Texas voters approve 17 constitutional amendments, from tax cuts to water infrastructure

From The Texas Newsroom:

Texas voters gave final approval on Tuesday to a wide-ranging slate of changes to the state constitution that will reshape taxes, education, public safety and infrastructure in the Lone Star State.

This year, the state’s voters saw one of the most amendment-packed ballots in Texas history. Voters weighed in on 17 possible changes to the Texas Constitution, with proposed amendments ranging from property tax cuts and judicial reform to new investments in research and workforce development.

Without a big race like the presidency or a high-profile statewide office on the ballot, voter turnout for these types of elections is usually modest. But several controversial local ballot measures boosted turnout in places like Austin and San Antonio.

Overall, more than 2.9 million Texans cast a ballot this year according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office. By comparison, about 2.5 million Texans voted during the state’s last constitutional amendment election in 2023.

While this year’s numbers show an increased turnout for an election of this kind, just under 16% of the state’s nearly 18.5 million registered voters participated.

“Few people vote in these elections. It generally isn’t on most people’s radar,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist with the University of Houston.

“Most of the time, you have partisanship that tends to juice up turnout,” Rottinghaus told The Texas Newsroom. “In the absence of there being a clear Republican or Democratic outcome here, people tend to not vote in significant numbers.”

Read on for a breakdown of each proposition Texas gave the nod to this year — and what those changes might mean for you.

A variety of amendments to lower property taxes

Taxes were a primary focus of this year’s constitutional amendment election, accounting for more than half of the 17 amendments on the ballot. Of those proposals, six were directed at lowering property taxes for specific groups.

Most consequential among them are ballot Proposition 13, which increases the homestead exemption for all homeowners from $100,000 to $140,000, and Proposition 11 which gives senior citizens and those with disabilities an extra $60,0000 exemption.

This is just the latest move towards property tax relief from the Texas Legislature. Nearly all of Texas’ state lawmakers pushed to get these propositions on the ballot this year. Taken together with other recent efforts to reduce property taxes, the state will spend more than $50 billion on this during its next budget cycle.

Tuesday night’s final passage of the propositions is seen as a win for state leaders. That includes Texas’ Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who campaigned in favor of both propositions.

“The homestead exemption for seniors will increase to $200,000, which means the average senior homeowner will never pay school property taxes again,” Patrick said in an ad released before early voting started.

Texas’ continued push to reduce property taxes, however, could bring complications down the line according to Michael Adams, a Texas Southern University political scientist. In recent years, Texas has enjoyed a hefty budget surplus. But Adams told The Texas Newsroom that the state could end up in a tough situation during a down budget year.

“I don’t think there’s been a clear understanding in terms of what the impact will be at the local level,” said Adams. “If you lose that revenue … how do you compensate for it?”

Additional amendments passed by voters Tuesday include Proposition 10, which gives a tax exemption to homeowners whose houses were destroyed by fire, and Proposition 7. That measure creates an exemption for widows of veterans whose death was a result of their military service.

Property taxes will also go down for landlords and business owners under Proposition 9.

Finally, Proposition 17 will give Texans along the southern border a property tax break for any building projects related to border security on their land.

Texans make investments in water infrastructure, dementia prevention and technical education

Voters this year also showed strong support for measures aimed at strengthening the state’s future. Proposition 1 creates two new funds to help Texas’ network of technical colleges grow — money that can be used toward buying land, building new classrooms and labs, repairing campus buildings and updating equipment.

Meanwhile, Proposition 4 will direct up to $1 billion a year for fixing old pipes, building reservoirs and shoring up the state’s water supply against future droughts. While supporters say it’s a drop in the bucket compared to what’s needed, the money will begin to address the state’s numerous issues with aging water infrastructure.

And through Proposition 14, Texans approved the creation of a $3 billion investment to create a Dementia Prevention and Research Institute — modeled after the state’s cancer research program — to focus on Alzheimer’s and related diseases.

Voters approve additional tax exemptions and bans

Property taxes weren’t the only tax-related items on that ballot this year. Texas voters also decided to pass four other constitutional amendments which create exemptions for — or outright bans on — certain types of taxation.

Under Proposition 2, Texas voters banned a capital gains tax, a move supporters say protects investors and encourages economic growth. Meanwhile, Proposition 6 prohibits certain taxes on financial service providers like stock exchanges and broker dealers.Gov. Greg Abbott took to social media Wednesday morning to celebrate their passage.

Voters also banned inheritance taxes in the state via Proposition 8 which ensures lawmakers cannot impose a tax on estates or inheritances in the future, even though the state currently has none.

Finally, Proposition 5 creates a tax exemption for animal feed held in retailers’ inventories, an effort to lower livestock production costs and support Texas agriculture.

Tougher bail rules and judicial oversight

Amendments reshaping parts of the state’s criminal justice system also saw support from Texas voters on Election Day.

Proposition 3 requires judges to deny bail in some violent and sexual offense cases if there’s clear evidence the person poses a danger or might flee. Supporters say the change will close loopholes that had previously allowed some repeat offenders to walk free.

But the measure also establishes new due process protections for defendants — including a guaranteed right to counsel, a written justification for detention and a higher evidentiary standard for denying bail.

“Pretrial freedom is a cornerstone of justice, and Texans have stood up for it. When freedom is at stake, due process must be more than a promise – it must be a guarantee,” said Nicole Zayas Manzano, Deputy Director of Policy at The Bail Project.

Manzano said the challenge now is ensuring those protections are applied consistently across Texas courts, especially as county jails remain overcrowded — with more than 70% of defendants awaiting trial and not yet convicted of a crime.

Also approved Tuesday was Proposition 12, which overhauls the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, giving it more power “to more effectively sanction judges for judicial misconduct” and change how its members are appointed. Supporters, like Gov. Greg Abbott, have said the change will make Texas’ judicial system more transparent.

Now that both propositions have passed, a Texas judge who still grants bail to repeat offenders could be sanctioned by the SCJC for misconduct.

How other amendments faired

Two other new amendments to the Texas Constitution focus on social and election issues. Proposition 15 puts parents’ rights directly into the state constitution, giving them more say over their kids’ education, healthcare and upbringing. Supporters say it protects families; critics worry it could complicate child welfare cases.

Meanwhile, Proposition 16 reinforces that only U.S. citizens can vote in state and local elections — something already in law but now cemented in the Texas Constitution.

Overall, the state’s voters soundly approved all 17 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. With the exception of Prop 4, all measures passed with at least 60% of the vote.

UH’s Brandon Rottinghaus said that wasn’t surprising, given that they were “pretty popular initiatives.”

“You’ve got tax breaks, you’ve got money for things like water and dementia research. These are all things, generally speaking, that people are in favor of,” Rottinghaus said.

Texas is one of many states that both put constitutional amendments on the ballot after a two-thirds vote from state lawmakers and only require a simple majority vote of approval statewide to take effect.

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