State to notify voters of amendment

Machines contain truncated version

By ERIK SCHELZIG, Tennessean.com
October 12, 2006

The state is scrambling to give full notice of a proposed constitutional amendment on freezing property taxes for the elderly after mistakenly programming a truncated version into voting machines.

State Election Coordinator Brook Thompson said it is too late to reprogram the voting machines because early voting begins next week.

"My feeling is that if we tried to reprogram these machines at this point, we would create more problems than we correct," Thompson said.

The version appearing on the electronic ballots will show only the first of three parts of the proposal.

The state will publish the full version of the amendment in the state's largest six newspapers, put up posters of the text at polling sites and place a smaller copy on each voting machine, Thompson said.

The amendment would allow county and city governments to freeze the assessed value of a homeowner's properties when the owner reaches age 65. Among the omitted segments is a provision that the tax break would apply only to homeowners who earn less than an income limit set by the legislature.

The elderly tax-break proposal has drawn far less attention than another proposed amendment on the ballot to make gay marriage unconstitutional in Tennessee.

The American Civil Liberties Union cited violations in the state's notice rules in a legal attempt to halt the proposed gay marriage amendment from being placed on the ballot. But the state Supreme Court threw out the lawsuit in July, ruling that the ACLU did not have the legal standing to pursue its case.

Lawmakers have been pushing for the elderly-tax-break amendment since a similar law enacted by the legislature in 1979 was found unconstitutional. In 1989, Monroe County officials tried to implement a similar tax-relief program, but it was declared unconstitutional by the state attorney general.

Several states allow property tax relief for the elderly.

State Sen. Mark Norris, one of the main sponsors of the measure, has said the amendment is aimed at fixed-income seniors who are unable to afford increases in their property tax burdens.

The Collierville Republican has said the proposed exemption is a "complex issue" that is the culmination of the long process required to propose changes to the constitution.

"I don't know what to say," Norris said Wednesday. "We just have to do whatever we can do to get this thing passed and make it into law. We are just hoping for the best."

Proposed amendments must be passed by successive two-year General Assemblies before going to the voters. More than half of all voters in the gubernatorial election have to approve amendments for them to be adopted. Both chambers passed the measure in 2004. There was only one dissenting vote this spring.

Rep. Brian Kelsey said he voted against the proposal for being too narrow. The Germantown Republican said he wanted to see property tax relief for all Tennesseans.

Norris has created a Web site, www.tennesseniors.com, to highlight details of "Amendment 2." It includes the full language of the proposal.

Mark Norris Official Web Site

Mark Norris Personal Web Site

Tennesse Senate Republican Caucus

Senator Mark Norris
303 War Memorial Building,
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0232
Phone 615-741-1967
1-800-449-8366

Email: Sen. Mark Norris