§ Requires cities with a population of more than 50,000 to make certain deductions from the wages or salary of an employee for membership dues to a bona fide employees' association, under certain conditions, and if requested by an employee to do so.

§ Creates the Texas Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (commission).

§ Requires the commission to provide a forum for discussion of intergovernmental issues, conduct research, collect information, and publish research reports.

§ Provides the option for a board of directors of a municipal utility district that is located in the extraterritorial jurisdictions of more than one municipality to select the municipality that may exercise authority within the district.

§ Authorizes the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to waive the payment of indirect costs associated with a TxDOT agreement with another state agency or a local government entity related to a transportation project.

§ Allows a governing body of a municipality to provide for the manner in which land acquired following the foreclosure of a tax lien, may be sold if the land is sold to:

§ a nonprofit organization that develops housing for certain low income individuals and families; or

§ certain nonprofit corporations which are involved in the development of affordable housing.

§ Authorizes a commissioners court of a county to lower the speed limit of a road, if the commissioners court determines that the speed limit is unreasonable or unsafe.

§ Outlines provisions regarding the composition of the board of directors of certain metropolitan transit authorities.

§ Applies only to the board of an authority in which each member of the governing body of the principal municipality is elected at large.

§ Abolishes the current board on the effective date of this Act, and establishes a temporary board.

§ Allows a county assessor-collector or TxDOT to refuse to register a motor vehicle upon receiving information that the owner owes the county a past due fine, fee, or tax.

§ Prohibits local governing and law enforcement entities from adopting policies that may result in weaker laws regarding illegal drugs.

§ Authorizes the Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority in Austin to hold a binding referendum on the question of whether to build a fixed rail system.

§ Prohibits the authority from issuing short-term debt or certain bonds, unless the fixed rail system is approved by referendum.

§ Outlines provisions regarding performance audits of certain metropolitan transit authorities.

§ Applies only to a transit authority that was confirmed before July 1, 1985, and does not contain a municipality of more than 750,000.

§ Authorizes additional compensatory wages for the use and fluency of an additional language skill other than English for certain municipal firefighters and police officers.

§ Removes the provision which limited the foreclosure sales to governing bodies of municipalities with a population of 1.5 million or more.

§ Allows a taxing unit to recover its costs of upkeep, maintenance, and environmental cleanup, without further court order, from the resale proceeds on property located in the taxing unit.

§ Allows a commissioners court to debate the appointment of members to an advisory board in closed session.

§ Provides that the commissioners of the Port of Beaumont Navigation District of Jefferson County (district) serve staggered four-year terms with the terms of three commissioners expiring every two years, rather than serving staggered six-year terms with the terms of two commissioners expiring every two years.

§ Requires one commissioner to be elected from each of the four wards by the qualified voters of that ward, and requires two commissioners to be elected at large by the qualified voters of the district.

§ Removes the provision regarding the election of commissioners by the voters of the district-at-large.

§ Proposes a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature, by general law, to prescribe the qualifications of constables. Ballot Date: November 4, 1997.