Early Voting Begins Monday, October 20th for 17 Proposed Amendments

Early Voting Begins Monday, October 20th for 17 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. You can find voting information at the end of this message. 

This past session, the legislature passed 17 joint resolutions proposing these amendments. Funding for these measures has already been allocated in the state budget. 

The Secretary of State has determined the order of the amendments on the ballot by random draw and numbered them by proposition. There are key amendments which propose to provide further property tax relief, improve statewide water availability and ensure that only United States citizens can vote in Texas elections.  

Key Amendments:

Tax Relief 

Prop 2 – Would prohibit a capital gains tax from being imposed on an individual’s estate or trust. 

Prop 8 – Would prohibit the legislature from imposing a “death tax.” 

Prop 9 – Would cut taxes for small businesses by raising the exemption for business personal property from $2,500 to $125,000. 

Prop 13 – Would increase the homestead exemption for all Texans, other than seniors and disabled persons, from $100,000 to $140,000.

Prop 11 – Would increase the school property tax exemption for seniors and disabled persons by an additional $60,000, raising their total exemption to $200,000. 

Bail Reform

Prop 3 – Would require a judge to deny bail to the most violent offenders when the state provides that the defendant is a threat to public safety or a flight risk. Such violent offenders include murderers, rapists and human traffickers.

Critical Infrastructure 

Prop 4 – Would establish a dedicated funding source to provide $1 billion annually for 20 years to the Texas Water Fund, supporting long-term water resource development across the state.

Voter Integrity 

Prop 16 – Would clarify that a person must be a United States citizen to vote in a Texas election. The Texas Constitution does not currently explicitly limit Texas non-citizen voting in state or local elections. This will prevent municipalities from passing policies to allow non-citizens to vote, like cities have done in California, Maryland and New York. 

Other Proposed Amendments: 

Prop 1 – Would establish two new funds to support the Texas State Technical College (TSTC) System. The funds established by Prop 1 would provide additional funding to the TSTC System for capital projects and equipment purchases that support vocational and technical education programs.

Prop 5 – Would exempt animal feed from property taxation, relieving the tax burden on livestock feed retailers to benefit the agriculture industry.

Prop 6 – Would prohibit the legislature from imposing a tax on registered securities market operators or their transactions. Prop 6 would support the newly established and growing Texas Stock Exchange by preventing the future imposition of a financial transaction tax that would deter investment in the financial services sector and negatively affect the growing Texas economy. It would also provide certainty for investors, including retirees, about their ability to trade securities freely in Texas. 

Prop 7 – Would authorize the legislature to grant a property tax exemption for unremarried spouses of veterans who died in connection with their service.

Prop 10 – Would authorize future legislatures to provide a temporary exemption from property taxes on a residence homestead that is destroyed by fire.

Prop 12 – Would make changes to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct (SCJC) to strengthen judicial oversight.

Prop 14 – Would establish the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to advance research, treatment and prevention for a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. This is modeled on the successful Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

Prop 15 – Would affirm a parent’s inherent right to the care, custody and control of their children, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing. Currently, parental rights in Texas are protected primarily through case law, which can be subject to change based on judicial interpretations. Prop 16 would codify these rights directly in the state constitution, providing stronger and more consistent protection against potential governmental overreach. 

Prop 17 – Would authorize future legislatures to provide an exemption from certain property taxation for properties in Texas counties that border Mexico. The state and federal governments have built walls and roads and installed surveillance systems on individuals’ private property to prevent illegal border crossings. Prop 17 ensures that any increase in a property’s appraised value due to the border security infrastructure will not result in higher property taxes.

Links For Early Voting Locations and Information:

Brown County
 
Callahan County
 
Johnson County
 
Palo Pinto County
 
Parker County
 
Shackelford County
 
Stephens County
 
Tarrant County