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Texas Partition of Spousal Community Property Amendment (2015)

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Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot
This measure was not put
on an election ballot

The Texas Partition of Spousal Community Property Amendment was not on the November 3, 2015 ballot in Texas as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure, upon voter approval, would have authorized a court to permanently partition the community property of separating spouses and, thereby, provide that the property and future income derived from the property is the separate property of a spouse.[1]

Texas is a "common property state," meaning that property acquired during marriage is the property of both spouses.[2]

The measure was introduced into the Texas Legislature by Rep. Harold Dutton, Jr. (D-142) as House Joint Resolution 47.[3]

Text of measure

Ballot title

The proposed ballot title was:[1]

The constitutional amendment authorizing a court to partition the community property and to characterize future earnings of spouses as separate property on legal separation of the spouses.[4]

Constitutional changes

See also: Article 16, Texas Constitution

The proposed amendment would have added a Subsection (b) to Section 15 of Article 16 of the Texas Constitution. The following text would have been added by the proposed measure's approval:[1]

(b) In a legal separation proceeding, a court may permanently partition the community property of the spouses to provide that the property itself and the future income from that property is the separate property of a spouse, and may allocate future earnings of each spouse as the separate property of that spouse. Laws shall be passed clearly defining the nature of property on legal separation of the spouses.[4]

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Texas Constitution

The proposed constitutional amendment was filed by Rep. Harold Dutton, Jr. (D-142) as House Joint Resolution 47 on November 20, 2014.[3] A two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Texas State Legislature was required to refer this amendment to the ballot. Texas is one of 16 states that require a two-thirds supermajority vote in both chambers.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Texas Legislature, "HJR No. 47," accessed November 24, 2014
  2. DivorceNet, "Texas Community Property FAQ," accessed November 24, 2014
  3. 3.0 3.1 Texas Legislature, "HJR No. 47 History," accessed November 24, 2014
  4. 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content