November 3 election includes tax relief, roads, hunting

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Rep. J D Sheffield

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Editor’s Note: This month many new laws passed during the 2015 legislative session are taking effect. Over the coming weeks, Rep. J.D. Sheffield will provide an overview of these new laws through a short series on The Flash. This third article addresses new state laws that were passed during the 2015 session of the Texas Legislature. He hopes that you find these helpful and informative.

Rep. J D Sheffield
Rep. J D Sheffield

Early voting began this past Monday for the November 3 election on seven amendments to the Texas Constitution. These amendments were proposed in the 2015 session of the Texas Legislature. In this week’s legislative column, I want to highlight some particularly important amendments.

Proposition 1 would grow the homestead exemption for local school taxes by $10,000, which would lower property tax bills for homeowners. The exemption is currently $15,000 but has not grown for many years, even though home appraisals have steadily increased. Proposition 1 would make $25,000 of a homestead’s value exempt from school taxes.

This will not reduce funding for our local schools. The state will make up for the reduced revenue from local property taxes. In fact, the legislature made public schools a budget priority during the previous legislative session by fully funding enrollment growth plus another $1.5 billion to improve classroom education. This is especially helpful for rural school districts.

We were able to accomplish this and reserve $3.8 billion for tax relief—including the property tax relief in Proposition 1—because the new state budget holds the line on overall state spending.

Proposition 2 extends a homestead exemption to the surviving spouses of totally disabled military veterans. This exemption already exists for totally disabled military veterans and extends to the spouses of those who died after January 1, 2010. However, current law does not extend the exemption to surviving spouses of totally disabled veterans who died prior to 2010 because the exemption did not exist at that time. Proposition 2 fixes this by extending this exemption to all surviving spouses of totally disabled military veterans.

Proposition 5 is an important measure for counties with more than 5,000 but fewer than 7,500 residents, which includes some counties in our district. Currently, counties with fewer than 5,000 people are allowed to perform road construction on private roads, so long as the private owners pay the costs. This is helpful because some small counties lack private contractors to perform these projects. This proposition increases the population limit from 5,000 to 7,500, which would make this an option for more landowners in rural areas.

Proposition 6 would create a constitutional protection for the right to hunt and fish. We passed legislation to put this proposition on the ballot because some far-left groups have begun to attack the right to hunt and fish. Hunting and fishing is an important part of our cultural heritage in Texas, and a valuable way to manage and conserve wildlife populations. Supporting Proposition 6 would give new legal protections to hunting and fishing in the Texas Constitution.

Proposition 7 would dedicate a larger portion of the state’s sales and use tax revenue for highway construction. This would not raise taxes or fees but simply shift more money into the State Highway Fund up to $2.5 billion. This past legislative session we ended the practice of diverting funds from the highway fund and passed several reforms to make the Department of Transportation more transparent and accountable. Together with Proposition 7, we can better meet the transportation needs of our fast growing state.

Also on the ballot are propositions to change residency requirements for statewide elected officials and allow the charitable foundations of professional sports teams to conduct raffles.

If you have any questions or if I can be of service to you, please contact our office at (512) 463-0628.

Rep. J.D. Sheffield is a family physician and Republican member of the Texas House, serving his second term representing District 59.

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