For anyone who might be interested, these my thoughts on the November 2025 General Elections and the 17 Proposed Amendments to the Texas State Constitution

Doing a show for KPFT, I can’t specifically endorse candidates on the air. Regular listeners probably know how I lean.

In terms of the general election, if you’re unsure who you should vote for and don’t know how to decide, consider looking for endorsements from groups that you know from experience tend to align with your values and beliefs. In non-partisan elections, it might help to know who the party of your choice endorses.

The Constitution of the State of Texas has been amended 530 times as of 2023. That tells me that either the Texas Constitution was written very badly, or that the constitutional amendment process has been terribly abused for partisan political ends. Or maybe, both.

I’m copying the proposition languages from an article in the Texas Tribune, which is one of the reference links I cite at the bottom of this topic in this post. It goes into much more detail on each proposition than I can here, but does not recommend how to vote on the various propositions.

In terms of how I lean on propositions, as a general rule, I don’t support proposed changes to the Texas Constitution that enshrine what should be simple legislation into the constitution.

I do sometimes support propositions that authorize the legislature to legislate on a subject, but sometimes that can be a bad idea. An extreme example might be a change to the Constitution that allowed the legislature to ban free speech.

For what it’s worth , I’ll offer you my recommendation on each of the proposed Constitutional Amendments.

PROP 1: “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.”    I vote YES. Generally speaking, I support funding for education. My preference is that this should be done as an act of the legislature. I don’t see why it has to be put into a Constitutional Amendment except that Republicans want to make sure it can’t easily be overturned in the way that legislation can be. Nonetheless, I reluctantly vote YES on Proposition 1.

PROP 2: “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of a tax on the realized or unrealized capital gains of an individual, family, estate, or trust.”    I vote NO on this proposition. Tax law should absolutely not be in the Constitution just to make it hard to overturn. This is a Conservative Republican effort to eliminate taxes on the capital gains realized on the assets of very large estates. It will only benefit the very rich. For 2025, the US IRS exemption on inheritance (estate) taxes is $13.99 million per individual. For a married couple, this combined exemption is $27.98 million. I suspect that 99% of American individual estates fall under that number. So I vote NO on PROP 2.

PROP 3: This is a bail reform Constitutional Amendment. It says, “The constitutional amendment requiring the denial of bail under certain circumstances to persons accused of certain offenses punishable as a felony.”    I vote NO. I interpret this as being an effort to punish poor people who cannot make bail after arrest. Regardless of your views on this subject, it has no business being a Constitutional Amendment. I vote NO on Prop 3.

PROP 4: “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.”    I vote YES. As a tax matter, this has no business being a Constitutional Amendment. It should be strictly a legislative matter, but the intent is worthwhile, even critically necessary. I reluctantly vote YES on Prop 4.

PROP 5: “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.”    I vote YES.This amendment simply allows the legislature to pass a tax law. On this basis I vote YES on Prop 5.

PROP 6: “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.”    I vote NO. Again, this is the Republican government of Texas trying to Constitutionally prevent a tax law of some kind from ever being passed. I vote NO on Prop 6.

PROP 7: “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.”    I vote YES. This is a constitutional amendment allowing the Legislature to pass a tax law. On this basis I vote YES on Prop 7.

PROP 8: “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.”  I vote NO. This is another effort by anti-tax Republicans to permanently ban any future legislature from passing an inheritance tax on very large estates. I vote NO on Prop 8 for the same reason I vote NO on Prop 2. This is intended to benefit the richest 1% of Texans.

PROP 9: “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.”   I vote YES. As an amendment that simply allows tax legislation, I vote YES on Prop 9.

PROP 10: “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.”      I vote YES. As an amendment that simply allows tax legislation, I vote YES on Prop 10.

PROP 11: “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.” As an amendment that simply allows tax legislation, I vote YES on Prop 11.

PROP 12: “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.”   I vote NO.I assume that this amendment will allow Governor Abbott to stack this tribunal with more loyalists who will interpret “judicial misconduct” in the current Trumpian way. Further, I see no reason to set something like this in constitutional stone. I vote NO on Prop 12.

PROP 13: “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.”   I vote NO. I’m sure that Prop 13 will pass no matter what I say, just because. But on principle, routine tax matters should not be constitutionally unchangeable. I suggest voting NO on Prop 13.

PROP 14: “The constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Fund to provide money for research on and prevention and treatment of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and related disorders in this state, and transferring to that fund $3 billion from state general revenue.”   I vote YES. This is certainly a worthy cause. I don’t know of any reason why this has to be established as a constitutional amendment, so on principle I should be against it, but I’ll reluctantly vote YES on Prop 14.

PROP 15: “The constitutional amendment affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children.” I vote NO on Prop 15. This proposition is explained in much more detail in the Texas Tribune story. Whatever your position on legal parental rights, assume that under a Rightwing Republican Texas regime, this amendment will be legally and legislatively abused in all the worst possible ways. Further, if the Texas legislature wants this to be law, this language should be legislated, and not added as an immutable amendment to the Texas Constitution. So, I vote NO on Prop 15.

PROP 16: “The constitutional amendment clarifying that a voter must be a United States citizen.”   I vote NO. This is already law at the federal level. It’s another effort to intimidate voters who fear harassment at the polls. I vote NO on Prop 16.

PROP 17: “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the amount of the market value of real property located in a county that borders the United Mexican States that arises from the installation or construction on the property of border security infrastructure and related improvements.”   I vote NO. This is another example of the State attempting to dictate tax policy at the local level. I vote NO on Prop 17.

REFERENCES: Blue Voter Guide —BLUEVOTERGUIDE.ORG

REFERENCES: Texas 2025 ballot measures — BALLOTPEDIA.ORG

REFERENCES: 17 statewide propositions will appear on the November ballot. Here’s what Texas voters need to know. —TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG

REFERENCES: League of Women Voters: Details 17 propositions on the midterm election ballot — LWVTEXAS.ORG

REFERENCES: Texas 2025 Constitutional Amendments Explained: Ballot Guide & Vote Recommendations — TEXASPOLICYRESEARCH.COM