Texans will vote on establishing dementia research center. Here's how much it would cost.
The state House passed Senate Joint Resolution 3 on Monday, a proposed constitutional amendment that would allocate $3 billion in surplus state revenue to create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. Lawmakers agreed to create the proposed center — contingent on voters approving the funding — when the House passed Senate Bill 5 last week.
More: Texas Senate OKs plan for $3 billion dementia research center. Here's how it would work.
Dementia is a broad group of cognitive impairments associated with aging that affects a person's memory and ability to reason and often hampers a person's day-to-day functioning. The most common form is Alzheimer's disease, which afflicts nearly half a million Texans, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. It has no cure.
"I don't know no one in this House that doesn't have a family member or a friend or a neighbor who's not impacted by dementia or Alzheimer's," Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, told members before Monday morning's vote. "This constitutional amendment gives us the funding to do the research so that we can give those persons who are impacted with these dreadful diseases a better quality of life."
SJR 3 and SB 5 are authored by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and passed the Senate in March. Thompson and Midland Republican Rep. Tom Craddick, the two longest-serving Texas House members, are among those sponsoring the legislation in the lower chamber.
"This could be the way we finally cure Alzheimer's and other dementia problems," Craddick said Monday. "This isn't a party vote; this is a vote for the people in the state of Texas."
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Despite the strong bipartisan support for dementia research, the resolution's fate was uncertain before it was brought up on the House floor. Democratic lawmakers blocked the passage of another Republican-authored constitutional amendment proposal last week when 50 Democrats abstained from a vote on the measure as a show of force amid continued disagreement with Republicans on school vouchers.
Proposed constitutional amendments require a two-thirds supermajority to clear each legislative chamber before they can appear on a statewide ballot. The 88 Republican members do not comprise two-thirds of the 150-member House, meaning at least 12 Democrats need to back an amendment proposal for it to pass.
'Burn it all down': Hardline conservatives declare war on Texas House GOP leadership
The House passed SJR 3 by a 123-21 vote, with hardline Republicans making up the bloc that voted against the proposal. Opponents of the proposal have said dementia research is not the role of an already-bloated government, and that the Legislature should use the state's excess revenue to reduce property taxes instead.
Texas constitutional amendments do not require the governor's signature and advance automatically to an election after gaining the Legislature's approval.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas voters to decide if state funds $3 billion dementia institute
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