Texas lawmakers sent SB1070 to Gov. Greg Abbot (R) on May 29, 2023, positioning the state to become the eighth to withdraw from ERIC this year, and the ninth overall. Elsewhere, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed SB1135 on May 26, a bill including provisions that would have effectively withdrawn Arizona from ERIC. ERIC is…
The Texas Senate appointed a committee on May 29 to develop proposed rules for the upcoming impeachment proceeding against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). The committee, consisting of five Republicans and two Democrats, was directed to propose rules for the trial by June 20. The Senate also adopted a resolution on May 30 calling…
Texas voters will decide on 13 constitutional amendments this November—the most since 2007 when voters decided on 17 measures on two election dates. The average number of measures appearing on Texas odd-numbered-year ballots was 14 between 1985 and 2021. The year with the highest number of measures was 1987 with 25 on one election date.…
As of May 28, members of the Texas State Legislature, which includes the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas State Senate, have passed four bills related to election administration since the beginning of the year. Of those four bills, legislators passed two during the week of May 22-28. A bipartisan group of legislators sponsored…
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued eight opinions from May 15-21. The Texas Supreme Court issued seven opinions from May 15-21. Both courts are the state’s courts of last resort. As of May 21, the court of criminal appeals issued 138 opinions in 2023 — 25 more than this point a year ago. The…
As of May 21, Ballotpedia has tracked 173 election-related bills in the Texas House of Representatives since the beginning of the year. Of the 173, Ballotpedia tracked one from May 15-21. Democrats sponsored the bill. The bill is below: TX HB21: Relating to the Texas Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission, Rep. James Talarico (D). As introduced,…
The Texas Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment to prohibit any future legislation from enacting a wealth or net worth tax. This amendment was introduced as House Joint Resolution 132 on March 13, 2023. On May 2, the state House passed HJR 132 by a vote of 101-45 with four not voting. All Republicans…
The Texas Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment to the Nov. 2023 ballot that would allow counties or municipalities to authorize an exemption from property taxes on all or part of the appraised value of real property used to operate childcare facilities. A partial property tax exemption would need to equal at least 50%…
As of May 21, members of the Texas State Legislature, which includes the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas State Senate, have passed two bills related to election administration since the beginning of the year. Of those two bills, legislators passed one during the week of May 15-21. A bipartisan group of legislators sponsored…
The Texas State Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment that would authorize the legislature to provide for a property tax exemption on equipment and inventory manufactured by medical or biomedical companies to the November ballot. The legislature also passed the enabling legislation, Senate Bill 2289 (SB 2289), which would take effect if the amendment…