STATE-WIDE BALLOT
The Daily Record is running a Texas Tribune series outlining each of the 17 state-wide constitutional amendments on the Nov. 4 ballot. The series will include two of these overviews in every issue until early voting begins on Oct. 20.
Proposition 9 (HJR 1): Inventory and equipment tax exemption
The ballot language: “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.”
What it means: This amendment, along with accompanying legislation, would exempt up to $125,000 of businesses’ inventory or equipment from being taxed by school districts, cities, counties or any other taxing entity. Under current law, businesses don’t have to pay taxes on that property if it’s worth $2,500 or less.
The state would help pick up the tab for the amount of property tax revenue school districts would lose. This would cost the state an estimated $193.5 million from general revenue in 2027 and more than $100 million annually from general revenue in subsequent fiscal years, according to a fiscal note from the Legislative Budget Board. Other taxing entities like cities and counties would either have to raise tax rates to make up for the lost revenue, or go without it.
Critics, including some local officials, have noted that the tax cuts could be applied by businesses at multiple locations, according to the House Research Organization. Proponents, including several business and industry associations, have said eliminating administrative and tax burdens for businesses would contribute to economic growth that could outweigh local revenue losses. Recapture payments, or the tax revenue that school districts with higher property values send back to the state to help fund poorer school districts, would also go down. — María Méndez and Joshua Fechter
Proposition 10 (SJR 84): Tax exemption for homes destroyed by fire
The ballot language: “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.”
What it means: This amendment and accompanying legislation would create a process to temporarily lower property taxes on homes destroyed by fire. Homeowners could apply for an adjusted home for the year in which the fire occurred, according to the accompanying legislation. To qualify, the homeowner’s home would have to remain uninhabitable for at least 30 days after the fire. These property tax bill reductions could lower local tax revenue and require the state to help make up for school districts’ losses, but potential costs for the state could not be calculated, according to the legislation’s fiscal note. — María Méndez This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastrib-une. org/2025/09/22/texas -statewide-propositionsnovember- ballot-election/.
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