Texas Approves Pro-liberty Constitutional Amendments

In a rare bright spot in the elections held November 4, Texas voters approved multiple amendments to the state constitution that protect limited government and God-given rights.

These amendments include:

• Proposition 2, which bans the state from imposing capital gains taxes;
• Proposition 6, which bans the state from imposing securities taxes;
• Proposition 8, which bans the state from imposing inheritance taxes;
• Proposition 9, which expands the property-tax exemption on business inventory and equipment, a small step toward reducing and ultimately eliminating property taxes;
• Proposition 12, which changes how members of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct are appointed, taking a small step away from technocracy and toward restoring representative government;
• Proposition 13, which increases the homestead tax exemption — the portion of home values that are automatically exempt from property taxes — from $100,000 to $140,000, another small step toward reducing and ultimately eliminating property taxes;
• Proposition 15, which recognizes that parents have the “fundamental right to exercise care, custody, and control” of their children, “including the right to make decisions concerning [their] upbringing”; and
• Proposition 16, which creates a constitutional requirement that voters be U.S. citizens.

Unfortunately, other amendments expanded the size and scope of government. For example, Proposition 1 established an $850 million endowment for Texas State Technical College, Proposition 4 authorized $20 billion for water projects, and Proposition 14 created a dementia-research fund with an initial $3 billion investment. Overall, however, the amendments take a step toward protecting limited government and God-given rights.

Constitutional State Government

Although critics of the amendments — particularly of Propositions 2, 6, 8, and 15 — noted that they merely enshrine existing state laws and policies, putting them in the Texas Constitution ensures that limited government and individuals’ God-given rights will continue to be protected regardless of who is elected to the state Legislature and governorship in coming years and decades.

As the TNA article “Restore State Government” (published in the October 14, 2024 issue of The New American and now available as a reprint) points out, “State governments must ensure that their own policies protect God-given rights and align with the limited-government principles of the Founding Fathers.” This includes ensuring that their constitutions effectively uphold God-given rights, limited government, and a republican form of government. Rather than enshrining bureaucratic boards and commissions, ballot measures, and government involvement in areas where it ought not be involved, state constitutions should align with America’s founding principles. As the federal government under the U.S. Constitution has demonstrated, a carefully designed government structure can be instrumental in preventing — or at least significantly slowing down — infringements on God-given rights.

Texas’ constitution still has a long way to go before it meets this standard. As the second-longest state constitution (with 92,345 words, as of 2022), it is riddled with big-government provisions, including the just-passed Propositions 1, 4, and 14. Nonetheless, the majority of amendments that passed last week take a small but real step in the right direction.

This article is part of The New American’s weekly online newsletter Insider Report, which is emailed to TNA subscribers each week. Click here to subscribe to The New American to receive the Insider Report and access exclusive content.