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Tuesday, November 7, is Election Day in Texas. Polls will be open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, and voters will decide the fate of 14 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. There are also bond issue elections in several municipalities, including Mt. Pleasant Chapel Hill ISD and Como-Pickton ISD. Hopkins, Hunt, and Van Zandt County voters will select a new representative for House District 2 in the State Legislature to replace Bryan Slaton, who was expelled from the house earlier this year.
Here’s a breakdown of the 14 Constitutional Amendment Proposals:
Proposition 1: HJR 126 The proposition would add a new section to Article 1 to establish a right to farming, ranching, timber production, horticulture, and wildlife management on owned or leased personal property.
Proposition 2: SJR 64 City and county leaders can partially exempt child-care providers from property taxes for their facilities. The exemption must be at least 50% of the appraised value.
Proposition 3: HJR 132 Would ban the wealth tax. The proposition would require lawmakers to ask voters for authorization before implementing new state taxes on residents based on their net worth.
Proposition 4: HJR 2 Would raise the homestead exemption, the portion of a home’s value that can’t be taxed to pay for public schools. It would also temporarily limit appraisals for commercial, mineral, and residential properties that don’t get a homestead exemption and are worth less than $5 million.
Proposition 5: HJR 3 Would rename the National Research University Fund to the Texas University Fund, which provides funding to certain higher education institutions to support research.
Proposition 6: SJR 75 The Texas Water Fund would create a $1 billion fund that it would use to finance projects to upgrade the state’s crumbling water infrastructure system. The Texas Water Development Board would administer it.
Proposition 7: SJR 93 The Texas energy fund would set aside $5 billion to support the construction, maintenance, modernization, and operation of gas-powered electric generating facilities.
Proposition 8: HJR 125 Would create a $1.5 billion broadband infrastructure fund to expand internet availability, telecommunications, and 911 services in Texas. Federal funds would match this from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program.
Proposition 9: HJR 2 Would provide a cost-of-living increase to certain recipients of the Texas Retirement System of Texas. Approval would add $3.3 billion from the general revenue fund to the retirement system.
Proposition 10: SJR 87 If approved, manufacturers of medical products would no longer have to pay taxes to school districts, cities, and counties. It would exempt the value of equipment and inventory held by manufacturers of medical or biomedical products from a facility’s overall property values.
Proposition 11: SJR 32 Would allow conservation and reclamation districts in El Paso County to issue bonds to fund parks and recreational facilities. It would levy property taxes to repay the bonds.
Proposition 12: HJR 134 Galveston County would abolish the county treasurer position and hire or contract an existing county official or other qualified individual.
Proposition 13: HJR 107 Would make the mandatory age for a state judge to retire 79 instead of 75. It would increase the minimum retirement age to 75 from 70.
Proposition 14: SJR 74 Would create the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund for the creation of and improvement of state parks.
To view live election results as received from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, click on the link below: