Texas 2017 ballot measures

2017 Texas Ballot Measures
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In 2017, seven statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in Texas on November 7, 2017. All seven were approved.

HIGHLIGHTS

The 85th regular session of the Texas State Legislature ended on May 29, 2017. The legislature referred seven constitutional amendments to the ballot.

Legislators proposed 156 constitutional amendments in 2017, and 4.5 percent of them made the ballot.

The number of measures on the ballot for the election on November 7, 2017, tied with the number for the election on November 3, 2015, as the lowest number of measures on the ballot between 1995 and 2017. The average number of measures for this period was 14.

Issues on the 2017 ballot included housing, banking, gambling, state executive officials, and taxes.

Getting measures on the ballot

All statewide Texas ballot measures are legislatively referred constitutional amendments. State law does not allow for initiatives or referendums. Amendments are referred to the ballot by the Texas State Legislature and, if approved by voters, become a part of the Texas State Constitution. Texas is one of 16 states that requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in one session to place a proposed amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 100 votes in the Texas House of Representatives and 21 votes in the Texas State Senate.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Proposition 1	Taxes	Authorizes tax exemption for property of partially disabled veterans received as donations	a
LRCA	Proposition 2	Housing	Makes changes to home equity loan provision of constitution	a
LRCA	Proposition 3	State Exec	Provides for how long an appointed officer may serve after his or her term expires	a
LRCA	Proposition 4	State Exec	Requires a court to provide notice to the attorney general of a challenge to a statute	a
LRCA	Proposition 5	Gambling	Defines professional sports team in charitable raffles	a
LRCA	Proposition 6	Taxes	Authorizes property tax exemption for surviving spouses of first responders killed in line of duty	a
LRCA	Proposition 7	Banking	Authorizes financial institutions to offer prizes to promote savings	a

Historical facts

See also: List of Texas ballot measures

Texas voters are historically kind to their statewide ballot measures and more so in recent years: 91 percent of the 152 ballot propositions they weighed in on from 1995 through 2015 were approved. From 1876 through November 2015, 670 went before Texas voters and 491 of those proposed amendments were approved by voters and added to the constitution; this is an overall 73 percent approval rate.

• A total of 152 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Texas from 1995 to 2015.
• Between 1995 and 2015, an average of 14 measures appeared on odd-year ballots in the state.
• From 1995 to 2015, the number of measures on odd-year statewide ballots ranged from 7 to 22.
• Between 1995 and 2015, about 91 percent (138 of 152) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots were approved, and about nine percent (14 of 152) were defeated.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1995-2015
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Odd-year average	Odd-year median	Odd-year minimum	Odd-year maximum
152	138	90.79%	14	9.21%	13.6	14.0	7	22

Not on the ballot

See also: Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot

The list below contains measures that were proposed and reached a certain stage in the initiative or referral process, but did not make the ballot. Passed only one chamber of the legislature

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	HJR 10	Judiciary	Changes eligibility requirements to serve as a state judge or justice
LRCA	HJR 36	Bonds	Provides for $200 million in bonds for the Economically Distressed Areas Program
LRCA	HJR 67	Taxes	Authorizes tax exemption for property of Purple Heart recipients and surviving spouses
LRCA	HJR 52	Taxes	Authorizes tax exemption for property housing people with developmental disabilities
LRCA	HJR 73	Local Gov't	Requires state to reimburse state-mandated municipal spending
LRCA	HJR 113	Taxes	Authorizes property tax exemption for precious metals held in the state bullion depository
LRCA	SJR 27	Labor	Repeals language allowing for manual labor poor houses and farms
LRCA	SJR 36	Taxes	Prohibits levying tax on the sale of water at wholesale
LRCA	SJR 42	Taxes	Authorizes tax exemptions for property leased to charter schools
LRCA	SJR 43	Pension	Prohibits the state from paying for local public pensions
LRCA	SJR 51	Taxes	Provides that oil and gas production do not make land ineligible for appraisal as open-space land
LRCA	SJR 54	Local Gov't	Allows legislature to set municipal charter election dates
LRCA	SJR 55	Taxes	Prohibits tax liens against a undervalued property if the property was sold

Introduced, but did not receive a vote in either chamber of the legislature

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	HJR 29	State Exec	Requires the governor’s appointments to reflect the state’s gender composition
LRCA	HJR 31	Suffrage	Allows the legislature to enact law permitting certain persons under 18 to vote in primary elections
LRCA	HJR 32	Redistricting	Establishes a redistricting commission for state legislative and U.S. congressional districts
LRCA	HJR 58	Taxes	Prohibits a tax on the incomes of individuals
LRCA	SJR 7	Constitution	Prohibits the state from enforcing federal law in violation of the state's Bill of Rights
LRCA	SJR 8	Trials	Denies bail pending trial if a judge determines the suspect is neither a citizen nor national
LRCA	SJR 9	Abortion	Prohibits abortion to the fullest extent authorized under federal constitutional law
LRCA	SJR 17	Marijuana	Directs the legislature to legalize and regulate marijuana
LRCA	SJR 18	Marijuana	Directs the legislature to legalize and regulate medical marijuana
LRCA	SJR 21	Salaries	Prevents legislators and lieutenant governor from receiving their salaries if they fail to pass a budget
LRCA	SJR 22	Minimum Wage	Increases the minimum wage to $10.10
LRCA	SJR 30	Firearms	Prohibits state and local governments from adopting or enforcing firearm registration requirements
LRCA	SJR 31	History	Allows the state to accept historical items and contributions to purchase historical items as gifts
LRCA	SJR 33	Education	Prohibits the state from regulating private or home educational programs

Local ballot measures

See also: November 7, 2017 local ballot measures in Texas

Ballotpedia covered local ballot measures on the ballot—including county measures and district measures—for voters in the top 100 largest cities in the country in 2017. Thirteen of those cities were in Texas. Local Texas voters, including voters in Dallas County and Travis County, decided local ballot measures on November 7, 2017, including the following:

• Dallas bond propositions: There was a 10-proposition, $1.05 billion bond issue package on the ballot for Dallas voters on November 7, 2017.
• Dallas County Schools (DCS) Proposition A: Voters in Dallas County also decided a measure authorizing the continuation of Dallas County Schools (DCS) student transportation services. The Texas State Legislature passed bills to dissolve DCS if county voters do not approve Proposition A.
• An Austin ISD bond issue.
• Two Travis County bond issue propositions.

For details on these measures, click here.

State profile

Demographic data for Texas
	Texas	U.S.
Total population:	27,429,639	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	261,232	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	74.9%	73.6%
Black/African American:	11.9%	12.6%
Asian:	4.2%	5.1%
Native American:	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	38.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	81.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.6%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,207	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Texas

Texas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Texas, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Texas had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Texas coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Texas
• United States congressional delegations from Texas
• Public policy in Texas
• Endorsers in Texas
• Texas fact checks
• More...

See also

• 2017 ballot measures
• List of Texas ballot measures
• Texas signature requirements
• History of direct democracy in Texas

External links

• Texas Elections Division
• November 7, 2017 Constitutional Amendment Election Ballot Language