STATEWIDE VOTING
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 13 (SJR 2): INCREASED SCHOOL TAX EXEMPTION FOR HOMEOWNERS
The ballot language: “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.”
What it means: This constitutional amendment would allow Texans who own their home to see a boost in the state’s homestead exemption, or the slice of a home’s value that can’t be taxed to pay for public schools. The proposal would shave off $140,000 off the taxable value of the home, instead of the current $100,000.
The owner of a typical Texas home — valued at $302,000 last year, according to Zillow — would have saved about $490 on their school property taxes had the higher exemption been in place last year, a Tribune calculation shows. Those savings result from a combination of the increased homestead exemption and cuts to school tax rates in the state’s upcoming twoyear budget. Accompanying legislation would put the state on the hook for the revenue school districts lose if the increased exemption passes. That’s estimated to cost the state more than $2.7 billion in general revenue for the 2026-2027 budget cycle and more than $1 billion annually after that, according to the fiscal note for the accompanying school finance legislation. 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.
Some critics have said the state should do more to limit local tax rates and spending so that tax bills don’t continue to rise, according to the House Research Organization. — María Méndez, Joshua Fechter
PROPOSITION 14 (SJR 3): FUNDING FOR DEMENTIA RESEARCH AND PREVENTION
The ballot language: “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.”
What it means: This amendment would provide $3 billion to create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to study dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and other brain related conditions. The measure received bipartisan support from a majority of lawmakers and was one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s legislative priorities.
If voters approve the constitutional amendment, an initial $3 billion in state surplus revenue would be transferred to the fund, and a board appointed by Patrick, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, and Gov. Greg Abbott would be set up to approve research proposals. Going forward, the institute would receive up to $300 million annually. This funding is intended to attract physicians, researchers, and experts to Texas.
The fund and institute are modeled after the state’s Cancer Research and Prevention Institute, which has become the country’s second largest funder of cancer research. — Olla Mokhtar, Terri Langford This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune. org/2025/09/22/texas -statewide-propositionsnovember- ballot-election/. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
