QUESTION: When are they going to fix the bump in the Loop?

ANSWER: Ah, The Bump. I was just getting used to it, but the city's development director, Kevin Cummings, said repairs will start soon. Next week, traffic controls at the location will change, so watch for new signs and markers.

Repairs must go through a state approval procedure, since the Loop is a state-maintained road. The city has drawn up repair plans. Next, an outside engineering firm will approve them and then the city will hire a contractor.

Cummings is optimistic repairs can start by the latter part of May and be completed by the end of June. That section of road will be taken up and a new section built from scratch just as it was originally.

The city will seek recompense from the responsible party. The Bump occurred when a contractor was boring under the Loop to get to the water line on the north side to hook up a fire hydrant near the new construction on the south side.

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Q: Will people living and working here illegally, using a Social Security card belonging to someone else, receive a stimulus payment?

A: Probably not. The economic stimulus law requires that an individual file a tax return using a valid Social Security number, a provision intended to keep people working here illegally from receiving payments. Married couples must both have valid numbers.

If someone is working under a Social Security number belonging to someone else, that will be revealed when both file a return, so it is unlikely that someone working here illegally will file a return with someone else's number.

It's possible someone working illegally with a made up Social Security number could file a return and get a stimulus payment. It is unlikely that person would file, however, because he would risk calling attention to himself.

Some non-citizens working in the United States, legally or illegally, apply to the IRS for Individual Tax Identification Numbers. ITINs are alternatives to Social Security numbers and allow the worker to pay taxes, Social Security and Medicare. Workers with ITINs cannot receive stimulus payments.

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Q: Is there a place in Longview that teaches a class on how to buy and sell on eBay?

A: If your question had come in just a few days earlier, I could have told you about the eBay class on May 1 (the very day you wrote in), held by the Small Business Development Center of Kilgore College. The center will hold one or two classes this summer, but the schedule is not set.

Check with the center in a few weeks at (903) 757-5857, or watch the Web site at www.kilgore.edu/sbdc for updates. Also try the site http://pages.ebay.com/university/, which offers online courses and CDs.

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Q: Are city council and school board candidates required to follow Election Code provisions that political signs indicate the name of the person paying for the sign and include a notice that it is a violation to place the sign in the right of way? Who enforces these laws?

A: Yes, all candidates for public office must comply with Election Code requirements regarding signs. Some provisions call for a civil penalty, some call for criminal sanctions and some carry both.

Section 255.001, requiring that a political sign include the name of the person paying for it — that's a simplification of the statute — carries a civil penalty up to $4,000. It is a Class C misdemeanor to violate section 255.007, regarding the printed notice that the sign cannot be placed in the right of way.

The Texas Ethics Commission enforces all code provisions that call for civil penalties. Anyone can start the process by filing a sworn complaint. To do so online, go to http://www.ethics.state.tx.us. Click on Enforcement on the bottom left, then on Sworn Complaints and scroll down to the link for the form. To get a form by mail, call (800) 325-8506.

For violations that call for a criminal penalty, Assistant City Attorney Terry Jackson said a person can go to the police department and file a complaint, if the offense occurred in Longview. Be sure to gather as much information as you can. The department will investigate and issue a citation or refer the matter to a prosecutor, if a violation occurred.

Election Code section 273.001 gives another avenue for pursuing a criminal penalty. Two or more registered voters may present an affidavit to the county or district attorney regarding the violation, and that office will investigate.

Before you start a complaint process, check the signs up close to be sure the required information is not on there. The code does not prescribe the size of the lettering, so it may be on there but not visible from the street.

Leave a message at (903) 232-7208 or send an e-mail to answerline@longview-news.com. Sorry, no personal replies.