Bill Text: TX HJR4 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting the enactment of a law imposing an occupation tax on certain entities that enter into transactions conveying securities or imposing a tax on certain securities transactions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-27 - Referred to Ways & Means [HJR4 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HJR4-Introduced.html
| 89R8405 CJD-F | ||
| By: Meyer | H.J.R. No. 4 | |
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| proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting the enactment of a | ||
| law imposing an occupation tax on certain entities that enter into | ||
| transactions conveying securities or imposing a tax on certain | ||
| securities transactions. | ||
| BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Article VIII, Texas Constitution, is amended by | ||
| adding Section 30 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 30. (a) In this section: | ||
| (1) "Registered securities market operator" means any | ||
| of the following entities, to the extent the entity is subject to | ||
| registration with and regulation by the United States Securities | ||
| and Exchange Commission or the United States Commodity Futures | ||
| Trading Commission, or the successor in function to either | ||
| commission: | ||
| (A) a self-regulatory organization, financial | ||
| institution, broker, dealer, clearing agency, or transfer agent, as | ||
| those terms are defined by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 | ||
| U.S.C. Section 78a et seq.) in effect on January 1, 2025; | ||
| (B) an exchange that is registered as a national | ||
| securities exchange under Section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act | ||
| of 1934 (15 U.S.C. Section 78f); | ||
| (C) an alternative trading system, board of | ||
| trade, commodity pool operator, derivatives clearing organization, | ||
| electronic trading facility, or organized exchange, as those terms | ||
| are defined by the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. Section 1 et | ||
| seq.) in effect on January 1, 2025; | ||
| (D) an affiliate, subsidiary, or facility of an | ||
| entity described by Paragraph (A), (B), or (C); or | ||
| (E) a trade reporting facility regulated under | ||
| rules promulgated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority | ||
| and in effect on January 1, 2025. | ||
| (2) "Securities transaction" means the purchase or | ||
| sale of a security, a contract or agreement to purchase or sell a | ||
| security, or a service to facilitate, match parties to, process, | ||
| report, clear, or settle the purchase or sale of a security on | ||
| behalf of a customer. | ||
| (3) "Security" has the meaning assigned by the | ||
| Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. Section 78a et seq.) in | ||
| effect on January 1, 2025. | ||
| (b) The legislature may not enact a law that imposes: | ||
| (1) an occupation tax on a registered securities | ||
| market operator; or | ||
| (2) a tax on a securities transaction conducted by a | ||
| registered securities market operator. | ||
| (c) This section does not prohibit: | ||
| (1) the imposition of: | ||
| (A) a general business tax measured by business | ||
| activity; | ||
| (B) a tax on the production of minerals; | ||
| (C) a tax on insurance premiums; | ||
| (D) sales and use taxes on tangible personal | ||
| property or services; or | ||
| (E) a fee based on the cost of processing or | ||
| creating documents; or | ||
| (2) a change in the rate of a tax in existence on | ||
| January 1, 2026. | ||
| SECTION 2. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be | ||
| submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 4, 2025. | ||
| The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the | ||
| proposition: "The constitutional amendment prohibiting the | ||
| legislature from enacting a law imposing an occupation tax on | ||
| certain entities that enter into transactions conveying securities | ||
| or imposing a tax on certain securities transactions." | ||
