Letter Opposing HJR 4, HJR 6 (April 1)
- codylm6
- Apr 19
- 3 min read
April 1, 2025
Dear Texans,
Today, your representatives in the Texas House heard our first bills of the 89th Legislative Session on the House Floor. On the agenda were HJR 4, proposing a constitutional ban on taxes on securities market operators and transactions, and HJR 6, proposing a constitutional ban on capital gains taxes. Unlike regular bills, which require a majority vote (76 votes) to pass the House, constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote (100 votes). There are 62 Democrats and 88 Republicans in the Texas House.
Today, 28 Democrats voted against HJR 4, a blatant gift to Wall Street. You can view the list of those representatives in the House Journal here. We encourage you to thank those Representatives for their solidarity with the working people of Texas. Democrats have the numbers (and a generous margin) to kill this forever tax break for Wall Street bankers in our state.
As we watch the reckless dismantling of federal public services at the behest of the billionaire political donors, it is no coincidence that the first bills the Texas House has chosen to hear this session are constitutional amendments designed to shield the ultra-wealthy and Wall Street from ever paying their fair share. In fact, Donald Trump would be a direct beneficiary of HJR 4, with Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, being the first company to join the new New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Texas.
At a time when working families across Texas are pleading for relief—from soaring housing costs to underfunded schools and unaffordable healthcare—House leadership has made its priorities crystal clear: protect wealth, not people.
HJR 4: A Gift to Wall Street at the People’s Expense
HJR 4 would constitutionally prohibit the legislature from imposing an occupation tax on registered securities market operators or a tax on securities transactions. This is a Wall Street protection act, plain and simple. It places multi-trillion-dollar market actors beyond the reach of reasonable public contribution, even as they profit from Texas’ infrastructure, energy, and educated workforce.
These entities—some of the most powerful corporate players on the planet—can and should contribute their fair share to the state they profit from. Instead, HJR 4 seeks to immunize them from even the possibility of taxation, taking away tools that future leaders may need to meet the basic needs of Texans.
HJR 6: A Corporate Shield from Fair Taxation
HJR 6 proposes a constitutional amendment to permanently prohibit any taxation on realized or unrealized capital gains for individuals, families, estates, and trusts. This resolution seeks to protect unearned income from the wealthiest Texans—those who earn millions without lifting a finger—while everyday Texans pay some of the highest sales and property taxes in the country.
This amendment is not about protecting small investors. It’s about locking in tax advantages for billionaires, hedge funds, and large estates while public schools are underfunded, property taxes squeeze working families, and over 40% of Texas households still struggle to meet basic needs.
If passed, HJR 6 would make it constitutionally impossible to pursue even the most modest policies to rebalance Texas’ broken tax system—one that is already the 7th most regressive in the country, where working people pay a disproportionate share.
These Amendments Betray the Promise of a Fair Texas
As representatives of the working people of Texas, the Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus is committed to creating a state tax system that smooths the road for working people, not corporations and the ultra-wealthy. This should include lowering daily costs for Texans and fighting government corruption by dismantling special interest protections, not cementing them into our Constitution.
Our government does need reform, but these resolutions do the opposite. They are part of a broader campaign to rig the rules in favor of the rich, erode the social contract between government and the people, and undermine future economic solutions before they can even be debated.
Today, we came prepared to the House floor and fought against HJR 4. But when it came time to debate HJR 6, the author moved to postpone the vote... to April 15, Tax Day. We’ll be prepared to fight for working Texans on that day, too.
The people of Texas deserve a Constitution that protects families, not billionaires.
Democratically yours,
The Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus Executive Committee
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