Texas Proposition 2, Property Tax Exemption for Child-Care Facilities Amendment (2023)
Texas Proposition 2, Property Tax Exemption for Child-Care Facilities Amendment | |
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Election date November 7, 2023 | |
Topic Taxes | |
Status Approved | |
Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
Texas Proposition 2, the Property Tax Exemption for Child-Care Facilities Amendment, was on the ballot in Texas as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 7, 2023.[1][2]The ballot measure was approved.
A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to allow counties or municipalities to authorize a property tax exemption on all or part of the appraised value of real property used to operate child-care facilities. |
A "no" vote opposed this constitutional amendment to authorize local property tax exemptions on properties used to operate child-care facilities. |
Election results
Texas Proposition 2 |
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Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
1,629,151 | 64.78% | |||
No | 885,704 | 35.22% |
Overview
What did Proposition 2 do?
- See also: Text of measure
Proposition 2 authorized the state legislature to pass a law to authorize a property tax exemption on all or part of the property used to operate a child-care facility. It also authorized the state legislature to define child-care facility and imposed eligibility requirements for qualifying for the tax exemption.[2]
The state legislature also passed Senate Bill 1145 (SB 1145), the implementing legislation, during the 2023 regular legislative session.[3]
Who supported and opposed the amendment?
- See also: Support and Opposition
The amendment was sponsored by State Sen. Royce West (D-23). Sen. West said, "The Texas child-care shortage is likely to have devastating effects on early childhood education, economic growth, and employment opportunities for parents. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Texas' economy loses more than $9 billion every year due to inadequate child care. S.J.R. 64 seeks to address this issue by allowing the legislature, by general law, to exempt from property taxation all or part of the appraised value of real property used to operate a child-care facility." The amendment also received endorsements from Methodist Healthcare Ministries and Texas Restaurant Association.[4]
Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[2]
“ | The constitutional amendment authorizing a local option exemption from ad valorem taxation by a county or municipality of all or part of the appraised value of real property used to operate a child-care facility.[5] | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article 8, Texas Constitution
The ballot measure added a Section 1-r to Article 8 of the Texas Constitution. The following underlined text was added:[2]
Section 1-r. The governing body of a county or municipality may exempt from ad valorem taxation all or part of the appraised value of real property used to operate a child-care facility. The governing body may adopt the exemption as a percentage of the appraised value of the real property. The percentage specified by the governing body may not be less than 50 percent. The legislature by general law may define "child-care facility" for purposes of this section and may provide additional eligibility requirements for the exemption authorized by this section.[5] |
Readability score
- See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2023
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title 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 21, and the FRE is 7. The word count for the ballot title is 35.
Support
Supporters
Officials
- State Sen. Royce West (D)
Organizations
Arguments
Opposition
Opponents
Organizations
Arguments
Campaign finance
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 | |
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Support | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Oppose | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Media editorials
- See also: 2023 ballot measure media endorsements
Ballotpedia identified the following media editorial boards as taking positions on the proposition.
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
Opposition
You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org
Background
Senate Bill 1145 (2023)
The Texas State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1145 (SB 1145) during the 2023 regular legislative session by a vote of 25-6 in the Senate and 109-33 in the House. SB 1145 authorized counties and municipalities to enact a local option property tax exemption from ad valorem taxation on all or part of the appraised value of property used to operate a child-care facility. The law prohibited the exemption from being less than 50% of the appraised value. For properties leased to operators of child-care facilities, the law required the landlord to include with their exemption application an affidavit that certifies they have informed the operator of the child-care facility of the amount of the tax exemption and that rent charged will be decreased in proportion to the reduction of taxes either through a monthly or annual credit against the rent. The law also states that the exemption does not need to be claimed again once it is authorized unless the property changes ownership or the property no longer meets the qualifications for the exemption. The law took effect on January 1, 2024.[6]
Missouri Property Tax Exemption for Childcare Establishments Amendment (2024)
Missouri voters will also be deciding on an amendment in November 2024 to provide for property tax exemptions for child-care establishments. The exemptions were designed to apply to all or part of the property owned by an individual, a for-profit organization, or a nonprofit organization used primarily for child-care. It was referred to the ballot by the Missouri State Legislature.[7]
Referred measures on the Texas ballot
- See also: List of Texas ballot measures
In Texas, a total of 281 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1985 and 2022. Two hundred forty-eight ballot measures were approved, and 33 ballot measures were defeated.
Texas statewide ballot measures, 1985-2022 | |||||||
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Total number | Annual average | Annual minimum | Annual maximum | Approved | Defeated | ||
# | % | # | % | ||||
Texas ballot measures in odd-numbered years
Between 1995 and 2021, Texans decided on 175 statewide ballot measures appearing on odd-numbered year ballots. Voters approved 160 measures and defeated 15.
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 64 on March 9, 2023. On May 3, 2023, the state Senate passed SJR 64 by a vote of 25-6. On May 19, the state House passed SJR 64 by a vote of 114-31 with four not voting.[1]
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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 | ||||||
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Poll timesIn Texas, all polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Texas is divided between Central and Mountain time zones.[8]
Registration
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.[9] 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.[10] Automatic registrationTexas does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration
Texas does not permit online voter registration. Same-day registrationTexas does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirementsProspective voters must reside in the county in which they are registering to vote. Verification of citizenshipTexas does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. Section 18.068 of the Texas Election Code says the following:
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.[12] The review was halted by a federal judge in February 2019, and Secretary of State David Whitley rescinded the advisory in April.[13][14] 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.”[15] Verifying your registrationThe Texas Secretary of State’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.
Voter ID requirementsTexas requires voters to present photo identification while voting.[16] 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.
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.[16] 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:[16]
The following voters are exempt from showing photo ID:[16]
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.[16] |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Texas State Legislature, "SJR 64 Overview," accessed May 4, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Texas State Legislature, "SJR 64 Text," accessed May 4, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name "Text" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Texas State Legislature, "Senate Bill 1145," accessed June 15, 2023
- ↑ Texas State Legislature, "SJR 64 Analysis," accessed July 12, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
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tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Texas State Legislature, "Senate Bill 1145," accessed June 16, 2023
- ↑ Missouri Senate, "SJR 26," accessed March 25, 2023
- ↑ VoteTexas.gov, "Who, What, Where, When, How," accessed February 27, 2023
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Request for Voter Registration Applications,” accessed February 27, 2023
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Voter Registration,” accessed February 27, 2023
- ↑ Texas Constitution and Statutes, “Election Code,” accessed February 23, 2023
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, “Texas officials flag tens of thousands of voters for citizenship checks,” January 25, 2019
- ↑ The New York Times, “Federal Judge Halts ‘Ham-Handed’ Texas Voter Purge,” February 28, 2019
- ↑ The New York Times, “Texas Ends Review That Questioned Citizenship of Almost 100,000 Voters,” April 26, 2019
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, “Secretary Whitley Announces Settlement In Litigation On Voter Registration List Maintenance Activity,” April 26, 2019
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Texas Secretary of State, "Required Identification for Voting in Person," accessed February 27, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
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tag; name "tvid" defined multiple times with different content
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