Democratic resolutions

• Eminent domain for toll roads

Close loopholes in eminent domain laws to prevent the taking of private land for toll roads to be operated, leased or managed by private companies -- including foreign -- for profit.

Amend state laws to prohibit any portion of new or existing public roads or rights of way from being operated, leased or managed by private companies -- including foreign -- for profit.

•Public-private partnerships

Amend state laws to prohibit the state government or state agencies from contracting with private companies or consortiums, including foreign firms, to transfer the ownership, lease, operate or manage any Texas public facility.

•Health care

Establish a universal singlepayer, not-for-profit national health care system. The system would be publicly financed but privately delivered.

The resolution calls for allowing people to choose their own health care providers, preventive health care, dental care, mental health care and prescription drugs.

The resolution recommends health care be "available to everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions, status of employment, or income level."

•Abortion

Candidates for the United States Supreme Court should "demonstrate a strong commitment to a woman's right to choose," and the government should be denied the ability to "intervene in medical treatments, including abortion, that a woman requests from her doctor."

All medical records should remain private and unavailable to the government, and the government should "adequately fund universal family planning and gynecological services, including abortion procedures, to all women needing government assistance."

•Public education

The resolution calls for a series of reforms, including universal pre-kindergarten and kindergarten -- paid for by federal, state and local tax money and "private dollars" -- for all three- and four-year-old children; increased national and state funding for college financial aid; and national core curriculum standards.

Other reforms include repeal of the No Child Left Behind Act and a significant reduction in the number of standardized tests administered each school year.

•Homosexual rights

Proposals include recognizing same-sex marriages; making available to homosexual couples "all benefits and legal entitlements available to heterosexual couples;" strengthening and enforcing hate crimes laws and ending the ban on "openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals" serving in the United States armed forces.

The resolution also calls for laws to allow homosexuals and bisexual and transgendered individuals to adopt, make medical decisions for their partners, receive inheritance from their partners and obtain insurance benefits through their partners.

•Repeal the USA Patriot Act

The resolution states the law abridges citizens' rights by allowing the FBI to search private medical or library records without a warrant or probable cause.

•Foreign intervention

Urges Congress to refuse permission to deploy American troops or send weapons to another country unless that nation poses "an unquestionably imminent and deadly threat" to the United States.

•Border wall

Opposes the building of a wall or fence along any section of the Rio Grande.

•Death penalty

Calls for the abolition in Texas of the death penalty, which the resolution says disproportionately targets minorities and does not deter violent crime.

•Iraq

The resolution calls for a timetable, flexible to conditions in Iraq, for withdrawal of troops and contractors. Congress should refuse to allocate any more funds for military operations in Iraq other than what is needed for withdrawal.

•Impeachment

President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should be impeached "for high crimes and misdemeanors against the people, the laws and the Constitution of the United States of America."

The resolution says Bush advocated war in Iraq by citing "trumped-up information about Iraq's weapons capabilities" and "falsely implying that Iraq sheltered terrorists."

The resolution also charges that Bush and Cheney have violated international law by waterboarding terrorist suspects.

•State income tax

The Texas Legislature should place a referendum on the state ballot to allow voters to consider amending the state constitution to establish a progressive state income tax "covering natural persons and business entities."

•Landfills/recycling

The Texas Legislature should require trash facilities to renew their permits -- which currently have no time limits -- every 10 years. The legislature also should promote recycling, promote the development of "green" jobs and businesses, conserve natural resources and "reduce the creation of climate-changing gases."

•Alternative energy

Calls for the promotion of hydropower and wind, solar and geothermal energy, along with promoting the development of ethanol and biodiesel.

The resolution also calls for policies to educate and encourage students to pursue careers in the alternative energy industry.