A U.S. district judge dismissed a lawsuit questioning the language of Proposition 1, the November ballot proposition intended to improve local health care delivery and support the creation of a new medical school, among other objectives.

Voters approved Proposition 1 with 55 percent of the vote. By approving it, Travis County voters agreed to raise the tax rate of the county's health care district, Central Health, by 5 cents to 12.9 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

On Jan. 31, Judge Lee Yeakel dismissed the lawsuit, which was filed by the Travis County Taxpayers Union PAC and individual plaintiffs. The plaintiffs had claimed that the ballot language was misleading and promoted the proposition.

Yeakel had previously denied an injunction to stop the votes from being officially reported, or canvassed, after Election Day.

PAC treasurer Don Zimmerman said the plaintiffs had asked for the dismissal because the judge had disagreed with their legal opinion and did not grant emergency relief. He said the issue in dispute was whether the ballot language violates the Voting Rights Act.

Zimmerman said the plaintiffs plan to file their case in state court as soon as possible.

In a statement to Community Impact Newspaper, Central Health President/CEO Patricia Young Brown said that the district is "pleased that this case has been dismissed as we proceed with our innovative efforts to upgrade the safety net health care system in Travis County."

"We are grateful to the voters for the opportunities they have made possible to improve health and health care for all residents," she wrote.

In related medical school news, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation announced plans to donate $50 million over 10 years toward the new school.

The school will be known as the Dell Medical School and is scheduled to enroll its first class of 50 students in 2016, according to a news release from the foundation.