LINKS TO TEXAS STATE AGENCIES
Agriculture Department
Legislative Budget Board
Attorney General
Legislative Council
Auditor’s Office
Legislative Reference Library
Board of Education
Licensing & Regulation Dept.
Mental Health & Mental Retardation
Comptroller’s Office
Natural Resource Conservation Commission
POSITIONS ON GOVERNMENT
On February 14, 1920, the National American Woman Suffrage Association became the League of Women Voters. In 1919, Carrie Chapman Catt first proposed founding the League to empower women voters newly enfranchised by the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. The League of Women Voters continues to serve as a voice for citizens and a force for change.
The League of Women Voters studies issues related to Government, Natural Resources, International Relations and Social Policy. The League takes action only under existing program positions, which are reached through membership study and consensus.
GOVERNMENT
First League Action: After winning the vote, local Leagues turned their attention to local election laws. In 1929, their research was compiled into the League’s s first election law digest, which laid the foundation for the League’s future election reform efforts.
Most significant contributions: In 1993, the League won passage of the National Voter Registration Act, the “ motor voter’ law, enfranchising millions of citizens by streamlining voter registration nationwide.
The League also played an instrumental role in reforming the federal campaign system by lobbying successfully for the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 that reformed the presidential and congressional campaign finance systems and instituted public financing of presidential campaigns.
Current and future goals: Passage of comprehensive campaign finance reform.
Recent Actions: The League of Women Voters supports legislation that would effectively reform the lobbying process and begin to rebuild public confidence in Congress. The last Congress passed new ethics and lobbying laws. Now is the time to ensure that the ethics process works to fight corruption and to limit the undue influence of special interest lobbyists.
LWV HA Local Positions on Government include positions on
● Annexation
● Tax Abatements/TIRZ
● Financing Government
● City Government/Term Limits
● Libraries.
● Comprehensive Planning
● Homeowners Associations
● Ethics in Local Government
For a complete discussion of these positions and the actions taken, download the PDF, the LWV HA Program for Study and Action: A Guide to Local League Program.
Updated: October, 2009