Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | Neutral | Positive | Neutral | Positive | Neutral |
Summary: HJR 62 would amend Texas’ Constitution to allow the Legislature to entitle the surviving spouse of an armed service member killed in action to a property tax exemption on all or part of the market value of the spouse’s homestead. To qualify, this spouse must not have remarried and the property must be the same property shared with the deceased armed service member. However, HJR would allow a spouse to exempt a different property if the spouse has not remarried. The exemption would be limited to the amount exempted from the spouse’s former residence shared with the armed service member. This temporary provision expires in 2015.
Analysis: HJR 62 would temporarily limit government by reducing the amount of property taxes that can be taken from surviving spouses of deceased armed service members. This would also promote the property rights of these spouses by allowing them to keep more of their resources. We support HJR 62.