Reject All 17 Amendments

OPINION — Early voting began Monday, October 20, 2025, and, as with most off-year elections, few Texans are paying attention. In 2023, when 14 constitutional amendments were on the ballot, only 10,770 of Tom Green County’s 68,859 registered voters cast ballots—just 15%. Statewide, turnout was about 14%. In other words, a small fraction of voters decided how to spend billions in taxpayer dollars.

This year’s 17 proposed constitutional amendments deserve closer scrutiny. None, in my view, truly benefit ordinary Texans. Instead, they carve out tax breaks for special interests, build permanent funds beyond legislative control, and codify ideas that sound good on paper but erode accountability in practice.

Texans should always do their own research—but we should also approach these proposals with healthy skepticism. Often, the most “common-sense” measures are the most deceptive.

Take Proposition 15, which claims to affirm that parents are the primary decision-makers for their children. We don’t need the government to affirm a right we already have—because what government grants, it can also take away.

Below are brief summaries of each proposition, the official ballot language, and key points to consider.

Proposition 1 – SJR 59

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the permanent technical institution infrastructure fund and the available workforce education fund to support the capital needs of educational programs offered by the Texas State Technical College System.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Creates two permanent funds for the Texas State Technical College System. TSTC already receives over $200 million annually. Locking in new revenue removes legislative oversight and limits future flexibility.

Proposition 2 – SJR 18

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of a tax on the realized or unrealized capital gains of an individual, family, estate, or trust.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Texas already bans an income tax, which includes capital gains. This measure mainly protects high-wealth investors—possibly tied to the new Texas Stock Exchange—while restricting future legislatures from addressing fiscal needs.

Proposition 3 – SJR 5

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment requiring the denial of bail under certain circumstances to persons accused of certain offenses punishable as a felony.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Sounds tough on crime but weakens justice. It forces judges to deny bail broadly, leading to more innocent or low-risk people jailed for months before trial. Judges already have discretion to set high bail for dangerous offenders; we need better judgment, not blanket detention. As the saying goes, it’s better for a guilty man to go free than for an innocent one to rot in jail. Prop 3 trades liberty for the illusion of safety.

Proposition 4 – HJR 7

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment to dedicate a portion of the revenue derived from state sales and use taxes to the Texas Water Fund and to provide for the allocation and use of that revenue.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Commits an additional $1 billion per year to the Texas Water Fund- we already approved $1 billion for the next 30 years when the fund was created in 2023. Once constitutionally dedicated, these funds can’t be redirected if needs change. It’s another well-intentioned but permanent earmark with limited oversight.

Proposition 5 – HJR 99

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation tangible personal property consisting of animal feed held by the owner of the property for sale at retail.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: A narrow carve-out for one industry. Exemptions like this shift local tax burdens onto everyone else instead of reforming the system broadly.

Proposition 6 – HJR 4

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the legislature from enacting a law imposing an occupation tax on certain entities that enter into transactions conveying securities or imposing a tax on certain securities transactions.”

Position: Strongly Oppose

Summary: Prevents Texas from ever taxing securities trades or requiring licensing for Traders. It primarily benefits a handful of investment firms and the new Texas Stock Exchange. Before the idea of such taxes are even debated, this amendment would remove them permanently—foreclosing future options for state revenue.

Proposition 7 – HJR 133

Ballot: “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 veteran who died as a result of a condition or disease that is presumed under federal law to have been service-connected.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Surviving spouses of 100% service-connected disabled veterans already receive exemptions. This expands benefits unnecessarily and further narrows the tax base, shifting costs to others.

Proposition 8 – HJR 2

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment to prohibit the legislature from imposing death taxes applicable to a decedent’s property or the transfer of an estate, inheritance, legacy, succession, or gift.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Texas has no income, estate, or inheritance tax. This fixes a problem that doesn’t exist.

Proposition 9 – HJR 1

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation a portion of the market value of tangible personal property a person owns that is held or used for the production of income.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Exempts business personal property up to $125,000. While framed as small-business relief, it simply shifts the property-tax load elsewhere.

Proposition 10 – SJR 84

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for a temporary exemption from ad valorem taxation of the appraised value of an improvement to a residence homestead that is completely destroyed by a fire.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Offers selective relief for fire damage but ignores other disasters like floods or tornadoes. The “temporary” window isn’t defined, and taxes are already based on prior-year values. It’s unnecessary piecemeal policymaking.

Proposition 11 – SJR 85

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to increase the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district of the market value of the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Raises school-tax exemptions for elderly and disabled Texans from $10,000 to $60,000. Compassionate, yes—but again shifts costs to younger or non-exempt property owners. Relief should come from reform, not exceptions.

Proposition 12 – SJR 27

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment regarding the membership of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the membership of the tribunal to review the commission’s recommendations, and the authority of the commission, the tribunal, and the Texas Supreme Court to more effectively sanction judges and justices for judicial misconduct.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Markets itself as accountability reform but actually centralizes more control under political appointees and the Supreme Court itself. Gives the Governor 7 appointees, up from the 5 he currently has. True judicial independence requires separation from politics.

Proposition 13 – SJR 2

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment to increase the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district from $100,000 to $140,000.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Raises the school homestead exemption, but local appraisal districts will likely increase valuations to compensate. Without reform, this “relief” is temporary at best.

Proposition 14 – SJR 3

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas… and transferring to that fund $3 billion from state general revenue.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Important cause, wrong mechanism. Creates a $3 billion constitutionally protected fund beyond legislative oversight. Texas already supports medical research through universities and private grants—this adds bureaucracy, not efficiency.

Proposition 15 – SJR 34

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Parental authority is already fundamental, and granted by God. Codifying it gives government power to define—and later limit—what that authority means.

Proposition 16 – SJR 37

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment clarifying that a voter must be a United States citizen.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: Voting is already limited to U.S. citizens. This adds redundancy, not protection. Proposition 17 – HJR 34

Ballot: “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation… of property located in a county that borders the United Mexican States… for border security infrastructure.”

Position: Oppose

Summary: A tax break for a few border landowners but taxes still aren’t dropping, so the “relief” will be temporary and taxes will spread to other taxpayers. Taken together, these 17 propositions expand carve-outs, build untouchable funds, and reduce accountability—all through permanent constitutional amendments that few voters will even see. Structural changes of this scale shouldn’t be made by 14% of the electorate.

My recommendation: Vote No on all 17. Demand transparent budgeting, broad-based tax reform, and constitutional restraint. Amendments should be rare, clear, and essential—not tools for special interests or symbolic politics.

Let’s send a message: Texans are paying attention, and we expect better than government by amendment.