CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
In addition to local races and bond issues, Texas voters were asked to decide 10 constitutional amendments on the ballot.
PASS FAIL
Proposition 1
Would allow a municipal judge to hold office
for multiple municipalities at the same time. Supporters say it would make it easier for rural areas to keep qualified judges on the bench.
PASS FAIL
Proposition 2
Would allow the Texas Water Development board to issue general obligation bonds to fund water and sewer services in economically distressed areas of the state.
PASS FAIL
Proposition 3
Would allow property owners in an area affected
by a governor declared natural disaster to be exempted from property taxes for a year.
PASS FAIL
Proposition 4
Would bar Texas from imposing a state income tax. Removing the ban would require another constitutional amendment.
PASS FAIL
Proposition 5
Would require revenue received from existing sales and use taxes imposed on sporting goods to go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission. Under current law, lawmakers frequently divert the funds to other uses.
PASS FAIL
Proposition 6
Would authorize the state to issue an additional $3 billion in bonds to fund the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. It would double the allowed amount of debt to $6 billion.
PASS FAIL
Proposition 7
Would double the amount the Permanent School Fund could contribute to public schools to $600 million. The fund includes investment returns and proceeds from state land and mineral rights.
PASS FAIL
Proposition 8
Would provide for the creation of a flood infrastructure fund to aid in the financing of drainage, flood mitigation and flood control projects. It would be funded with $793 million from the Economic Stabilization Fund, also known as Texas’ “Rainy Day Fund.”
PASS FAIL
Proposition 9
Would allow the Texas Legislature to exempt from property taxes any gold, silver, palladium, rhodium or platinum held in a public or private precious metal depository.
PASS FAIL
Proposition 10
Would allow the transfer of a law enforcement animal, such as a police dog, to its handler or other qualified caretakers once it is retired from service. Because law enforcement animals are considered public property, the question of where they can live is muddied under current law.