Texas Proposition 9, Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Teacher Retirement System Amendment (2023)

Texas Proposition 9
Election date November 7, 2023
Topic Pension
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Texas Proposition 9, the Changes to Teacher Retirement System Amendment, was on the ballot in Texas as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 7, 2023.The ballot measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to authorize the state legislature to make cost-of-living adjustments to certain annuitants, as defined by law, of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution to authorize the state legislature to make cost-of-living adjustments to certain annuitants, as defined by law, of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

Election results

Texas Proposition 9
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		2,145,585	83.73%
No		416,824	16.27%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did the amendment do?

See also: Text of measure

The amendment authorized the Texas Legislature to provide for cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for certain annuitants, who meet criteria provided by law, of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Annuitants are persons who receive service retirement benefits, disability retirement benefits, or death benefits from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. The amendment also authorized the legislature to allocate money from the general fund to pay for the adjustment. Money appropriated by the state legislature for the amendment's purpose was excluded from the state's appropriation limit.

The state legislature also passed Senate Bill (SB 10), the implementing legislation, during the 2023 regular legislative session. SB 10 authorized a one-time cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) payable to annuitants receiving a monthly death or retirement benefit annuity and one-time payment for certain annuitants of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS).

Who supported and opposed the amendment?

See also: Support and Opposition

The amendment received endorsements from Texas AFL-CIO, Raise Your Hand Texas, Texas Association of School Administrators, Texas Association of School Boards, Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association, and Texas Retired Teachers Association. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) said, "Texas retired educators have given so much for our students and for the future of Texas. It is only right that the state help give back to them."

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

The constitutional amendment authorizing the 88th Legislature to provide a cost-of-living adjustment to certain annuitants of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article 16, Texas Constitution

The measure amended section 67 of Article 16 of the state constitution. The following underlined text was added: Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the below text to see the full text.

Text of Section 67: State and Local Retirement Systems Sec. 67-a. (a) As the Teacher Retirement System of Texas is actuarially sound according to an actuarial valuation update performed in February 2023, the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023: (1) by general law may provide a cost-of-living adjustment to annuitants of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas who are eligible for the adjustment as determined by that general law; and (2) may appropriate an amount of money from the general revenue fund to the comptroller of public accounts for deposit to the trust fund of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas to pay the adjustment authorized by Subdivision (1) of this subsection. (b) For purposes of Section 22, Article VIII, of this constitution, an appropriation of state tax revenues made by the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, for the purpose described by Subsection (a)(1) of this section is treated as if it were an appropriation of revenues dedicated by this constitution. (c) This section expires September 1, 2025.

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 17, and the FRE is 13. The word count for the ballot title is 24.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D)
• State Sen. Joan Huffman (R)
• State Rep. Mihaela Plesa (D)
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R)

Unions

• Texas AFL-CIO

Organizations

• Raise Your Hand Texas
• Texas Association of School Administrators
• Texas Association of School Boards
• Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association
• Texas Retired Teachers Association
• Texas State Teachers Association

Arguments

• Tim Lee, executive director for the Texas Retired Teachers Association: "We are really pleased there is a COLA, which our members say is very important to them and a stipend for our more senior retirees who have been dealing with several years of inflation."
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R): "Texas retired educators have given so much for our students and for the future of Texas. It is only right that the state help give back to them."

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

Arguments

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at 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

Media editorials

See also: 2023 ballot measure media endorsements

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

• Houston Chronicle Editorial Board: "Prop 9, Teacher retirement adjustment: For. Gov. Greg Abbott’s voucher push derailed teacher raises, but at least this amendment would give retired education employees a one-time cost of living bump to their pensions."
• San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board: "Proposition 9: It has been 10 years since retired teachers received a cost-of-living adjustment and even that increase only applied to teachers who retired before 2005. Proposition 9 doesn’t fully rectify this, but it would provide much-needed annuity increases ranging from 2 to 6 percent and bring additional fiscal stability to the Teacher Retirement System with an infusion of new general-revenue funding. Our view: For."
• The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board: "RECOMMENDATION: Yes. Retired teachers and their dependents who rely on state pensions haven’t gotten a cost-of-living adjustment in nearly 20 years. In the face of inflation, these retirees have struggled to pay their bills."
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board: "Retired Texas teachers haven’t had a cost-of-living increase in two decades. Have you seen inflation lately? They need a raise. Recommendation: For."
• The Austin Chronicle Editorial Board: "Raising Teacher Retirement: Yes. Retired teachers in Texas do not have a cost of living adjustment built into their retirement plans, so some retirees have trouble keeping up with their bills. This year, legislators approved such an adjustment, proposing to transfer $5 billion from the current budget surplus to the Teacher Retirement System in order to keep it solvent."
• Austin American-Statesman Editorial Board: "half of retired school workers in the Texas system receive $2,000 per month or less, and 30 percent receive $1,000 or less. That doesn't even cover rent in Austin. Making a difficult situation worse, more than 90% of retired school workers don't get Social Security benefits because most Texas districts don't allow teachers to contribute to the federal program. Add soaring inflation and it’s easy to understand why so many retired Texas educators say they struggle to cover groceries, medicine and other essentials. Proposition 9 helps these retirees in a way that is long overdue. Vote 'Yes.'"

Opposition

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org

Background

Senate Bill 10 (2023)

During the 2023 legislative session, the Texas State Legislature passed Senate Bill 10, the enabling legislation, which took effect when the amendment was approved by voters. SB 10 authorized a one-time cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) payable to annuitants receiving a monthly death or retirement benefit annuity from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS). The COLA applied to most annuitants of TRS who retired on or before August 31, 2020. The last COLA for TRS annuitants took effect in 2001. The amount of the COLA varies based on when the annuitant retired and applies to the monthly benefit amount. The following percent increases took effect in January 2024.

COLA for Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Retirement dates	Percent adjustment of annuitant's monthly benefit
August 31, 2013 - August 31, 2020	2%
August 31, 2001 - August 31, 2013	4%
On or before August 31, 2001	6%

SB 10 also provided for a one-time payment no later than September 2023 to most annuitants who are at least 70 years of age by one month prior to when the payment would be made. The payments varied by age with annuitants 75 years or older receiving $7,500 and annuitants between 70 and 75 years of age receiving $2,400.

The Legislative Budget Board estimated the COLA required an appropriation from the state general fund equal to approximately $3.4 billion to the TRS. The board also estimated the one-time payment would cost approximately $1.6 billion.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas

See also: Texas Retirement Fund for School Employees, Proposition 4 (1936)

In 1936, Texas voters approved Proposition 4 establishing the Texas Retirement System of Texas in the state constitution to provide a pension for teachers and administrators of public schools, colleges, and universities. It was approved with 52.8% of the vote. The state legislature adopted the enabling legislation in 1937. The purpose of TRS has since expanded to include service and disability benefits for employees of public schools, educational service centers, charter schools, community and junior colleges, universities, and medical schools. The TRS pension fund is composed of member contributions, state and employer contributions, and investment returns. In 2022, the TRS pension fund provided benefits to nearly 476,000 people totaling $13.1 billion.

Constitutional amendments related to the Teacher Retirement System

Ballotpedia identified the following amendments that made changes to the Teacher Retirement System in Texas between 1936 and 2023:

Year	Type	Title	Description	Result	Yes Votes	No Votes
1968	LRCA	Proposition 9	Repeal individual contribution limit	a	1,509,841 (72%)	598,927 (28%)
1965	LRCA	Proposition 5	Establish the Teacher Retirement System as a state agency and authorize a board of trustees to invest assets into certain investments	a	332,431 (68%)	153,667 (32%)
1956	LRCA	Proposition 4	Expand benefits of Teacher Retirement System by adding disability and death benefits, raise individual contribution limits, and change eligibility criteria	a	1,350,372 (89%)	166,788 (11%)

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
Total number	Annual average	Annual minimum	Annual maximum	Approved		Defeated
				#	%	#	%
281	6.39	0	22	248	88.26	33	11.74

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 House Joint Resolution 2 on March 9, 2023. On April 28, 2023, the state House passed HJR 2 by a vote of 147-0 with three not voting. On May 22, the state Senate passed an amended version of HJR 2 by a vote of 31-0. The state House concurred on May 25 by a vote of 140-0 with nine not voting.

Vote in the Texas State Senate May 22, 2023
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	31	0	0
Total percent	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Democrat	12	0	0
Republican	19	0	0

Vote in the Texas House of Representatives May 25, 2023
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	140	0	9
Total percent	94.0%	0.0%	6.0%
Democrat	58	0	6
Republican	82	0	3

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

Poll times In 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. 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. 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.” 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

2023 measures

• 2023 ballot measures
• Pension on the ballot
• 2023 legislative sessions

Texas

• Texas ballot measures
• Texas ballot measure laws

News and analysis

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

External links

• Texas House Joint Resolution 2