This Is How Plutocracy Gets Codified
The first House debate of the session was a gift to billionaires, but it's not too late to kill it.
Today, on April Fool’s Day, the Texas House finally started debating bills on the House floor. The very first bill they offered was a constitutional amendment to give Wall Street a tax-free pass forever. HJR4 shields wealthy financial institutions and Wall Street-type actors from taxation and enshrines protections for financial elites in our state constitution. Basically, it codifies plutocracy.
Now, constitutional amendments work in Texas. Two-thirds of the Legislature must vote in favor of the proposal in both chambers. These proposals take the form of joint resolutions. Once passed, they go directly to the voters. If approved by a majority of voters in the November 2025 election, the amendment becomes part of the Texas Constitution.
You can forget about the Senate. Every single Republican in the Senate is bought and paid for by the billionaire class. However, in the House, Republicans do not have the numbers to vote this through without Democratic help. You can probably guess where I’m going with this. Here was the bill layout from today:
Knowing how bad this bill is, progressive champion Ana-Maria Ramos (D-HD102) offered several amendments to soften it.
Her first amendment would have limited the constitutional ban on taxing securities transactions to only those under $10 million. So, instead of banning all taxes on securities transactions, the bill would still allow taxes on large trades, those $10 million and above.
Here were the votes on the amendment:
Every Democrat voted in favor of the amendment except Richard Raymond (D-HD42). Toni Rose (D-HD110) accidentally pressed the wrong button (it’s not a big deal; it happens) but corrected it in the journal.
Next, Ramos introduced her second amendment, which specified that algorithmic trading that executes huge numbers of orders at very high speeds for hedge funds could still be taxed.
Here were the votes on this amendment:
Every Democrat voted in favor of the amendment except Richard Raymond.
Ramos’ last amendment proposed to add a sunset clause, which would have meant the tax ban would automatically expire in 2034.
Want to guess the votes?
Every Democrat voted in favor of the amendment except Richard Raymond.
Watching this process unfold, you may have felt warm and fuzzy inside, thinking, “Texas Democrats are unified, and they’re all backing progressive lawmaking.”
But that’s not how it turned out. 😭
When the bill’s final vote occurred under the “second reading,” 27 Democrats voted in favor of it. Plus, Ramon Romero (D-HD90) intended to vote in favor of it, but he pressed the wrong button.
A bunch of people pressed the wrong button on both sides of the aisle. It happens a lot. Here’s what the buttons look like:
Anyway, I found that vote confusing. Why did Democrats vote in favor of all the amendments, but many voted for the bill anyway? Not only is it a billionaire handout, but that 50-vote leverage on Constitutional Bills is all they have. What did they get in exchange?
🚨The Texas Progressive Caucus has put out a call to action.
I stand with the Progressive Caucus on this. As long as 25% of Children in this state are living in a food-insecure household, we should not be giving handouts to billionaires. We expect this from Republicans, but this was a chance to hold the line, not just symbolically, but structurally.
Once something is written into the Texas Constitution, it becomes nearly impossible to undo. By voting for this bill, these 27 Democrats helped lock in tax protections for Wall Street while everyday Texans struggle to make ends meet. We can’t build a better state if our side folds when we need it to stand firm.
There’s still time before the final vote. Call your reps. Make noise. Don’t let this giveaway become permanent. My inbox is open if any lawmaker who voted for HJR4 wants to explain their vote to my readers.
HJR4 still needs to be voted on in its final form, the “third reading,” and Democrats still have the power to block it. If just 50 of them hold the line, this billionaire giveaway will die on the floor. No one’s asking for miracles, just that our lawmakers stop protecting hedge funds and start fighting for the people who sent them there.
A quote from Cory Booker.
By now, we’re all aware that New Jersey Senator Corey Booker broke Strom Thurmond’s 1957 Civil Rights filibuster today. I’m sure you’ve all seen clips. Here is one thing he said that’s really sticking with me.
“I confess that I have been imperfect. I confess that I’ve been inadequate to the moment. I confess that the Democratic Party has made terrible mistakes that gave a lane to this demagogue. I confess we all must look in the mirror and say ‘we will do better.’”
-Cory Booker
The rise of fascism, the targeting of civil rights and constitutional liberties, and the deep, deep corruption... Texas has been the testing ground for decades.
We need fighters.
We need people who remember who sent them to Austin and why. If we can’t hold the line on something as clear-cut as tax breaks for Wall Street while a quarter of our kids go hungry, then what are we even doing?
We need every Democrat in the Texas House to stand up and say: enough. Enough giveaways to billionaires. Enough constitutional cover for corporate greed. Enough pretending that compromise with power is anything but surrender.
June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.
June 3: The beginning of the 2026 election season.
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
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