Newsletter
Shop
Donate

Ashley Bean Thornton for Texas House District 56

Yes...I Guess: Props 5, 11 & 13

(Early Voting for the November 4 election starts Monday (October 20,2025). This will be our opportunity to vote on 17 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. That’s a lot of propositions!

 I am working through the list a few at a time and sharing how I plan to vote. 

Here are links to the ones I have done so far: 

 

You are not allowed to take your phone with you into the polls, but you are allowed to take a piece of paper with notes.  For what it’s worth, here’s a printable version of what I have figured out so far. I will update it every time I post till it is finished.: Propositions and How ABT is voting. Thank you! – ABT)


How I Plan to vote and why:

I guess I am probably going to end up voting YES on these three, but I don’t feel good about them.  

All three propositions help people who legitimately need tax relief, which is good.  But, they are not very precise and they will also end up giving relief to some folks who don’t really need it.  I worry that we are leaving tax revenue on the table that we need now and might need even more in the future.

Prop 5 – Makes retail stores exempt from paying taxes on animal feed they keep in inventory for resale.   I feel good about helping out small feed stores with this tax exemption and passing the savings on to family ranchers.  However, the exemption is not limited to small feed stores.  Big chains like Walmart, Tractor Supply, Atwood’s could also get this exemption from inventory taxes, and I don’t feel that good about subsidizing them and losing that tax revenue.  There’s also nothing that stops the big chains from claiming dog food as animal feed and that would be even more lost tax revenue.  I would feel much better about some kind of plan that exempts or reimburses small feedstores but requires the bigger chains to pay their share.

Prop 11 – This increases the special property tax exemption that people over 65 and disabled get from $10K to $60K.  I’m sure some people who will get this exemption really need it.  On the other hand, there are plenty of people over 65 who are better off than people under 65. This exemption will leave younger people on the hook for increased taxes even if they are in a worse position to pay.  I think it would be better if this exemption were based on income instead of age.

Prop 13 – This increases the general homestead exemption from $100K to $140K.  Again, this will be a huge help to lots of people who really need it, but not everyone needs it.  I would rather see this exemption be graduated so that people who need an exemption get it, but people who can afford to pay their full share pay it.

Two of these propositions (Prop 11 & Prop 13) specifically reduce the amount of money being collected for public schools.  The thought behind them is that the state has plenty of money, and the state can make up any shortfall in what the schools need.

I would argue, though, that schools are already underfunded. Instead of cutting the money available, I would rather give schools more.  Also, the state has plenty of money NOW, but that is not always the case.  When the day comes that the state is not so flush, are we going to restore this tax revenue?  I think that would be a hard sell. 

These exemptions provide tax relief for people who need it, which is good. I just don’t think these general, imprecise exemptions are the best way to provide that needed relief. I think we would be better off with “property tax circuit breaker” taxing strategies like some states are already using.

A property tax circuit breaker limits how much property tax a homeowner must pay based on their income.  This ensures taxes don’t “overload” low- or middle-income residents. For example, if a state caps property taxes at 5% of a household’s income, and a retired homeowner earning $40,000 owes $3,000 in property taxes, they’d get a $1,000 credit to bring their bill down to $2,000 — the 5% limit. It’s a way of making sure those who can afford it pay an appropriate amount while trying to relieve the burden on those with lower incomes.  It’s a way of targeting property tax relief so that it helps those who need it, while hopefully maintaining the revenue stream that our communities and schools need. 

I think something like a “circuit breaker” would be a better approach than these three propositions – but alas – that is not on the table, and I know some people really need relief right now.  I will probably vote YES on these three propositions because some people really do need the relief right now, but I don’t feel good about them. 

We need to be smarter going forward or we are going to dig ourselves into a hole I doubt we will want to dig out of later.  I think circuit breaker strategies would be smarter, but we have to elect people who are willing to think creatively and to help those who need it, while requiring people who have the means to pay their fair share.
  

Resources: