By Barrientos S.J.R. No. 22
77R6333 SMH-D
A JOINT RESOLUTION
1-1 proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the ad valorem tax
1-2 exemption for the surviving spouse and children of a deceased
1-3 disabled veteran.
1-4 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 2(b), Article VIII, Texas Constitution,
1-6 is amended to read as follows:
1-7 (b) The Legislature may, by general law, exempt property
1-8 owned by a disabled veteran or by the surviving spouse and
1-9 surviving [minor] children of a disabled veteran. A disabled
1-10 veteran is a veteran of the armed services of the United States who
1-11 is classified as disabled by the Veterans' Administration or [by] a
1-12 successor to that agency[;] or by the military service in which the
1-13 veteran [he] served. A veteran who is certified as having a
1-14 disability of less than 10 percent is not entitled to an exemption.
1-15 A veteran having a disability rating of not less than 10 percent
1-16 nor more than 30 percent may be granted an exemption from taxation
1-17 for property valued at up to $5,000. A veteran having a disability
1-18 rating of more than 30 percent but not more than 50 percent may be
1-19 granted an exemption from taxation for property valued at up to
1-20 $7,500. A veteran having a disability rating of more than 50
1-21 percent but not more than 70 percent may be granted an exemption
1-22 from taxation for property valued at up to $10,000. A veteran who
1-23 has a disability rating of more than 70 percent, or a veteran who
1-24 has a disability rating of not less than 10 percent and has
2-1 attained the age of 65, or a disabled veteran whose disability
2-2 consists of the loss or loss of use of one or more limbs, total
2-3 blindness in one or both eyes, or paraplegia, may be granted an
2-4 exemption from taxation for property valued at up to $12,000. The
2-5 spouse and children of any member of the United States Armed Forces
2-6 who dies while on active duty may be granted an exemption from
2-7 taxation for property valued at up to $5,000. A deceased disabled
2-8 veteran's surviving spouse and each child of the veteran [children]
2-9 may be granted an exemption [which] in an amount [the aggregate is]
2-10 equal to the exemption to which the veteran was entitled when the
2-11 veteran died.
2-12 SECTION 2. Section 2(d), Article VIII, Texas Constitution,
2-13 is repealed.
2-14 SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
2-15 submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 6, 2001.
2-16 The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
2-17 proposition: "The constitutional amendment to authorize the
2-18 legislature to set the amount of the ad valorem tax exemption for
2-19 the surviving spouse and each child of a deceased disabled veteran
2-20 in an amount equal to the amount of the exemption to which the
2-21 disabled veteran was entitled."