Issues

At the beginning of the 2007 regular session, the 80th Texas Legislature passed Senate Joint Resolution 13 proposing a constitutional amendment. 

On May 12, voters will have the opportunity to vote on this constitutional amendment. 

The ballot will read:

"The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for a reduction of the limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for public school purposes on the residence homesteads of the elderly or disabled to reflect any reduction in the rate of those taxes for the 2006 and 2007 tax years."

The Texas Constitution requires that the total amount of ad valorem taxes imposed for general elementary and secondary public school purposes on the residence homestead of a person who is 65 or older or is disabled may not be increased.  This provision allows homeowners, who are 65 years of age or older, or homeowners who have a disability, to receive a ceiling on the amount of school property taxes they will owe on their homestead based on the amount they owed the year they qualified for the freeze.

Unfortunately, when the Legislature passed historic property tax reductions in 2006 for homeowners across the state, many elderly and disabled homeowners, particularly those who have occupied their homes for many years, did not receive a reduction in the 2006 school district taxes on their homes.  In order for elderly and disabled Texans to receive a proportional reduction in ad valorem taxes, there must be an allowance for such a reduction in the Texas Constitution and a statutory change in law.

The proposed amendment would do just that.   It would allow the legislature to provide for a reduction of the limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for public school purposes on the residence homesteads of the elderly or disabled to reflect any reduction in the rate of those taxes for the 2006 and 2007 tax years.

On May 12, this amendment will become a part of the constitution if a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the amendment.

Constitutional Amendments Fact:

The Texas Constitution was adopted in 1876.  Since that time it has be amended over 400 times.  A total of 619 amendments have now been proposed, 615 of which were considered by voters for approval.