How I’m voting in the November 4th State Constitutional Amendment Election

Hello, everyone-

Thanks for taking time to visit the site. I am sharing my opinions on the upcoming ballot items regarding amending the State Constitution. Early voting has already begun. In Marfa it is being held at the Fire Station and in Presidio it is being held in the Courthouse Annex, Building B (rear building).

As many of you might be aware, by the time these items make it onto the ballot, they have already passed through the Legislature with over 2/3 of both the House and Senate approving to forward the items to the voters for ratification. The vast majority of these proposals will wind up being approved by the voters. That does not mean you should not vote; please always exercise your right to vote!

In deciding how I want to vote on these 17 ballot items I try to take the time to look at them carefully and make the decisions based on my personal belief in how the State functions for the people and as an institution. My opinions are mine but do not have to be yours. If you have any questions for me, please email me at beebefortexas@gmail.com

TLDR: My votes, explanations are below.

Prop 1: Yes

Prop 2: No

Prop 3: No

Prop 4: Yes

Prop 5: Yes

Prop 6: No

Prop 7: Yes

Prop 8: No

Prop 9: No

Prop 10: Yes

Prop 11: Yes

Prop 12: No

Prop 13: Yes

Prop 14: Yes

Prop 15: No

Prop 16: No/not voting

Prop 17: No

A good source (and my primary source here) for expanded information on this topic is The Texas Legislature’s own Condensed Analysis Document that can be found here

Here is the language you will see on ballot followed by my commentary-

Proposition 1 - SJR 59 "The constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the permanent technical institution infrastructure fund and the available workforce education fund to support the capital needs of educational programs offered by the Texas State Technical College System."

The Texas State Technical College System is based in Waco and consists of 11 technical colleges across the State. The measure would create a fund (endowment) for the System and another fund for student “workforce education” in order to supply more technical jobs to industry in Texas. I could not find specifics on dollar amounts. Currently the system enrolls about 12,000 students. I get a little suspicious about government potentially picking winning and losing industries in a situation like this, I must say. But being that I believe education is an efficient (but difficult to measure) economic development tool, and also that we surely need more workers in the trades everywhere in Texas, I will be voting YES in support of Prop 1.

Proposition 2 - SJR 18 "The constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of a tax on the realized or unrealized capital gains of an individual, family, estate, or trust."

Over the years my opinion on business taxes has evolved from supporting them in most cases to not supporting them, and now to mostly supporting them. Our State is a very business-friendly State and that is generally good for our economy as a whole. There is currently no tax levied by the State in any of the above areas - individual, family, estate or trust. However, businesses, in order to try to circumvent the State business Franchise Tax, may reorganize into “business trusts” once the measure is passed. So I don’t like creating another loophole by adding more laws onto the books. I also don’t like the State permanently prohibiting ways to collect income, as every method that is closed off makes the State more reliant on Property and Sales Taxes. Sales taxes are particularly regressive and property taxes have a greater effect in whole on individuals than businesses. I will be voting NO on Prop 2

Proposition 3 - SJR 5 "The constitutional amendment requiring the denial of bail under certain circumstances to persons accused of certain offenses punishable as a felony."

As many of you know, I was Presidio County Justice of the Peace PCT 1 for seven years and Marfa Municipal Court Judge for nearly three years. A major part of my duties in both positions was to function as the Magistrate Judge in detainment hearings. What that means is that I was the Judge who nearly everyone arrested in Presidio County would see once they were booked into the jail. I would review their charges to be sure probable cause exists for arrest, determine whether they were eligible for a Court-Appointed attorney, red them their rights and set their bond, also known as bail.

Bail reform is a major flashpoint issue in Texas and has been for several years. What started out as outrage over people being held in County jails for months and sometimes years without going to trial on charges (mostly in larger counties) has now morphed into outrage over people being released on bond and then committing crimes while on release. Both situations are a big problem. The system is imperfect and is also, in many places, totally overwhelmed. I am and was grateful that in our County the arrests are few enough that I could dedicate adequate face to face (sometimes on Zoom, such as during COVID) time and effort into interviewing detained persons in order to attempt to judge their danger to themselves or the community. I definitely took the job very seriously and tried to make decisions that were in the best interest of the community, the accused and justice as a whole.

This amendment doesn’t dramatically change the way Magistrate judges would set bond in the severe charges referenced in the bill. All these charges are charges that involve serious bodily harm, sexual assaults, and human trafficking. The same factors regarding guaranteeing showing up for Court, and safety of one’s self and of the community are referenced. Other things are mentioned as well that in serious crimes are relatively rote in procedure.

But I pause when I think further about jurisdictions in which multiple defendants are read their rights over a video monitor all at once, where the magistrate judges are merely trying to get through overloaded dockets, and where appointed criminal defense attorneys for the indigent are, at best, sub-par. I think about the larger cities, in which I have no firsthand knowledge of any of this, but I have heard a lot. This proposal requires a Magistrate Judge, in granting bond, to write an order essentially defending the reasons for granting the bond. I foresee that a number of judges will bypass that effort and find it easier to deny bond than to consider granting it. Also, this bill does not set a timeline for the “new” bond granting/denial process and that could lead to longer pre-trial detentions (going back to the very first point here).

One thing I do like about this bill is that judges would be required to take prior criminal history into account. Back when I was Magistrate I did not have access to the TLETS database to see the history. Being in such a small place, however, I did often have firsthand knowledge in many cases. That was important but cannot expect to be replicated in larger communities.

I believe judges right now are permitted to set cash bond terms at rates that are high enough to effectively make it so difficult for people to get bond that they cannot. I rarely utilized that technique but there were occasions (sex abuse of minor, family violence, organized crime) when I felt that was in the interest of public safety and justice. That being said, I will be voting NO on Prop 3.

Proposition 4 - HJR 7 "The constitutional amendment to dedicate a portion of the revenue derived from state sales and use taxes to the Texas water fund and to provide for the allocation and use of that revenue."

Although the Texas Water Development Board is a highly inefficient and notoriously bureaucratic agency (and will run grant programs for these monies) any progress towards dealing with our statewide water issues is needed. I will be voting YES on Prop 4.

Proposition 5 - HJR 99 "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation tangible personal property consisting of animal feed held by the owner of the property for sale at retail."

It’s a tax break for feed dealers that may reduce costs for ranchers. There’s some nuance to this as feed is stockpiled during the winter and is subject to inventory tax at that time, which is unfortunate. As much as I don’t like carve-outs for specific industries, in the interest of assisting our struggling cattle ranchers I will vote YES for Prop 5

Proposition 6 - HJR 4 "The constitutional amendment prohibiting the legislature from enacting a law imposing an occupation tax on certain entities that enter into transactions conveying securities or imposing a tax on certain securities transactions."

This is being presented because of the formation and promotion of the Texas Stock Exchange. It will pass; not that Texas currently has any taxes like this. It’s essentially another talking point. Also, by codifying this in the Constitution, once again it limits future Legislatures from utilizing this tax option, which, once again, makes the State for reliant on Sales and Property taxes in times of hardship. I’ll be voting NO to Prop 6

Proposition 7 - HJR 133 "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a result of a condition or disease that is presumed under federal law to have been service-connected."

I’m not opposed to State homestead exemption expansion for veterans or the elderly as a general rule. As long as the exemptions themselves do not pass down to the next generation I’ll likely be in support. Current progress being made by Appraisal Districts in identifying people claiming multiple Homestead Exemptions (e.g. Ken Paxton) makes me more confident in my voting YES for Prop 7.

Proposition 8 - HJR 2 "The constitutional amendment to prohibit the legislature from imposing death taxes applicable to a decedent's property or the transfer of an estate, inheritance, legacy, succession, or gift."

There is no current tax on such items in Texas. This codifies it in the Constitution and overwhelmingly benefits the rich. It will definitely pass, and the donors will be happy. I’ll be voting NO on Prop 8

Proposition 9 - HJR 1 "The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation a portion of the market value of tangible personal property a person owns that is held or used for the production of income."

This raises the business “personal property tax” up to $125,000. That could indeed help small business owners like when I had the taco trailer and had to pay property taxes on inventory, the trailer itself, and the equipment inside the trailer. As a County official. though, I wish this was limited to just the (State’s) School taxes because this tax cut will hit local governments and could really hurt in the poorest counties like Presidio since we have no large industry. I’ll be voting NO on Prop 9.

Proposition 10 - SJR 84 "The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for a temporary exemption from ad valorem taxation of the appraised value of an improvement to a residence homestead that is completely destroyed by a fire."

I know that many people affected by the Palisades fire in California are losing their lots where their houses stood because of taxes. And also that the local governments are not ready to lost those taxes after said fire. That being said, it does not seem fair to me that if you lose all or part of your homestead (key that it’s not a vacation house etc.) you still have to pay taxes on what no longer exists while waiting, for instance, to resolve an insurance claim. Or while finding the money and workers to rebuild. There is currently no provision in Texas to adjust the appraisal after destruction by fire. I’ll be voting YES on Prop 10.

Proposition 11 - SJR 85 "The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to increase the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district of the market value of the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled."

Once again, I usually can support additional homestead tax relief for elderly or disabled folks. This raises the maximum additional exemption from $10,000 to a new maximum of $60,000. I’ll vote YES for Prop 11.

Proposition 12 - SJR 27 "The constitutional amendment regarding the membership of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the membership of the tribunal to review the commission's recommendations, and the authority of the commission, the tribunal, and the Texas Supreme Court to more effectively sanction judges and justices for judicial misconduct."

As much as I believe that the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct occasionally oversteps its bounds and that it has an overreaching attitude towards censorship of judges who express opinions in public, I definitely do not think that changing the makeup of the Commission to include more governor appointees is a good thing. Most everything I’ve read about this makes it appear as if the process would become more, not less, political on the TCJC. That is counter to the purpose of the commission and the rules it enforces. I will resoundingly VOTE NO on Prop 12.

Proposition 13 - SJR 2 "The constitutional amendment to increase the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district from $100,000 to $140,000."

This will pass and it’s just this year’s version of “Property Tax Relief” which does not lower taxes overall but shifts the burden to renters, vacation home and short term rentals, and commercial properties. Given that home prices are so high and aren’t going to go down since we aren’t importing the people to build them (and won’t be) this makes sense in keeping people within their residences (homesteads) . I’ll vote FOR Prop 13 but say a prayer for the poorest people in Texas, who overwhelmingly are renters.

Proposition 14 - SJR 3 "The constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Fund to provide money for research on and prevention and treatment of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and related disorders in this state, and transferring to that fund $3 billion from state general revenue."

I’m split on this one- this creates new bureaucracy and picking favorites, but also is a stab at addressing a real problem and possibly turning making progress on the problem into an economic driver. Why we don’t spend more on mental health facilities and rehabilitation for drug addicts I don’t know, but this Legislature will not. Being that there is a public health interest in this measure I’ll vote FOR Prop 14

Proposition 15 - SJR 34 "The constitutional amendment affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children."

Red meat, vague language, sounds like a no brainer- or not. I’m voting NO on Prop 15

Proposition 16 - SJR 37 "The constitutional amendment clarifying that a voter must be a United States citizen."

Already law in the U.S. Red meat, political “box of air” I won’t even vote on this one as it’s a box of air.

Proposition 17 - HJR 34 "The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the amount of the market value of real property located in a county that borders the United Mexican States that arises from the installation or construction on the property of border security infrastructure and related improvements."

This is a really bad one; we see this already in Presidio where a private company that collects rent from Border Patrol housing they own does not pay local taxes. Even Big Bend National Park makes “Payments in Lieu of Taxes” to help local governments provide EMS, Fire, Police, streets and everything else we already have trouble funding. This is a tax break for the biggest grifters of all, the military industrial complaex. Embarassing that our Legislature is corrupt enough to present this to us as a Constitutional Amendment. True garbage VOTE NO. I vote NO, sadly it will pass and the richest get richer.

AND lastly- on the Presidio County ballot there is a measure to reject a Presidio County tax note we had proposed (on the I&S side of the tax calculation) in order to get funds to replace the broken HVAC at the courthouse, rebuild County Annex building B and fund Road and Bridge equipment. The short story is the County, with me as Commissioner, opted to NOT raise the tax rate so the election item is moot. You may vote either way on the proposal; it won’t effect your taxes. THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS THE CITY OF MARFA’S OR THE CITY OF PRESIDIO’S TAX NOTE INCREASES THIS YEAR. They both raised their I&S taxes without voter approval. Ironically, the City Council of the City of Presidio created and promoted the petition to call for an election for our proposal but not for their own.

Thank you for reading- I’m sorry this is late for you early voters who are real early birds. It took me a while to prepare and I’ve been busy campaigning up and down the highway.

By the way, if you would like to donate to my campaign and AVOID ACT BLUE (you will only be reported on my campaign finance report here in Presidio County) you may send checks to David Beebe PO Box 1548 Marfa TX 79843. I’m working on setting up a business CashApp which should be up by the end of next month. I’ll have a update later.

More importantly, ALWAYS VOTE! I need your vote Feb 17-27 or on Election Day March 3rd 2026. That’s more important than donations, truly.

Thank you for reading!

Sincerely,

David