Texans will have the opportunity to vote on 10 Constitutional Amendments this November. Read about them here or come to our HD 136 October Town Hall to learn more about what’s on your ballot this November.
🗳️ Proposition 1 allows an individual to hold more than one municipality’s judgeship at the same time, which will provide relief to communities who have struggled to fill those positions.
🗳️ Proposition 2 would allow for up to $200 million in bonds to be sold in order to fund needed water and wastewater projects in rural and low-income communities to increase the quality of infrastructure in those underserved areas.
🗳️ Proposition 3 allows the Legislature to authorize a temporary tax exemption for properties that have been damaged by a disaster, as declared by the Governor. The size of the tax exemption would correspond with the extent of damage done to the respective properties, based on the prescribed categories outlined in H.B. 492.
🗳️ Proposition 4 would ban the imposition of a state income tax in Texas. We currently have no such tax nor is it being proposed in any way by this amendment. Instead, this is cynical, gotcha politics and political posturing going into an election year. Were Texas to consider a state income tax it would have to be passed by two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate and then approved by the voters, as required by a previous constitutional amendment passed in 1993. Proposition 4 does not do that; it does not establish an income tax or any tax at all whether it passes or fails.
🗳️ Proposition 5 dedicates the Sporting Goods Sales Tax to the Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission to protect Texas’ natural areas, state parks, water quality, and history, as originally intended when the tax was created. Since 1993, less than half of the over $2.5 billion in revenue collected has gone towards that stated purpose and all the while our state parks and historic places have languished with nearly $800 million in deferred maintenance outstanding. This is not a new tax nor will any taxes be raised. It’s time to ensure Texans can enjoy our natural resources and state parks for generations to come.
🗳️ Proposition 6 authorizes a $3 billion increase in the amount of bonds that can be sold to benefit the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, doubling it from its current limit to a total of $6 billion. This will ensure that needed research for cancer prevention, treatment, and cures continues in Texas.
🗳️ Proposition 7 allows for an increase in financial distributions to the Available School Fund, which supports public education in Texas. Specifically, it doubles the amount of revenue derived from over 13 million acres of land or properties managed by the General Land Office that may be distributed to the Available School Fund from $300 million to $600 million per year.
🗳️ Proposition 8 would create a Flood Infrastructure Fund to assist in the financing of drainage, flood mitigation, and flood control projects by allocating $1.7 Billion from the state’s Economic Stabilization Fund, commonly known as the Rainy Day Fund.
🗳️ Proposition 9 would authorize a property tax exemption for precious metal held in the state-administered Texas Bullion Depository, with a permanent location slated to open soon in Leander.
🗳️ Proposition 10 allows police dogs and other law enforcement animals to be transferred without a fee to their previous handlers or other qualified caretaker when retired.
Content originally posted on Facebook. Re-posted with permission.
