November Constitutional Amendments Election (Recap)
Next week on November 5, Texans across our State will have the opportunity to support or oppose the nine constitutional amendments passed by the 83rd Texas Legislature. Each of these Constitutional amendments would alter and/or create changes to the Texas Constitution. Constitutional amendments are first proposed by the legislature in the form of a joint resolution. The joint resolution then must pass both the Texas House and the Texas Senate by a two-thirds vote. Once the joint resolution passes the legislature, it must be approved by a majority of the voters across the state in order to become a part of our state constitution.
Below is the language and order of the nine propositions as provided by the Texas Secretary of State:
• Proposition Number 1 (H.J.R. 62) “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services of the United States who is killed in action.”
• Proposition Number 2 (H.J.R. 79) “The constitutional amendment eliminating an obsolete requirement for a State Medical Education Board and a State Medical Education Fund, neither of which is operational.”
• Proposition Number 3 (H.J.R. 133) “The constitutional amendment to authorize a political subdivision of this state to extend the number of days that aircraft parts that are exempt from ad valorem taxation due to their location in this state for a temporary period may be located in this state for purposes of qualifying for the tax exemption.”
• Proposition Number 4 (H.J.R. 24) “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of part of the market value of the residence homestead of a partially disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a partially disabled veteran if the residence homestead was donated to the disabled veteran by a charitable organization.”
• Proposition Number 5 (S.J.R. 18) “The constitutional amendment to authorize the making of a reverse mortgage loan for the purchase of homestead property and to amend lender disclosures and other requirements in connection with a reverse mortgage loan.”
• Proposition Number 6 (S.J.R. 1) “The constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas and the State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas to assist in the financing of priority projects in the state water plan to ensure the availability of adequate water resources.”
• Proposition Number 7 (H.J.R 87) “The constitutional amendment authorizing a home-rule municipality to provide in its charter the procedure to fill a vacancy on its governing body for which the unexpired term is 12 months or less.”
• Proposition Number 8 (H.J.R. 147 and S.J.R. 54) “The constitutional amendment repealing Section 7, Article IX, Texas Constitution, which relates to the creation of a hospital district in Hidalgo County.”
• Proposition Number 9 (S.J.R. 42) “The constitutional amendment relating to expanding the types of sanctions that may be assessed against a judge or justice following a formal proceeding instituted by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.”
As a reminder, recently the Texas Secretary of State announced the use of photo identification for this year’s election. According to the Texas Secretary of State, the acceptable forms of voter identification are as follows:
• Texas driver license
• Texas personal identification card
• U.S. passport book or card
• Texas concealed handgun license
• U.S. Military identification with photo
• U.S. Citizenship Certificate or Certificate of Naturalization with photo
• Election Identification Certificates
All forms of identification must be unexpired or expired less than 60 days at the time of voting.
Additional information on the November 5th election can be found on Vote Texas which is administered by the Secretary of State.
If you have questions regarding any of the proposed constitutional amendments mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
– State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32
Rep. Hunter represents Nueces (Part) County. He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
