In Texas, House Republicans defeated an amendment to Senate Bill 2 on April 16 that would have required the proposed universal education savings account (ESA) program to be placed on the Nov. 4, 2025, ballot for voters to decide. Had it been placed on the ballot, Senate Bill 2 would have been the first statewide measure in Texas history to propose a statutory change rather than a constitutional amendment. A motion to table the amendment passed with a vote of 86–62, with two members not voting or absent. State Rep. Dade Phelan (R-21), who served as Speaker of the House from 2021 to 2025, was the only Republican to vote with Democrats in support of placing the bill on the ballot for voter approval. The House passed an amended version of Senate Bill 2 on April 16 by a vote of 85-63, with two Republicans opposing the bill.
Prior to the vote, The Texas Tribune reported on April 15 that more than 50 House Democrats pledged to block all constitutional amendments this session unless the state House votes to place the ESA proposal on the November ballot.
Texas is one of 16 states that require a two-thirds supermajority vote in each legislative chamber during a single legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 100 votes in the Texas House of Representatives and 21 votes in the Texas State Senate, assuming no vacancies.
At the general election in November, Republicans increased their majorities by two seats in the House and one seat in the Senate. Republicans have a 88-62 majority in the state House and a 20-11 majority in the state Senate, which means at least 12 Democrats in the House and one Democrat in the Senate need to join the Republican majority in voting for any constitutional amendment to place it on the ballot.
State Rep. James Talarico (D-50), who proposed referring SB 2 to voters, said, “When an issue is going to have such an impact, such a historic impact on such a critical service, like public education, when an issue may raise, and I think will raise people’s property taxes across the state, then that issue, especially when there is bipartisan opposition, especially when there is historical controversy about the issue … this body is justified in sending this issue to the voters for their approval.”
State Rep. Mitch Little (R-65), who opposed Talarico’s proposal, questioned the logic of sending the program to a vote, “Why do we need to be here at all? Why don’t we just do that with every vote?”
The regular legislative session, which only convenes in odd-numbered years, began on Jan. 14 and is set to adjourn on June 2.
As of April 17, legislators had filed 267 constitutional amendments for consideration. This is above the average number of amendments (243) introduced during the last three regular sessions. Republicans have filed 162, and Democrats have filed 105.
Of the 190 amendments introduced in the state House, two have been approved and sent to the Senate. The amendments address a property tax exemption for businesses and a tax prohibition on certain securities transactions. The state Senate has introduced 77 amendments, passing 14 onto the House. The Senate amendments address increasing the homestead property tax exemption for the third time since 2022, prohibiting noncitizens from voting, denying bail for individuals accused of certain violent or sexual offenses or human trafficking, and establishing a constitutional right for parents to direct their child’s education.
Republicans have controlled the state Senate since 1997 and took control of the state House in 2003. Since at least 2015, all constitutional amendments on the ballot have received some Democratic support in the state legislature.
Since adopting Texas’s current constitution in 1876, voters have decided on 711 ballot measures, all constitutional amendments. Of those, 530 (74.5%) were approved and 181 (25.5%) were defeated. The average number per election was between six and seven amendments. Texas’s constitution is the second-longest behind Alabama’s. Jon Taylor, chair of the University of Texas at San Antonio’s department of political science and geography, explained the length of the constitution, saying, “It’s a case where the constitution is so restrictive that you actually have to amend the constitution to give power either to the legislature, or the governor, or even to local authorities.”
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