All eight constitutional amendments in Texas were approved on Tuesday.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Proposition 1 was approved with 83.82% of the vote. The amendment authorizes professional sports team charitable foundations to conduct raffles at rodeo venues and includes professional association-sanctioned rodeos in the definition of a professional sports team.
Proposition 2 was approved with 63.21% of the vote. Proposition 2
- authorizes counties to issue bonds to fund transportation and infrastructure projects in blighted areas;
- prohibits counties from allocating more than 65% of property tax revenue increases annually to repay the bonds; and
- prohibits counties from using the funds from the issuance of the bonds to build a toll road.
Prior to the election, only cities and towns could issue bonds to fund transportation projects in blighted areas.
Proposition 3 was approved with 62.69% of the vote. The amendment was one of two on the ballot that related to coronavirus pandemic regulations. Proposition 3 amended the state constitution to prohibit the state or any political subdivision from enacting a law, rule, order, or proclamation that limits religious services or organizations.
The other coronavirus-related amendment was Proposition 6, which was approved by 87.81% of voters. Proposition 6 is a first-of-its-kind amendment that establishes a right for residents of nursing or assisted living facilities to designate an essential caregiver, who cannot be prohibited from in-person visitation.
Propositions 4 and 5, which both addressed changes to the state judiciary system, were approved with 58.78% and 59.15%, respectively. Proposition 4 makes changes to the eligibility requirements for a justice of the supreme court, a judge of the court of criminal appeals, a justice of a court of appeals, and a district judge. Proposition 5 adds a section to the state constitution that authorizes the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to investigate and discipline candidates seeking state judicial office in the same manner as judicial officeholders.
Propositions 7 and 8, which both addressed taxes, were approved by 87.12% and 87.76%, respectively. Proposition 7 amends the state constitution to allow the legislature to extend a homestead tax limit for surviving spouses of disabled individuals as long as the spouse is 55 years old and resides at the home. Proposition 8 allows the legislature to provide a homestead property tax exemption for the surviving spouse of a military member “killed or fatally injured in the line of duty.” Prior to the election, the exemption only applied to spouses of a military member “killed in action.”
Between 1995 and 2021, Texas voters approved 162 of 177 amendments (91.5%) appearing on statewide ballots.
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