IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Three grassroots groups file lawsuit to challenge Prop 2
Deceptive & illegal ballot language removed 'ad valorem tax increases' from ballot
(November 8, 2021 — Austin, Texas) Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF), Grassroots America - We the People, and True Texas Project(TTP) filed a lawsuit against the Texas Secretary of State, John B. Scott, challenging the constitutional amendment known as Proposition 2. The suit contends the ballot language presented to Texas voters on November 2, 2021, failed to comply with common law requirements and asserts the ballot language was substantially misleading due to the removal of the phrase ‘ad valorem tax increases.’ State law requires that a proposition be described “with such definiteness and certainty that the voters are not misled.” Blum v. Lanier, 997 S.W.2d 259 (Tex. 1999). The lawsuit seeks the remedy of Governor Greg Abbott declaring the election on Prop 2 void.
Prop 2 would authorize counties to create Transportation Reinvestment Zones (TRZs) that give them the authority to issue bonds and use property tax increases for repayment of those bonds. A virtually identical proposition was put before Texas voters in 2011 known as Proposition 4 and voters rejected it when the phrase ‘ad valorem tax increases’ was included.