This weekend is a kind of “new year” celebration for Texas government: September 1 of every odd-numbered year marks the start of a new biennial budget cycle and many laws passed in the year’s earlier regular legislative session go into effect on September 1.
But some of the most significant legislation to pass in 2023 wasn’t laws that take effect this week—instead, it’s ballot measures the voters get to decide on in November. Often, ballot measures can seem trivial or boring…but this November, Texas voters will be casting ballots with big implications for the future of our state.
There are fourteen (!) ballot measures on the statewide ballot. Most of them propose spending state funds on some particular purpose. Why couldn’t the Legislature just include all this stuff in the biennial budget instead of having the voters decide? The shortest answer is that thanks to various amendments to the Texas Constitution, lawmakers are boxed in with respect to some kinds of spending, so this is the only way to get it done.
Here’s the list of the fourteen items, in the order they’ll appear on your November ballot. Texas Impact supported the following measures during the legislative session, and we are excited to champion them on the ballot:
- Proposition 2 would let local governments use property tax incentives to help child care providers establish and expand.
- Proposition 8 would establish the broadband infrastructure fund to expand high-speed broadband access.
- Proposition 9 would provide a cost-of-living adjustment to retired teachers.
- Proposition 14 would create the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund to be used for the creation and improvement of state parks.
There are several other ballot measures Texas Impact supports (and a couple we don’t). We’ll be releasing our positions on the full list in late September. But for the time being, please consider signing on to help promote the propositions above, which would do so much good for so many in our state.