Voters approve ban on state limiting religious gatherings

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Voters approved eight amendments to the Texas Constitution on Nov. 2, including one barring the state from limiting religious services.

With 87 percent of precincts reporting, 63 percent of voters favored Proposition 3, which appeared on the ballot as a constitutional amendment “to prohibit this state or a political subdivision of this state from prohibiting or limiting religious services of religious organizations.”

When Texas lawmakers considered the proposal to place the amendment on the ballot, the Texas Senate voted 28-2 in favor, and the state House of Representatives approved the measure 108-33.

The measure was in direct response to 10 Texas counties—Bexar, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Harris, Lubbock, Nueces, Tarrant, Travis and Webb—that issued executive orders limiting religious gatherings at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April 2020.

The constitutional amendment met with mixed reaction from the faith community, with the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth among its supporters and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in opposition.

Jennifer Hawks

Jennifer Hawks, BJC associate general counsel, called the constitutional amendment “an exaggerated response,” an “unnecessary and redundant” measure, and an “overly broad” prohibition that “applies to everything from the mundane to the catastrophic.”

“Texas has robust protections for religious freedom, including during pandemics,” Hawks said. “In this year’s legislative session, Texas already enacted two separate measures that restricted government from limiting religious services in emergency situations. … Religious communities should work with state and local officials to address pandemics and other emergencies, not be a stumbling block to protecting our neighbors.”

Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, agreed the Texas Constitution and Bill of Rights guarantee freedom of worship, but he insisted recent history demonstrated the need for clarity to prevent government interference in the free exercise of religion.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to amend the Constitution to make this clear, but this will make sure our freedom to worship in church will never again be violated,” said Shaheen, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus.


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The Dallas Morning News was one of the few major daily newspapers to take an editorial position favoring Proposition 3.

“Freedom of religion is a foundational protected right in the United States under the First Amendment,” the newspaper’s editorial board wrote. “In a public health crisis, religious leaders must always place the well-being of their congregants and others first, but the state should not infringe on the right to attend funerals, services or other religious observances.”

In contrast, the Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News, the El Paso Times, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Austin American-Statesman opposed the constitutional amendment.

“We’re all for protecting religious freedom, and lawmakers are right to rethink broad emergency disaster powers. But this ban is too broad,” the Star-Telegram editorial board wrote. “Lawmakers approved, and Gov. Greg Abbott signed a statute with these broad prohibitions. When the heat surrounding the pandemic subsides, the Legislature should craft a more thoughtful version. Putting it in the Constitution could make that impossible.”

Texas voters also approved constitutional amendments:

  • Expanding legalized gambling in a limited context by permitting charitable raffles at events sponsored by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association or the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association.
  • Allowing residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities to designate an essential caregiver who cannot be denied in-person visitation rights. The measure was in response to visitation restrictions senior-care facilities imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Limiting school district property taxes incurred by the surviving spouse of a senior adult who has died and expanding eligibility for residential homestead tax exemptions to include spouses of military personnel killed or fatally injured in the line of duty.
  • Granting the State Commission on Judicial Conduct oversight of candidates running for judicial seats. The commission already has the power to accept complaints or reports, conduct investigations and reprimand judicial officeholders.
  • Requiring candidates running for the Texas Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals or a Texas court of appeals to have 10 years of experience practicing law in Texas.
  • Authorizing counties to issue bonds or notes to raise funds for transportation infrastructure in underdeveloped areas.

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