may result in less competition and accountability for the delivery of services. CRIMINAL JUSTICE The Texas Democratic Party believes that it is a fundamental duty of government to protect its citizens. Criminals must be punished. The rights of victims must be ensured. Restitution should be made to victims and society. All Texans are entitled to be safe and secure, free from the fear of criminal violence in our homes and on our streets. This must be true everywhere: in cities and rural areas, inner-cities and suburbs, and in all neighborhoods regardless of their ethnic makeup. To accomplish this, Texas Democrats believe we must be tough and smart. We have been tough. Under Democratic leadership, the Texas Legislature: * Doubled the minimum sentence for violent criminals; * Banned the early release of violent offenders from Texas prisons; * Cut parole releases by nearly two-thirds; * More than doubled the state's prison capacity to keep violent criminals off the streets. As a result, the Texas prison system is out from under federal court supervision and control has finally been returned to the state--where it belongs. Also as a result, the backlog of state prisoners held in local jails at the expense of local property taxpayers has ended, and state taxpayers are no longer paying millions of dollars in fines. We have also been smart. We recognize that prevention is far cheaper in the long run, and far safer for honest Texas citizens. We also recognize that over eighty percent of Texas prisoners have committed drug or alcohol related offenses and a similar number cannot read or write at even an eighth grade level. Therefore, under that same state Democratic leadership: * Emphasis is being placed on drug treatment and education to reduce the number of repeat offenders, and of their innocent victims; * Expensive maximum security prisons are reserved for the most dangerous violent criminals, with less serious offenders diverted to less expensive "state jails" * Local judges can confine them for longer sentences than they previously actually served. We also applaud President Clinton's federal anti-crime legislation that has placed more cops on the beat in Texas, increasing arrests of criminals and further reducing crime. To continue the fight against crime so that our streets and our homes may become safe again, Texas Democrats support: * Severe punishment for repeat and violent offenders; * Protecting people by preventing early release of felony prisoners; * Crime prevention by addressing drug and alcohol addiction, the need for educational opportunity, and other root causes of crime; * Continued efforts to prevent the return of jail and prison overcrowding and the early release of parolees by ensuring the availability of adequate prison space; * Sufficient numbers of well-trained peace officers drawn from all communities and skilled in dealing with ethnic and cultural diversity; * Prompt prosecution of criminals, including strict time limits within which trials and appeals must be conducted, consistent with the principles of fairness and justice; * Effective supervision for parolees and probationers, with a certainty of sanctions for violators; * Anti-stalking laws and laws punishing the harassment of witnesses; * Strong enforcement of Texas' DWI laws; * Recognition that rape and domestic violence are crimes of violence, that victims and their families need counseling and support, and that sexual assault and abuse prevention programs for adults and children are needed; * Laws that severely punish hate crimes and training of law enforcement personnel to recognize and prevent such crimes; * Strong enforcement and punishment against white collar and corporate criminals; * The right of a person to be tried by a jury that broadly reflects the ethnic makeup of the community; * Neighborhood policing, Crimestoppers program, neighborhood watch programs and other forms of citizen involvement in fighting crime; * cost-effective correctional programs aimed at reducing the recidivism rate; * And most importantly, we support sensitive treatment for the victims of crime, the Crime Victim's Bill of Rights and stronger emphasis on compensation to crime victims by the criminals themselves. Texas Democrats salute our law enforcement and corrections officers who put their lives on the line every day for our benefit. We support improved pay and benefits in recognition of that risk and of the skill and training of those who serve, and we support strict laws to provide them appropriate protection. Juvenile Justice At a time when overall crime is on the decline, juvenile crime is up. The juvenile justice system must teach young people drawn into a life of crime at an early age that they will be held accountable and responsible for their actions. We support: * tough but appropriate punishment for juveniles who commit crimes; * teaching responsibility to nonviolent juvenile offenders through programs such as boot camps, work camps and restitution centers; * keeping handguns and other weapons away from children; * enhanced punishment of individuals or groups who corrupt our children by recruiting or enticing them to commit crimes. We believe prevention is the best solution to the problem of juvenile crime. We support: * programs that help high-risk children stay in school and stay positively involved in their communities; * drug prevention programs in our schools, including school-based clinics to provide our children with access to drug counseling, education and outreach programs to stop drug addiction before it begins. Parents and communities must be involved in solutions to juvenile crime. Efforts to prevent abuse and provide treatment for victims and perpetrators will realize long-term cost savings by reducing prison populations and in assuring safer, healthier families. JOBS AND TRADE The retention and creation of private sector jobs remains essential to our economic security. Our priorities include: * policies that bar goods that compete unfairly against American products through child or slave labor, unconscionably low wages or environmental degradation. * providing appropriate attention to environmental, infrastructure, labor matters and health care issues to implement the North American Free Trade Agreement in a manner most beneficial to Texans; * a preference for United States/Texas products and services in government contracts; * programs for retraining displaced workers who are victims of "downsizing" and layoffs * prevailing wage laws that protect local wage standards in public contracts in a manner that is fairly determined and enforced. * a strong space program as essential to the economic and scientific future of our state and nation, including continuation of the space station program * prison industries in Texas that are not created to produce goods at the expense of free-world jobs held by law-abiding Texans. We otherwise support efforts to educate and train prisoners to become productive citizens. WORKERS' SAFETY AND RIGHTS Texas' most valuable resource is her workers. In attaining safe workplaces for all Texans, education, training and prevention are the first line of defense against worker injuries, illnesses and deaths. We support: * the right of every employee to work in a safe workplace, free from injury and toxic or hazardous exposure;. * a workers' compensation system that provides affordable coverage for employers, and provides meaningful compensation to injured workers based upon inability to perform the usual tasks of a worker, while providing due consideration for the rights of workers within the legal system and creating incentives for employers to rehire injured workers; * civil and, in the worst cases, criminal penalties against employers who continue to expose their workers to injuries or deaths: * the rights of all employees, public and private, to organize, collect dues and negotiate freely with their employers through agents of employees' choosing. We further recognize the right of public and private employees to designate any portion of their earned income to organizations and agencies of their own choosing; * the right of every employee to work free from discriminatory employment practices, including at-will employment: * condemning attempts by employers to hire replacement workers prior to and throughout the bargaining process as a way to undermine and destroy the intent of good-faith collective bargaining; * enhanced workplace productivity through labor-management cooperation and employee participation in state agencies, particularly in three principal areas: problem resolution, career development and staff safety; * an increased federal minimum wage for all workers as well as an increase in the state minimum wage; * improved wages and working conditions for Texas farmworkers, who remain an exploited underclass; * the principle that a lifetime of honest work should be rewarded with a retirement income, whether from a public or a private system, that allows for a secure, dignified standard of living. * the consolidation of job-training and unemployment services into a single agencies with "one-stop shopping" so long as Texas' workforce does not become a part time job corps with no accruable benefits. RURAL TEXAS/ AGRICULTURE Rural Texas is undergoing fundamental restructuring in the face of severe economic challenges that threaten a way of life that has provided the backbone for generations of Texas families and the basic values Texans still share today. We are committed to supporting the special needs of rural Texas by: * Creating coordinated economic development services to strengthen rural communities; * Focusing appropriate attention on rural health care needs Agriculture is unique among the economic sectors of Texas in terms of its form of organization, its vulnerability to uncertainty, its lack of control over pricing of its products, and its importance to domestic and international trade. Therefore, we are committed to maintaining the world leadership role of Texas farms and ranches by: * Emphasizing and valuing the partnership which must exist between rural producers and urban consumers; * Recognizing that this partnership will be most successful when food and fiber products are produced by a large number of family farmers and ranchers rather than a few large corporations and conglomerates; * Supporting efforts of Texas farmers and ranchers to promote federal legislation that would: * establish appropriate minimum price support levels and restore the economic safety net for family farmers and ranchers which Congress has effectively eliminated with the passage of the 1995 Farm Bill * Utilize marketing quotas and market management programs when adopted through producer referenda * Maintain an adequate national emergency reserve, isolated from the market * Establish labeling standards for genetically engineered products SECURITY FOR OUR FAMILIES We support providing for the security of our families, our elders, and children by: -- Development of coordinated health and human service delivery systems with efficient, integrated enrollment; -- A comprehensive health care financing and delivery system that provides high quality personal health care that: * ensures preventative and primary care for all Texans, such as annual check-ups, wellness programs, immunizations and other basic services; * includes coverage for everyone, regardless of their health status; * has simplified payer systems to reduce administrative costs; * has effective cost containment measures; * allows patients to choose their doctors and other providers without geographic restrictions; * provides long term care and prescriptive drug benefits; * provides portability of coverage to people who change jobs; * spreads costs across a broad population; and * provides continued support of a first-class system of medical research and education. -- Collection and analysis of health data to assist public planning and the education of our families in making appropriate health decisions, including: * statistics and information on the status of women, including access to research programs; * continuation of health registries for birth defects, diseases, and trauma. -- Strong encouragement of Congress to adopt modifications of the ERISA statues that would remove the preemptions that inhibit the ability of Texas to provide for uniform protections of the health, safety, and welfare of employees of the general public; -- The prohibition of insurance company exclusions of HIV infection, Alzheimer's, cancer and other chronic diseases from coverage; -- Protect Medicare and Medicaid programs that maintain the safety net for vulnerable Texans, including a local and state partnership to enhance funds for Medicaid programs to insure coverage of pregnant women, infants and children as well as persons with disabilities and senior Texans. -- People with disabilities must be afforded equal opportunities and the choices to lead full and productive lives in their communities. Therefore, we support initiatives aimed at providing access to full, productive lives for the physically, developmentally and mentally disabled or impaired. We support full implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. -- Long-term care services for our elderly, chronically ill, and disabled people of all ages that promotes independent living in the most integrated setting possible. This system should include community-based attendant services, in-home health care, adult day care and hospice care. The party supports the transition of our long term care system to home and community care with a funding focus on home and community services as opposed to the current institutionally-biased system; * a coordinated system of support services including personal assistance services, respite, home delivered meals, transportation and homemaker assistance; * a goal of providing choice in decisions about where elderly, chronically ill, and disabled Texans live and receive support services; * the "de-medicalization" of services to contain costs and allow greater control by the individual; and * regulation for board and care homes and stringent inspection and enforcement of laws governing nursing homes, state-supported hospitals and schools to ensure safety, cleanliness, nutrition and quality health care for elderly and disabled Texans. -- Education and services to address the HIV epidemic including: * provision for appropriate STD and HIV education to all citizens that is culturally sensitive, age appropriate, and addresses the diversity of our backgrounds. * accessible and affordable testing, counseling and treatment interventions; * cost effective service programs which provide a continuum of care from early intervention wellness programs, home health, acute care, long-term and hospice services; * increased research programs focusing on prevention, treatment and cure as well as continued rapid development and funding for new vaccines, new and alternative drug treatments and therapies for those infected. -- Access to a functioning and affordable health delivery system in rural Texas, including: * programs that bring physicians and health providers to rural areas; * equality of Medicare reimbursements to rural areas to encourage doctors to practice there and keep rural hospitals from closing; * improved emergency care systems to provide access to medical care facilities, including trauma care; * the utilization of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in underserved areas; and * programs that deliver less costly and more appropriate care to our rural regions. -- Safety from Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Domestic violence is a threat to the family unit. We therefore support: * programs, education and centers for battered women and children; * enhancement of adequate protective services for the victims of child, spousal, adult and elder abuse. * expansion of sexual assault crisis centers to the unserved and underserved areas of the state. -- Mental Health Services. Family preservation is maintained by enhancing the mental health of our family members. We support: * comprehensive mental health services; * expansion of community centers, home services, and school-based programs to assist children and their parents with emotional and traumatic problems; and * appropriate acute in-patient services for victims of trauma and assurance of appropriate staffing ratios. -- Hunger - We support public and private endeavors to provide nutrition education and programs to assure the absence of hunger and malnutrition in Texas. -- Child Care and Family and Medical Leave - the Texas Democratic Party supports public/private initiatives that promote: * policies that encourage adequate compensation of child care workers and high quality on-site child care facilities by employers; * safe and affordable child care and after-school care for working families; * reasonable and humane policies, like the Family and Medical Leave Act, that address the reality of family situations; * programs that encourage teen mothers to remain in school. -- Welfare Reform - Texas Democrats believe the best program to end welfare is a job that pays a living wage. Government assistance should be a transitional effort to help people take responsibility for their own lives and become productive members of society. Both those who receive public assistance and those who foot the bill for that assistance have a responsibility to find ways to quickly move needy families from welfare to work, A society that emphasizes personal responsibility must also strive to create jobs, reward work, and provide an infrastructure that encourages people to work and to rear children responsibly. The Democratic Party supports: * programs that give incentives for employers to hire and train welfare recipients and public/private partnerships that assure training and placement in jobs to help people get off welfare and into jobs that pay a living wage; * programs like the Lone Star Card, which has utilized technology and good sense to virtually eliminated the fraud and abuse of the old food stamp system, reduced the welfare rolls by 167,000, and boosted food sales across the state by getting assistance to those really in need; * welfare reform legislation crafted by Democrats that established personal responsibility agreements for those who find themselves in temporary need of public assistance; * the new Family Pathfinders program that links civic and religious organizations and local businesses with needy families to the kind of personalized help government can't provide; * a unique neutral network computer system that is using the same "Smart Bomb" technology employed in the military to root out waste and fraud in the state Medicaid program; * strict accountability for various programs that provide inducements and tax abatements to attract businesses to track down and punish cheaters within the corporate welfare system as well as those within public assistance programs. -- Choice and Family Planning -Texas Democrats have faith in our people to make sound, healthy decisions for ourselves and our families. We believe in every American's right to privacy, the right to make personal choices for ourselves and our families without the fear of unwarranted governmental intrusion into our privacy. * The Democratic Party trusts the women of Texas to make their own decisions about such personal matters as whether or when to bear children. We believe that no government, no politician, no bureaucrat should interfere in an individual's private and personal decisions. * We support the full range of reproductive rights and full access to family planning services. We will work to guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including bearing healthy children, preventing unintended pregnancy, and choosing safe, legal abortion. * We support age-appropriate sexuality education in our public schools about all aspects of health, physical fitness, and responsible family life, including the prevention of HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and drug and alcohol abuse. * We must reverse an ever-increasing rate of adolescent pregnancy and an alarming rate of teenagers dropping out of school, both of which increase the number of Texas children living in poverty.. We must provide child care to allow teenage mothers to continue their education. -- Housing And Homelessness - Home ownership, or just having a place to live, is integral to giving families a sense of security, self-respect, and responsibility as a member of a community. The Texas Democratic Party is committed to making the dream of owning a home a reality through realistic housing programs that: * establish policy and allocate resources to prioritize and coordinate housing opportunities for persons with very low incomes; * support the Texas Veterans Housing Assistance Program, which facilitates the availability of housing to our veterans, and the Texas Home Improvement Program, which allows our veterans opportunity to improve existing housing; * support federal action to provide an economic lifeline for housing, enabling families to keep up with their mortgage or rent payments when facing unexpected unemployment; * encourage the rehabilitation of existing and the building of new housing stock for low income, elderly, disabled, and minority Texans; * support the enforcement of the Federal and Texas Fair Housing Acts and promote affordable, accessible housing for people with disabilities; * support programs that provide low interest loans to middle and low-income families. * develop innovative approaches to provide low income sustainable housing in rural areas of Texas by utilizing indigenous materials that are environmentally safe and create a healthy atmosphere; and * eliminate racial, ethnic or gender discrimination in financing and insuring of homes. Homelessness is a problem whose solution demands strong commitment to public-private partnership and coordinated effort at federal, state, and local levels. Texas Democrats support: * removing barriers and expanding resources to increase homeless people's access to services that support progress toward self-sufficiency; * increasing the range of services available to and used by homeless people in urban and rural areas; * increasing the number of state and local agencies working together to broaden the reach and increase the effectiveness of housing opportunities and supportive services for homeless people in Texas; and * encouraging local officials to make efficient use of abandoned housing to provide safe, affordable housing. THE ENVIRONMENT Protecting public health and safety, preserving biodiversity, sustaining our limited natural resources, and promoting environmentally responsible economic development are vital to the future quality of life for all Texans. Protecting our environment is a fundamental policy priority. We pledge to: * Increase funding for state pollution prevention and enforcement. * Support full implementation of the Clean Air Act and create incentives to reduce or prevent air pollution. * Protect Texans in the workplace and living in industrial areas from toxic hazards. * Make sure poor and minority communities are not victimized by the future siting of hazardous facilities. Provide immediate clean up or current hazardous sites and their toxic aftermath. * Continue and enhance registries for birth defects, cancer and environmentally related illnesses in Texas. * Support efforts to reduce pesticide use and promote less-toxic methods of pest control and oppose any attempts to weaken existing pesticide or food safety regulations. * Support and enforce "right to know" for all consumers and workers to be informed about their exposure to pesticides and harmful toxins, the right of persons to challenge the issuance of permits and to have access to the courts to seek redress for damages caused by polluters. * Protect coastal bays, estuaries and all qualifying wetlands so that there is no net loss of these critical areas by maintain freshwater inflows and protecting them from toxic contamination. * Support legislation to closely define drinking water standards and services, including adequate enforcement powers. * Prohibit transportation of nuclear waste across Texas without absolute safeguards for Texans and their communities. * Provide opportunities and incentives for businesses to employ energy-efficient and environmentally sound technologies and enforce environmental compliance standards so non-complying businesses do not enjoy a competitive advantage over responsible businesses. * Support effective programs to address environmental problems and to construct water supply and wastewater treatment systems along both sides of the border. * Support a statewide comprehensive recycling policy to conserve natural resources and to develop public/private initiatives for environmentally sound technologies to manage non-recyclable mater and toxic waste. * Support the Clean Texas 2000 program including the full implementation of a coastal management plan. * Support aggressive measures to prevent pollution, reduce hazardous waste production and make industries financially accountable for pollution they cause. * Implement aggressive water conservation practices for municipal, agricultural and industrial sectors and provide economic incentives for reduced consumption. * Protect Texas rivers, lakes, and streams, maintain their current water-quality standards, and promote adoption of more stringent standards to improve water quality. * Support the protection of public lands and national parks and oppose indiscriminate clear cutting, leasing, development and commercial exploitation of park lands. * Support federal commitments to cleaning up pollution in and along the Rio Grande. * Support and strengthen effective state programs to protect farmland and conserve precious soil and wear resources. * Support research on and use of renewable energy sources. CIVIL AND VOTING RIGHTS Full protection under the law is a bedrock of the Democratic Party, reflecting our core values of opportunity and fairness. To that end, we pledge to: * Ensure that all Texans, without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or national origin, disability, socioeconomic status, color, creed, age or other difference, are protected from discrimination. This protection extends to one's ability to contract, work, vote, serve in the military, obtain an education, or engage in all other legal pursuits of happiness; * Support a diversified workforce because it is moral and just, a sound business practice and an important use of human resources; * Support efforts of businesses, governmental bodies, and institutions of higher education to reach and to make available opportunities to a diverse and qualified pool of talent and encourage these institutions to recruit, retain, and graduate academically qualified students from groups that have historically been denied equal access to higher education; * Support strong legislation to address hate crimes so that Texans who are victimized by such illegal activity can receive additional protection under Texas law; * Support the rights of employees to be free from sexual harassment in the workplace and encourage to provide strict guidelines, training and education to prevent sexual harassment; * Support every person's right to privacy and oppose any law that invades that privacy; * Reaffirm our unqualified support for the Voting Rights Act and call for the U.S. Department of Justice to aggressively enforce it; * Support the historic application of the Voting Rights Act that has led to drawing redistricting plans that provide greater inclusion in the political process for groups that have been historically denied participation; and * Support efforts to increase the level of participation in the voting process through easier and more accessible registration and election procedures. ACCESS TO THE COURTS Believing that the ability to resort to the judicial system provides a strong measure of security for our citizens, we support the right of all Texans-the weak as well as the powerful-to the open access to the courts of our state. We favor: * The right to fair and impartial jury trials. * The right, with out preemption, to seek full redress for the damages inflicted by the irresponsible conduct of others. * The continued election of judges, as well as the election of judges from less than at-large districts. * The adoption of meaningful judicial campaign finance reform. * The legal protection of witnesses and parties to be free of harassment and retribution. * The provision of a full range of legal services that permit low-income Texans the ability to remedy the wrongdoing committed by the more powerful. ETHICS AND GOVERNMENTAL REFORM Texas Democrats support comprehensive ethics and campaign finance reform which restricts undue influence and special interest control of the democratic process. We support: * continuing revision of the state ethics laws to assure full reporting and disclosure of campaign finance, lobbying and other activities that influence the operation of government. * limits on campaign contributions only if those limits are accompanied by campaign spending limits. * reinstatement of the fairness doctrine of the Federal Communications Commission RELIGIOUS FREEDOM The Texas Democratic Party endorses the religious freedoms guaranteed by the state and federal Constitutions and calls upon government to scrupulously honor every Texan's right to religious freedom while respecting the separation of church and state. We recognize the importance of religion and prayer in the lives of individual Texans and support each individual's right to practice his or her own beliefs without imposing them on others. Many Democrats hold political views that are motivated by deeply held personal religious beliefs. No political party and no extremist group holds an exclusive lock on religious beliefs. We oppose efforts by those groups to infiltrate local school boards and state offices with stealth candidates who, once in office, seek to implement their agenda of dangerous intolerance. MULTI-LINGUALISM The Texas Democratic Party believes all Texans have a responsibility to be proficient in the English language but opposes the efforts of the extremist "English-Only" movement to curb the use of other languages. We believe that linguistic and cultural diversity present opportunities to develop a competitive edge in a growing global economy. IMMIGRATION The Texas Democratic Party believes that it is the responsibility and duty of the United States to secure its borders, while advancing immigration policies that continue to create economic opportunities for individuals and businesses, strengthen families, protect members of all communities against discrimination, and protect people from intrusive forms of personal identification We believe that the United States has been--and should always be--the land of opportunity. Our strength as a nation lies in our diversity. We believe that the right of citizenship by birth in the United States and through naturalization underlies the greatness of our nation and should not be abridged. All too often, immigrants unjustifiable are blamed for many of society's problems. Immigrant-bashing and scapegoating are not only misguided, but they inevitably polarize our society and fail to solve problems. Indeed anti-immigrant rhetoric and sentiments often serve to foster increased discrimination against American citizens or various ethnic groups. We oppose any immigration-control measure that specifically targets children for punishment through the denial of public education or health care benefits. MIDDLE EAST The Gaza Strip/Jericho Area agreement signed in Cairo begins the implementation of the tenets outlined in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles. For 48 years, the Democratic Party has supported the special U.S.-Israel relationship and has been committed to ensuring the security of the State of Israel. The peace process will preserve Israel's security as well as secure the legitimate and political rights of the Palestinians. We support the Clinton Administration's efforts to marshal the world's resources necessary to implement this historic plan for peace and commend President Clinton's commitment to further bilateral and multilateral negotiations between Israel, the Arab states and the Palestinians in order to secure a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for all area countries. The U.S.-Israel relationship has been good for Texas. The Texas-Israel exchange upgrades agricultural technologies for Texas farmers, while sharing medical and scientific research benefits Texas universities, hospitals, and patients. Foreign aid to Israel returned $540 million to Texas in 1995, creating 9,500 Texas jobs.
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