Texas Proposition 8, Homestead Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Military Fatally Injured in the Line of Duty Amendment (2021)

Texas Proposition 8
Election date November 2, 2021
Topic Taxes and Veterans
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

2021 measures
November 2
Texas Proposition 1
Texas Proposition 2
Texas Proposition 3
Texas Proposition 4
Texas Proposition 5
Texas Proposition 6
Texas Proposition 7
Texas Proposition 8
Polls
Voter guides
Campaign finance
Signature costs

Texas Proposition 8, the Homestead Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Military Fatally Injured in the Line of Duty Amendment, was on the ballot in Texas as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 2, 2021.It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to allow the legislature to provide a homestead property tax exemption for the surviving spouse of a military member "killed or fatally injured in the line of duty."

A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution, thereby maintaining the existing language that authorizes a tax exemption for the spouse of a military member "killed in action."

Election results

Texas Proposition 8
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,291,920	87.76%
No		180,179	12.24%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

How did Proposition 8 change property tax exemptions for surviving spouses of members of the armed services?

See also: Text of measure

The measure amended the Texas Constitution to authorize a total residence homestead property tax exemption for a surviving spouse of a member of the armed services "who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty." At the time of the election, the constitution granted the exemption to the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services "who is killed in action." The amended language included service members who are killed or fatally injured during military training or other military duties.

In the amendment's Statement of Intent, the 17 senators who sponsored the amendment said, "Due to its phrasing, the [current] exemption does not include members of the military who die during their service due to injuries sustained that are not combat-related. For example, members of the Air Force who are killed in a training exercise are not included in the current exemption, even though their death was a direct result of their duties in the military."

The amendment took effect on January 1, 2022.

When was the property tax exemption first granted to surviving spouses?

See also: Proposition 1 (2013)

In 2013, Texas voters approved Proposition 1 by a margin of 86.98% to 13.01%. The measure granted the legislature authorization to provide property tax exemptions on all or part of the market value of the home of a member of the armed services who was killed in action to the surviving spouse, provided that the surviving spouse has not since remarried. Senate Bill 163, the enabling legislation for the amendment, took effect on January 1, 2014.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for the amendment was as follows:

“

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 member of the armed services of the United States who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article 8, Texas Constitution

The measure amended section 1-b(m) of article 8 of the state constitution. The following underlined text was added:

(m) The legislature by general law may provide that the surviving spouse of a member of the armed services of the United States who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty in action is entitled to an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the surviving spouse’s residence homestead if the surviving spouse has not remarried since the death of the member of the armed services.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2021

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 25, and the FRE is 11. The word count for the ballot title is 53, and the estimated reading time is 14 seconds.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Representative John Bucy III (D)
• State Representative Ray Lopez (D)
• State Representative Bryan Slaton (R)

Organizations

• Progress Texas
• Texas Freedom Caucus

Opposition

If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Texas ballot measures

If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this amendment, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Media editorials

See also: 2021 ballot measure media endorsements

Ballotpedia identified the following media editorial boards as taking positions on Proposition 8.

Ballotpedia lists the positions of media editorial boards that support or oppose ballot measures. This does not include opinion pieces from individuals or groups that do not represent the official position of a newspaper or media outlet. Ballotpedia includes editorials from newspapers and outlets based on circulation and readership, political coverage within a state, and length of publication. You can share media editorial board endorsements with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Support

• The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board: "Surviving spouses of active-duty military members killed in action are eligible for continued property-tax exemption. This amendment expands the protection to those who die in the line of duty, such as in a job-related accident, not just combat. As with Proposition 7, it does a lot of good for a relative handful of people. Our recommendation: Yes."
• The San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board: "We recommend voters cast a ballot FOR Proposition 8. This amendment expands an important benefit to surviving spouses of all military people killed in the line of duty versus only those killed in combat. Currently, spouses of those killed in training accidents, crashes or other noncombat service are ineligible. Military service is inherently dangerous, and it’s the moral and patriotic choice to support surviving spouses, regardless of the circumstances of their loved one’s death."
• The Austin American-Statesman Editorial Board: "If voters approve Prop 8, analysts expect the impact to the tax base would be negligible, as fewer than 10 Texas families a year would be added to the property tax exemption list. The statement to military families, however, would be significant. Prop 8 is a recognition that deaths in the line of duty can take many forms, but each one signifies a sacrifice that Texans revere. We urge voters to support Prop 8 extending the property tax exemption to spouses of soldiers killed outside of combat."
• The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board: "Recommendation: Yes. This amendment broadens the qualifications for a tax break from people whose spouses died in combat to those whose spouses died in non-combat operations. We support this amendment to honor all veterans."
• El Paso Times Editorial Board: "Texans can end this disparity by passing Proposition 8 on the Nov. 2 ballot. The measure would amend the Texas Constitution to extend the property tax break to the spouse of any soldier “who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty,” encompassing other service-related deaths."

Opposition

• The Austin Chronicle Editorial Board: "Propositions 7 and 8: AGAINST. These are both tweaks to existing state law regarding what property tax homestead exemptions can continue to be claimed by the surviving spouse of a deceased owner. Prop 7 applies when the owner was disabled (lowering the surviving spouse's age of eligibility to 55), Prop 8 to service members killed in the line of duty (as opposed to "in combat" as current law reads). To support them in good faith, one must support the exemptions themselves, which we do not. We are all for making it easier for taxing entities in Texas to account for personal hardship; we do not think that linking favorable tax treatment to moralistic virtue signaling is the way to go. Our democracy is in crisis precisely because the people who run this place want to preserve the benefits of good government for whom they deem the right kind of people; this is more of that, and it should be rejected."

Background

Senate Bill 611 (2021)

Senate Bill 611 (SB 611) was the enabling legislation passed by the Texas State Legislature for the 2021 amendment. The bill amends Section 11.133 of the Tax Code to extend the property tax exemption on the total appraised value of the homestead of a surviving spouse of a military service member killed or fatally injured in the line of duty, as long as the spouse has not remarried.

SB 611 was approved on April 8, 2021, by the Senate in a vote of 29-1 with one absent. On May 24, 2021, the House approved SB 611 in a vote of 146-0 with four not present or not voting.

Texas Tax Exemption on Residences of Service Members Killed in Action Amendment, Proposition 1 (2013)

See also: Proposition 1 (2013)

In 2013, Texas voters approved Proposition 1 by a margin of 86.98% to 13.01%. The measure granted the legislature authorization to provide property tax exemptions on all or part of the market value of the home of a member of the armed services who was killed in action to the surviving spouse, provided that the surviving spouse has not since remarried. Additionally, if the surviving spouse qualifies for and receives such an exemption and later qualifies a different property as his or her residence, the spouse is still entitled to a property tax exemption on the new home equal to the amount of the original exemption for the first home.

At the time of Proposition 1's approval, Section 1-b, Article VIII of the Texas Constitution allowed for various property tax exemptions on the homes of disabled veterans and their surviving spouses but did not previously grant such exemptions for the surviving spouses of service members who were killed in action.

The legislatively referred measure was approved unanimously in the Senate and the House.

Texas Constitutional amendments related to tax exemptions for veterans

Between 1972 and 2021, Ballotpedia tracked the following constitutional amendments related to tax exemptions for veterans.

• a Texas Proposition 1, Property Tax Exemption for Partially Disabled Veteran with Donated House Amendment (2017): Provided partially-disabled veterans or their surviving spouses with a property tax exemption equal to the percentage of their disability if the veteran's home was donated to him or her by a charity for less than market value.
• a Texas Property Tax Exemption for Surviving Spouses of Disabled Veterans Amendment, Proposition 2 (2015): Extended the applicability of the homestead exemption law beyond January 1, 2010, the date the law originally took effect
• a Texas Disabled Veteran Residence Tax Exemption Amendment, Proposition 4 (2013): Granted the legislature authorization to provide property tax exemptions to partially disabled veterans or their surviving spouses on part of the market value of their residence homesteads if the homesteads were donated to the veteran by a charity
• a Texas Survivor of Veterans Homestead Tax Amendment, Proposition 1 (2011): Allowed the legislature to grant surviving spouses of totally disabled veterans an valorem tax exemption on their principal residences
• a Texas Tax Exemptions for Disabled Veterans, Proposition 9 (2007): Authorized the legislature to exempt all or part of the residence homesteads of certain totally disabled veterans from ad valorem taxation.
• a Texas Tax Exemptions for Veterans, Proposition 14 (1995): Raised the limits of the exemption from ad valorem taxes on property owned by disabled veterans or by the surviving spouses or minor children of disabled veterans
• a Texas Tax Exemptions for Veterans, Proposition 5 (1972): Allowed certain tax exemptions for disabled veterans and surviving spouses and minor children of members of the armed forces who died during active duty

Referred amendments on the ballot

See also: List of Texas ballot measures

The following statistics are based on ballot measures between 1995 and 2020 in Texas:

• Ballots featured 169 constitutional amendments.
• An average of 13 measures appeared on odd-year statewide ballots.
• The number of ballot measures on odd-year statewide ballots ranged from 7 to 22.
• Voters approved 91% (154 of 169) and rejected 9% (15 of 169) of the constitutional amendments.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1995-2020
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Odd-year average	Odd-year median	Odd-year minimum	Odd-year maximum
169	154	91.1%	15	8.9%	12.8	11	7	22

During the 2021 regular and first special legislative sessions, 251 constitutional amendments were filed in the Texas State Legislature. In the regular session, legislators filed 218 amendments, and in the first special session, legislators filed 33 amendments. Between 2009 and 2020, an average of 192 constitutional amendments were filed during regular legislative sessions. The state legislature approved an average of nine constitutional amendments during regular legislative sessions. Therefore, the average rate of certification during regular legislative sessions was 4.7%. In 2021, eight of the 218 proposed constitutional amendments were certified for the ballot during the regular session, meaning the rate of certification was 3.7%, down from 4.6% in 2019.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Texas Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required in both the Texas State Senate and the Texas House of Representatives.

This amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 35 (SJR 35) on February 8, 2021. On April 8, 2021, the state Senate passed SJR 35 in a vote of 29-1, with one absent. Senator Nathan Johnson (D) was the sole senator to vote against the amendment. On May 23, 2021, the House approved SJR 35 in a vote of 144-0 with six not present or not voting.

Vote in the Texas State Senate April 8, 2021
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 21  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	29	1	1
Total percent	93.5%	3.2%	3.2%
Democrat	11	1	1
Republican	18	0	0

Vote in the Texas House of Representatives May 23, 2021
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 100  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	144	0	6
Total percent	96.0%	0.0%	4.0%
Democrat	65	0	2
Republican	79	0	4

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Texas

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Texas.

How to cast a vote in Texas

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times In Texas, all polling places are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. Texas is divided between the Central and Mountain time zones. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration Check your voter registration status here. To register to vote in Texas, an applicant must be a United States citizen, a resident of the county in which he or she is registering, and at least 17 years and 10 months old. The deadline to register to vote is 30 days before the election. Prospective voters can request a postage-paid voter registration form online or complete the form online and return it to the county voter registrar. Applications are also available at a variety of locations including the county voter registrar’s office, the secretary of state’s office, libraries, and high schools. Voter registration certificates are mailed to newly registered voters. Automatic registration Texas does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Texas does not permit online voter registration. Same-day registration Texas does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements Prospective voters must reside in the county in which they are registering to vote. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Texas does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury. State law requires election officials to conduct a check of registered voters' citizenship status. Section 18.068 of the Texas Election Code says the following: “ The secretary of state shall quarterly compare the information received under Section 16.001 of this code and Section 62.113, Government Code, to the statewide computerized voter registration list. If the secretary determines that a voter on the registration list is deceased or has been excused or disqualified from jury service because the voter is not a citizen, the secretary shall send notice of the determination to the voter registrar of the counties considered appropriate by the secretary. ” —Section 18.068, Texas Election Code In January 2019, the Texas secretary of state’s office announced that it would be providing local election officials with a list of registered voters who obtained driver’s licenses or IDs with documentation such as work visas or green cards. Counties would then be able to require voters on the list to provide proof of citizenship within 30 days. The review was halted by a federal judge in February 2019, and Secretary of State David Whitley rescinded the advisory in April. A news release from Whitley’s office stated that “... going forward, the Texas Secretary of State's office will send to county voter registrars only the matching records of individuals who registered to vote before identifying themselves as non-U.S. citizens to DPS when applying for a driver's license or personal identification card. This will ensure that naturalized U.S. citizens who lawfully registered to vote are not impacted by this voter registration list maintenance process.” All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The Texas Secretary of State’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website. Voter ID requirements Texas requires voters to present photo identification while voting. The following list of accepted ID was current as of February 2023. Click here for the Texas Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information. Texas driver’s license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS Texas handgun license issued by DPS United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph United States passport (book or card) Identification provided by voters aged 18-69 may be expired for no more than four years before the election date. Voters aged 70 and older can use an expired ID card regardless of how long ago the ID expired. Voters who are unable to provide one of the ID options listed above can sign a Reasonable Impediment Declaration and provide one of the following supporting documents: Copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate Copy of or original current utility bill Copy of or original bank statement Copy of or original government check Copy of or original paycheck Copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document) The following voters are exempt from showing photo ID: Voters with a disability Voters with a disability "may apply with the county voter registrar for a permanent exemption to presenting an acceptable photo identification or following the Reasonable Impediment Declaration procedure in the county." Voters who have a religious objection to being photographed Voters who do not have a photo ID can obtain a Texas Election Identification Certificate (EIC) at any Texas driver’s license office during regular business hours. Voters can also obtain an Election Identification Certificate from a mobile station. Locations are listed here.

See also

2021 measures

• 2021 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot
• Veterans on the ballot

Texas

• Texas ballot measures
• Texas ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Full text of SJR 35
• Official State Voter Guide